About

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive, recover, and rebuild their lives. The IRC has been working in Ethiopia for over 15 years implementing emergency and resilience programming in the areas of WASH, education, livelihoods, reproductive health, gender-based violence, and child and youth protection and development. In 2017, IRC provided services to approximately 405,200 refugees in 20 camps and more than one million vulnerable Ethiopians in seven regions.

Position Summary

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is seeking a Communications Officer to manage internal and external communications and visibility projects for the IRC Ethiopia country program. He or she will be responsible for designing and delivering a range of communications products, including country office fact sheets, VIP visit briefing materials, program success stories, photos and videos, interviews with beneficiaries, blog posts for the IRC’s website, interviewing and writing staff profiles, among other tasks. He or she will be expected to develop and maintain a communications strategy for the country program, train staff on communications approaches, and be accountable for meeting IRC Ethiopia’s contractual donor visibility requirements. The Communications Officer will report to the Sr. Grants and Partnership Coordinator and work closely with the Deputy Director of Programs, Deputy Director of Emergencies, other IRC Ethiopia staff members, and the IRC’s regional and HQ communications staff.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop, update, and implement an internal and external communications strategy for IRC Ethiopia;
• Lead in designing and developing information and visibility materials, such as fact sheets, briefing papers, brochures, posters, as well as website material;
• Develop and track implementation of donor visibility and branding plans for the all IRC Ethiopia programming. 
• Help IRC country program staff to proactively prepare for communications needs contribuing to overall better information flow and coordination of all programming; 
• Be in regular contact with communication and advocacy staff based at headquarters and provide relevant information for IRC’s global communications products;
• Work with HQ teams on media campaigns to raise global awareness of humanitarian needs for all IRC program activities in Ethiopia;
• Proactively seek out interesting stories from programs, initiating or accompanying field visits to collect high-quality photos, quotes and audio and video material suitable for use in media and communication products;
• Train and coach program staff on external communications and how to spot and share relevant information, data, and human interest stories from their work to convey the project’s success and impact on clients’ lives;
• Maintain and analyze data on the scale and reach of communication products.

Job Requirements

Qualification and Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (journalism, humanitarian affairs, etc.) and at least two years of relevant work experience or 1-year experience with MA;
• Work experience in communications, journalism, or documentation, ideally for an international humanitarian organization;
• Demonstrated experience producing public relations and/or visibility materials in different media;
• Understanding of the humanitarian context in Ethiopia and knowledge of Ethiopia’s regions;
• Experience with websites and blogs highly desirable;
• Experience in conducting trainings and workshops would be an asset;
• Fluency in spoken and written English required;
• Strong written communication and editing skills (including creative writing) with the ability to make complex information and data accessible to non-experts;
• Computer literacy: Proficiency in MS Word, MS PowerPoint and MS Publishing or other publishing software required with experience in graphic design/layout for publications desirable;
• Must be proactive, a good team player, open to criticism, and be results-oriented;
• Ability to coordinate and liaise between colleagues from different technical areas across various levels (local/regional, country level, global) of the organization and across partner organizations;
• Ability to operate in a fast-paced environment and prioritize tasks;
• Experience with photography, videography, and script-writing highly desirable;
• Must be culturally and gender-sensitive both in personal interactions and communication.

How to Apply 

Candidates who meet the above qualifications; please send your CV and application letter through IRC career site.

External

Internal

Your application letter/cover letter must include the following information.

• Name of the position you have applied for
• Date of application
• Summary of your qualifications and experience
• Motivation/objective of why you have applied for the job
• Please include at least 2 references from current and former supervisors.

Female candidates are highly encouraged to apply!

IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status or disability.

Standards of Professional Conduct: The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and carries out policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

Gender Equality: IRC is committed to narrowing the gender gap in leadership positions. We offer benefits that provide an enabling environment for women to participate in our workforce including parental leave, gender-sensitive security protocols and other supportive benefits and allowances

Equal Opportunity Employer: IRC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. IRC considers all applicants on the basis of merit without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age, marital status, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.