Coordinate and support communications about Medair’s life-saving work, our vision, and ways of working to selected audiences in the field and particularly to those in Switzerland, other European countries, and North America. The Regional Communications Manager is a vital member of a diverse global team, supporting the training and development of regional communications staff, managing media opportunities, and providing operational communications support for Middle East country programmes, while also supporting GSO-led development of creative, audience-relevant, and wide-reaching communications and engagement outputs.

The Regional Communications Manager works in close contact with the Global Communications and Engagement departments at the Global Support Office (GSO) and with Affiliates offices in Europe and North America. Advise the Global Communications and Engagement departments, the field teams, and programme leadership on communications and public messaging issues, changes in the programmes, and urgent fundraising needs and promotes open communication between field, regional team, and GSO.

This varied role requires regional oversight of messaging and the ability to provide coaching and training for communications staff in the region. This may also include training other colleagues to collect resources and engage in external communication and providing support to country teams during visits with media, institutional donors, or private supporters.

Across the Middle East region, millions of people have been displaced by conflict. Medair responded to the Syrian Crisis in 2012, starting projects in Jordan and Lebanon. Since then, Medair began operations in Iraq in 2014 to respond to mass displacement, and became a registered INGO in Syria in 2015.  Medair takes a multi-sectoral approach wherever possible, with on-going Interventions in Health & Nutrition, Shelter, Cash/NFIs and WASH, using technology as appropriate to improve assistance to refugees, IDPs and vulnerable host communities.

Field based position in Amman, Jordan with travel to Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria.

June 2019. Full time, Minimum one year, preferably 2 years.

Strategic Planning, Management, and Coordination

• Implement the Global Communications strategy at regional level with field communications staff.
• In the absence of programme Communication Officers (CO), serve as an internal expert and point of contact for GSO/Affiliate communications and fundraising teams.
• Act as a communications advisor to the programme leadership and team, including Communications Officers/Assistants in country programmes, in regard to media and communication.
• Coach, train, and brief field staff on brand and visibility usage, media relations, communications, and social media. Develop training materials (PPTs, docs) for staff, colleagues or other CO.
• Manage, or oversee management of, communication budget lines included in the financial budget to ensure accomplishment of communication and fundraising objectives (travel costs, photographers, translators, staff, visibility items, communication expenses, etc.).
• Select and hire Communications Officers/Assistants in collaboration with HR and line manager. Provide input inLead objectives setting and reviews for continuous improvement.
• Provide functional support to Communications Officers/Assistants, advising and providing training to improve quality of outputs from the region and ensure communications targets set by the Global Communications department are reached.
• Work closely with GSO Field Communications Support Coordinator in managing field communication projects and initiatives, e.g. developing guidelines and briefing materials, organising annual field communications workshop and monthly conference calls, and improving coordination tools.

Global Communications and Engagement Resources

• Ensure availability of communications and fundraising resources as needed by GSO, Affiliates, and key external partners (photos, video footage, stories, quotes, web updates, project overviews and proposals, gift handles, direct marketing resources, thank-you videos, etc.)
• Manage review and approval of communications and fundraising material before publication.
• Oversee outputs filed by CO, advising on content to improve quality of information.
• As needed, prepare and submit proposals and reports to private donors in collaboration with PFM and programme team and with approval of CDs and HCPs.
• Support country Communications Officers to provide creative-writing services with respect to private funding proposals, funding appeals and other direct fundraising support.
• Support country CO to review proposals and reports in collaboration with GSO, to ensure compliance on communication agreements.
• Be in close contact with communication representatives of institutional funders, particularly those based in the region, to regularly provide stories, photos, videos, press releases, and reports.
• Cover communications officer responsibilities and outputs in Middle East country programmes during staffing gaps.
• Be available to be seconded to emergency responses during emergencies or crises anywhere in the world for a two- to four-week assignment, and act as an emergency communications officer and crisis information focal point. Be able to provide communications and fundraising support from the field.

Media and Public Relations

• Liaise with local, regional, national and international media in the field. Work closely with the GSO Press Relations Officer, pitching stories and engaging media.
• Act as media spokesperson for Medair’s interests in close coordination with the Head of Country Programmes (HCP), Country Directors and the GSO Press Relations Officer. Be able to quickly convey and advise on strong and accurate messages and information through print and digital media.
• Officially represent Medair externally and increase Medair’s visibility and communications by attending communications forums and pursuing additional communications venues.
• Conduct media analysis in collaboration with GSO Press Relations Officer so priority channels and audiences are defined.
• Monitor local, regional and national press and events to be aware of and get information about local emergencies, high-level visits, surveys, reports, or any other topic.
• Develop key messages and provide media training in coordination with CO.
• Lead research, definition and regular review of key positioning for Medair both in-country/regionwide.
• Support the organisation of field visits of high profile visitors, photographers, journalists, or media crews. Draft terms of reference and contracts according to standard guidelines, and join as host.

Visibility and Co-branding Coordination

• Support country Communications Officers in advising programme staff on institutional donor marking visibility budgets, conditions, and requirements. Advise logistics staff on the correct design of field visibility items based on Medair’s Field Visibility Guidelines and institutional donor guidelines.

Internal Communication

• Assist field teams in developing tools and structures to pro-actively support internal communication within the programme, e.g., internal news, contributing to team meetings, acting as focal point.
• Committed to improving the functionality of the role by working closely with field teams and showing a willingness to adapt to changing environments.

Social Media

• Support country Communications Officers to conceptualise, facilitate, and produce short content updates and creative, interactive features on social media such as Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook in coordination with the Global Communications team.
• Develop plans for regional social media posts, to ensure compliance with donor requirements and fair representation across projects, implementing in coordination with Communications Officers/Assistants.
• Advise and support field teams on corrective action if needed regarding personal communications about Medair programmes from field staff (e.g., social media posts, personal websites, blogs, newsletters, etc.) to ensure strong brand reputation.

Team Spiritual Life

• Reflect the values of Medair with team members, local staff, beneficiaries, and external contacts.
• Work, live, and pray together in our Christian faith-based team settings. Fully contribute to the rich spiritual life of your team, including team devotions, prayers, and words of encouragement.
• Encouraged to join and contribute to Medair’s international prayer network.

This job description covers the main tasks that are anticipated. Other tasks may be assigned as necessary.

• Graduate/postgraduate/professional qualification in communications and marketing.
• Strong working knowledge of English (spoken and written).

  Everyone who works as an Internationally Recruited Staff in one of our field programmes must first successfully complete the Medair ROC. Read more for information, dates and related costs.

• 2 years of professional experience in media, communications, PR, marketing, or fundraising.
• Computer literate with good working knowledge of Microsoft Excel, Word, Publisher, and Outlook.
• Strong grasp of online social media tools and techniques.
• Keen to share information internally and provide training.
• Self-starter while being a team player. Ability to work alone (in terms of own objectives) yet in collaboration with others who are working towards different objectives.
• Passion for and understanding of humanitarian issues.
• Ability to dialogue with the media in written and verbal communication.
• Ability to relate well with people, and to establish rapport and trust with people who may be nervous or suspicious to share their story or have their photo taken.
• Excellent writing skills with the ability to target different audiences and to tailor outputs accordingly.
• Ability to process large amounts of technical information and to summarise and interpret it into layman’s language, identifying potential ‘human story’ angles and the most engaging aspects from a marketing perspective, against tight deadlines.
• Skilled photographer.