PUBLICATION MANAGER

Purpose of the post

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), an independent humanitarian organization whose mission is to protect and assist victims of armed conflict and other violence, is seeking to recruit a Publications Manager based in Geneva, Switzerland.

The publication team is part of the Language and Publications Unit (LINPUB), which is made up of translators and editors (LIN) and publication staff (PUB). We publish documents in English and French at the ICRC’s headquarters in Geneva, and provide support to regional communication centres around the world for publications in Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Spanish and other local languages.

Main duties and responsibilities

The publications manager is responsible for managing and coordinating publications at headquarters that support the ICRC’s public communication and institutional objectives. The publications manager supervises the work of external suppliers, managing all headquarters publications in English and French, as set out in a service level agreement; manages the HQ production book (annual budget) and ensures that the production book reflects priority themes and issues; provides production support for communication campaigns; acts as a focal point for the consistent application of the organization’s visual identity; and helps develop efficient ways of working with the field on print production.

The publications manager reports to the head of LINPUB. He or she works closely with the Digital Communication Unit (DIGITAL) and all units at headquarters that are planning to produce print or electronic publications, acting as a focal point for any issues related to publications.

The publications manager:

• ensures implementation of the service level agreement with external suppliers by:
  • overseeing internal workflow
  • supporting those involved in the process (client units, LINPUB editors, etc.) by means of ongoing coaching/advice and responding to questions
  • managing production schedules and liaising with client units and LIN on timing for receipt of content
  • monitoring the work of external suppliers and ensuring adherence to the ICRC’s visual identity guidelines on all publications
  • working closely with the head of LINPUB to ensure ICRC procurement practices are followed
• handles the budget and field production by:
  • drawing up the HQ production book, in collaboration with the deputy director of communication and DIGITAL, by assessing the relevance of potential publications to the organization’s priority themes and issues
  • preparing and following up on meetings of the Organization and Management Platform (POM) with regard to the HQ production book and producing statistics every three months on the production book
  • liaising with regional communication centres on publication projects and matters of common interest, and help them develop ways of working more efficiently with HQ (contribute to analyzing and developing approaches to rationalizing print production in regions).
• serves as a focal point for the ICRC’s visual identity, ensuring that graphic design reinforces the humanitarian values of the organization by:
  • managing the coherent and consistent application of the visual identity guidelines and overseeing their development, providing feedback on the application of the visual identity guidelines in publications both at headquarters and in the field (e.g. with the field production manager, when needed, and using templates, etc.), and working with the Social Marketing Unit on copyright, branding and co-production issues
• and works with DIGITAL on digital publications.

Education and experience required

• University degree or equivalent qualification in publication, editing and/or production, advertising or marketing
• At least 5 years’ experience in managing external suppliers, including graphic designers, printers, editors and translators
• Proven record in managing contracts and service level agreements
• Advanced knowledge of English and French

Desired profile and skills

• Understanding of the ICRC’s organizational structure and workflows at headquarters and in the field
• Detail-oriented and precise, well organized and able to plan ahead
• Able to deal with demanding clients and situations
• Able to work under pressure

Additional information

• Location :                            Geneva
• Type of contract :                Open-ended
• Activity rate :                       90%
• Length of assignment :       2 years, extendable
• Estimated start date :          01.05.2018
• Application deadline :     Wednesday, 28th February 2018

Due to ICRC specific restrictions applicable in Switzerland to international employees, please note that non Swiss nationals will not be allowed to have other lucrative activities in addition to their ICRC contracts.