Communications Senior Associate

Chemonics International is a major international development consultancy, with a 46-year history and a track record for delivering integrated solutions across multiple sectors and geographies to support the achievement of the sustainable development goals. With experience in over 150 countries and global network of over 5,000 technical specialists, Chemonics is recognised as one of the world’s leading partners for international development.

Chemonics UK was established in 2019 and has quickly developed a strong and diverse portfolio of UK Aid-funded programmes. Chemonics UK works with government and development sector counterparts across three continents to deliver programmes in sectors including climate action, education, governance, peacebuilding, stabilisation, social cohesion, and research.

Purpose

The Communications Senior Associate will split their time working across two workstreams: (1) supporting the delivery of FCDO-funded, programme-level communications and (2) supporting the delivery of Chemonics’ corporate-level communications, strategy, campaigns and work.

Across both programme (1) and corporate (2) workstreams, the senior associate will spend their time managing digital platforms, such as websites and social media platforms, and working closely with experts in Chemonics’ technical practices to co-create thought leadership products for a range of audiences. This may include, for example, factsheets, blogs, press releases, and managing the delivery of technical events and campaigns on a wide range of topics. These topics could include climate, private sector engagement, conflict and stabilisation, education, democracy and governance, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL).

The senior associate will also work closely with leading organisations working across the UK and international development landscape and will grow and maintain positive relationships with prospective and existing partners. Under supervision, the senior associate will produce content to meet Chemonics’ external communications objectives.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Corporate Communications Duties and Responsibilities

• Help maintain Chemonics UK’s communications systems and functions, maintaining key webpages, content management systems, social media, and supporting press engagement;
• Help develop effective working relationships with Chemonics UK’s technical practices and programme teams, relevant client contacts and support agencies relevant to the UK market;
• Write, edit, and develop Chemonics’ technical work through supporting technical staff and project teams to create media posts and content suitable for online channels and social media sharing;
• Produce high-quality press releases, information kits, award submissions, video scripts, and other materials;
• Work with the headquarters’ communications team to help track media coverage, track sentiment, tracking results of media campaigns on a quarterly/annual basis, and produce analysis and responses when needed;
• Support with the organisation of in-person, hybrid, and online events alongside wider thought leadership activities;
• Support with overseeing the work of external communications consultants – including graphic designers, copywriters, and proofreaders – for example ensuring communications consultants have up-to-date agreements with Chemonics.
• Lead on the capture, analysis and report out of qualitative and quantitative measures of Chemonics’ communication activities;
• Promote strategies for effective teamwork and leadership development and cultivate collaborative working relationships across the company;
• Fostering and demonstrating a workplace inclusive of creating opportunity, serving others, building trust, innovation, and exceeding expectations;
• On occasion, support Chemonics’ New Business teams by contributing to technical proposals for new bids.

2. Programme-level Communications Duties and Responsibilities

• Under supervision from management, help deliver communications tasks for one or several Chemonics’ FCDO-funded programmes as needed;
• Develop project-level communication reports, and communication products, such as social media products, videos, events, articles, and research summaries;
• Support, and where relevant lead, on project-level branding with support from graphic design professionals and teams;
• Deliver communications reporting to Chemonics’ clients on milestones and demonstrate progress;
• Represent Chemonics in meetings with clients and policymakers;
• Led the development of the tools and guides necessary to support project-level teams to deliver client-funded communications activities;
• Train and support programme-level communications staff to deliver better communications and improve the quality of outputs.

Person Specifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty and responsibility satisfactorily. The qualifications listed below are representative of the required knowledge, skills, and/or abilities needed to perform the principal duties.

• Professional work experience within PR, journalism, marketing and/ or corporate strategic communications;
• Experience working for or with HMG government departments such as the Foreign,
• Commonwealth and Development Office preferred and extremely useful but not essential (experience with humanitarian organisation, academic institutions or think tanks also highly relevant);
• Degree in relevant subject or equivalent work experience required;
• Demonstrated experience in creating, copywriting, and proofreading marketing materials in English;
• Ability to write story-driven content about complex technical subjects and projects that engages target audiences and promotes knowledge sharing, with appropriate level of supervision;
• Sensitivity to diverse audiences and demonstrated good judgement about messaging;
• Demonstrated interviewing skills and interpersonal skills to establish and maintain strong working relationships with executives, senior technical experts, and the wide variety of people with whom Chemonics works around the world;
• Ability to work under deadline pressure with diverse teams and manage production schedules;
• Experience updating webpages using content managements systems (e.g. WordPress or similar);
• Working knowledge of uses and administration of popular social media outlets (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube);
• Proficiency in MS Office and Adobe Creative Suite products (i.e. Photoshop, Indesign, PremierePro or Illustrator);
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills; demonstrated skill and comfort presenting to large groups;
• Willingness to travel and work abroad in developing country contexts - experience living or working in the countries where Chemonics works would be useful;
• Photography and videography experience is an advantage;
• Ability to multitask with strong attention to detail, organisation, and time management.

Other

• UK work authorisation or ability to obtain it required.

Apply by: 7th May 2024