Communications Manager 253 views

                               Job Advertisement

Job title:

Communications Manager

Work Location:

Freetown & Kono

Department:

Policy & Partnership

Reports to:

Director of Policy & Partnership

Line Management

Not Specified

Duration of Contract:

Twelve (12) Months

Application Status:

External Advert

Organization Profile

Partners In Health Sierra Leone LLC (PIH) is an international health organization relentlessly committed to improving the health of the poor and marginalized. PIH partners with local governments to build local capacity and works closely with impoverished communities to deliver high-quality health care, address the root causes of illness, train providers, advance research, and advocate for global policy change. Our delivered services in the field are based in our partnership with the Governments and Ministries of Health and the support to education, training and mentorship to Health care workers and students is one of our pillars for the Health care system strengthening.

PIH currently has implementation programs in Haiti, Rwanda, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Peru, Mexico, Russia, Sierra Leone and Navajo Nation. Through our partnership with Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, we support a wide range of programs in dozens of other countries around the world. 

Our Work In Sierra Leone:

Partners In Health Sierra Leone LLC (PIH) began supporting the government of Sierra Leone in response to the Ebola epidemic in October 2014. Recognizing the large need for continued investments in the health system after Ebola, PIH is committed to long-term health system strengthening in support of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MOHS), guided by the same principles as our emergency response and our work around the world: public sector accompaniment, integrated and comprehensive services, social justice, nimbleness and flexibility, partnership, community ownership, and evidence-based interventions. In the aftermath of the epidemic, PIH is committed to supporting the delivery of comprehensive health services in Sierra Leone, from the community level to the health center and to referral hospitals.

Position Overview

Partners In Health (PIH) seeks a creative, self-directed, social justice-oriented professional to lead and grow its nascent communications program in Sierra Leone. The Communications Manager will work with PIH colleagues and external partners in Sierra Leone and around the world to broaden and deepen awareness of and support for PIH.

By celebrating the organization’s unique mission and values; showcasing its pioneering accomplishments; promoting its valuable brand; and uncovering its remarkable human stories, the Communications Manager will drive forward PIH Sierra Leone’s communications strategy and output. Communications priorities include: written, visual, and audio storytelling; internal communications; local and international media engagement and speaker requests; fundraising communications; social media; communications training and capacity-building among PIH Sierra Leone staff; and continuous collaboration with global fundraising and marketing and communications teams. 

Against these priorities, the Communications Manager will have the opportunity to shape a growing communications team, hiring, managing, and collaborating with new Sierra Leonean staff in specialist areas. The Communications Manager will be a jack-of-all-trades who is excited to wield their creativity and project management skills in equal measure, and to provide vision and leadership to craft a comprehensive communications program founded on elevated content and balanced workflow.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Storytelling and External Communications

• Create, implement, and refine a content strategy and plan that supports the Global Marketing-Communications team
• Identify, report, write, and produce stories—in article, audio, photo essay, and video formats—about PIH Sierra Leone’s programs, patients, staff, and, ultimately, impact
• Maintain and grow PIH Sierra Leone’s social media presence
• Maintain and expand pihsierraleone.com
• Manage speaking requests and help staff prepare presentations
• Coordinate and facilitate reporters’ visits and interviews, including overseeing logistics and being accountable person for overall success of all aspects of their visits
• Develop relationships with local and regional journalists and media outlets
• Spearhead formal media training to PIH-SL leaders who currently serve as spokespeople—and develop more staff as spokespeople
• Travel extensively in rural Sierra Leone to develop communications collateral first-hand, working directly and independently with program and clinical teams in conditions of ambiguity and change
• As the Communications team grows, manage any team member(s) dedicated to internal communications and the above responsibilities

Internal Communications & Administration

• Maintain and strengthen current internal communications structures
• In partnership with the Senior Management Team, develop, advise, and implement new internal communications practices and structures across the organization, to keep staff better informed and engaged
• Develop and implement new strategies and systems to improve accessibility of internal communications, given differing levels of access to technology across the organization
• In partnership with the Senior Management Team, develop and implement strategies and systems to continually collect team updates, for the purposes of improving internal communication structures and more intentionally creating external communications
• Control file management systems, including developing and maintaining a communications archive/file management system(s) that provide staff in Sierra Leone and around the world easy, targeted, up to date access to shared resources and assets (logos, presentations, capacity statements, one-pagers, reports, etc.)
• From time to time, support other Sierra Leone writing and editing needs as they arise
• As the Communications team grows, manage any team member(s) dedicated to internal communications and the above responsibilities

Fundraising Communications

• Conceive, write, and design fundraising collateral such as one-pagers, the organization’s Annual Report, and other materials as needed
• Collaborate with global fundraising and marketing and communications colleagues, and Sierra Leone Policy and Partnerships colleagues to produce regular donor-centric communications around high-priority projects, including the Maternal Center of Excellence
• Serve as an in-country point of contact and collaborator for global donor engagement colleagues together with wider Policy & Partnerships team
• Lend other support to PIH Sierra Leone’s Policy & Partnerships team as needed, including on creating efficiencies through aligning information used in external communications, reporting to Government of Sierra Leone, and donor reporting
• Lead on meeting communications deliverables for any funding partnerships with specific communication requirements

Program Growth and Capacity Building

• Manage hiring of, and provide oversight and management to, communications specialists
• Develop, coach, mentor and train team, including local colleagues
• Together with functional colleagues, P&P Director, Finance Director and Operations Director, manage communications program budget
• Assess desires and needs around communications trainings across the organization through gathering wide feedback across teams and locations; design and implement training curriculums
• Carve out increased visibility for Communications across the organization

Prevention of  Sexual Exploitation and Abuse

At Partners In Health, we are committed to ensuring that those who benefit from our work- including our patients, families and community members – as well as our staff are treated with dignity and respect and protected from sexual exploitation, abuse and sexual harassment. A range of pre-employment checks will be

undertaken in conformity with Partner In Health’s PSEAH policy. Partner In Health will request information from applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment.  By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.

Qualification and Experience

Essential

• Bachelor’s degree and minimum of 3-5 years of relevant experience, preferably with digital content generation and strategy, branding, marketing-communications, journalism, PR, and/or people management; or in other roles requiring strong writing, communications, and production of high-quality, engaging written deliverables
• Passion for PIH’s mission and interest in global health equity and social justice
• Proven ability to produce high-quality content by collaborating across multiple stakeholders with different backgrounds and perspectives
• Proven ability to build relationships with a range of stakeholders, both internally and externally to the organization
• Willingness to engage respectfully and professionally with a diverse group while achieving results, including through being entrepreneurial and flexible in a highly resource-constrained setting
• Demonstrated experience managing and meeting multiple deadlines
• Detail-orientated approach to content creation, with excellent planning and prioritization skills
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment, and handle multiple tasks simultaneously
• Ability to self-motivate and implement new communications initiatives with minimal oversight and direction
• Literacy in Office365, various CMS, social media
• Excellent command of English, with superlative writing and editing skills, ability to produce outputs that need minimal further editing
• Deep wells of flexibility, curiosity, and cultural humility
• Willingness to travel extensively in rural Sierra Leone, spending 30-60% of time in field locations outside of the capital

Strongly preferred

• Prior experience working in communications for international NGOs
• Prior experience working in the field in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Prior experience in, and thorough knowledge of global public health and healthcare, with technical writing experience
• Prior experience with InDesign/Canva, Slack, Squarespace

Methods of Application

Interested candidates are required to apply through our website: www.pih.org/employment.   In your application, please ensure to include names, addresses, email addresses and telephone numbers of three (3) refereesnot later than 12:00pm GMT (Midnight) on Wednesday 24  November, 2021.