Head Of Region Jobs in Europe
This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced senior communications and media professional to lead International Alert’s global Communications team.
We are hiring this role at a pivotal time for Alert, as we implement our new organisational strategy. The postholder will have a unique opportunity to lead delivery of our global communications strategy, supporting the delivery of our organisational objectives and ensuring we maximise our peacebuilding impact.
The role will work in close collaboration with our country, regional and policy teams to deliver high-quality, impactful communications about peacebuilding in the places we work and on key topics such as the climate crisis, women’s and LGBT+ inclusion, and conflict-sensitive investment, centering the voices of the people and partners with whom we work.
You’ll be an excellent communicator and strategic thinker, with experience of delivery of communications across a range of channels and media. You will be responsible for driving up Alert’s visibility and profile and maintaining relationships with journalists, bringing with you good knowledge of the media landscape and excellent contacts.
You’ll have great interpersonal skills, able to work with people inside and outside the organisation across a range of geographies and backgrounds. You’ll be comfortable advising senior leadership within Alert and adept at identifying opportunities to raise Alert’s profile. You’ll be a good people manager, able to lead and motivate a team, and have experience of managing budgets.
Role duties and responsibilities:
Strategy and planning
- Develop and implement a three year communications strategy for Alert, in line with the organisational strategy, ensuring consultation and collaboration with Alert’s global and country teams
- Work closely with country teams to support the development of in-country communications strategies, ensuring regular co-ordination with country level communications colleagues
- Set clear objectives and KPIs for Alert’s communications work, developing robust frameworks for monitoring and reporting, and linking these to delivery of the communications strategy
Media relations
- Develop and deliver a media strategy, in line with Alert’s programme priorities, influencing and funding strategies;
- Lead on cultivating new and foster existing relations with key contacts in the media, building Alert’s credibility and ensuring effective working relationships with journalists;
- Lead on delivery of media strategy for discrete projects, developing plans, drafting key messages and press releases, identifying and working with target journalists and setting parameters for success.
- Lead on Alert’s response to breaking news stories and events, working with senior staff to develop appropriate responses
- Lead on crisis communications for Alert, drafting and holding the crisis communications protocol, representing the communications team on the Crisis Management Group, supporting and advising senior staff, and ensuring regular media training for relevant staff
- Proactively identify opportunities for coverage of Alert’s work in UK, European and international media, as well as by national/regional media in countries/regions where Alert works, and maximise profile opportunities for Alert’s spokespeople and experts;
- Manage and monitor the media email account and media phone, including out-of-hours media calls.
Content, branding and profile
- Ensure robust sign-off processes, comprehensive policies and quality systems to facilitate the work of programme and/or country teams and to ensure that all Alert’s communications are consistent with Alert’s brand, coherent in tone and messages, and high in quality;
- Lead a brand review for Alert in line with the new organisational strategy, including robust audience testing
- Oversee the maintenance and implementation of Alert’s brand guidelines, supporting the marketing and publications officer to ensure brand consistency across all of Alert’s work
- Work collaboratively with other organisations and deepen relationships with donors and funders to increase the profile and visibility of Alert and the peacebuilding sector.
Events and outreach
- Ensure excellent profiling and positioning of Alert’s brand, image and impact throughout Alert’s external communications and events;
- Oversee the design, planning and implementation of specific activities or events and campaigns using a variety of media, and ensure that opportunities for contributing to Alert’s funding, media and influencing strategies and building/maintaining excellent relations with potential supporters and contacts are optimised for each event;
- Ensure that all Alert outputs are disseminated successfully, using different media and messages to reach out to and engage different target audiences, and that dissemination strategies and budgets are set for each output.
Digital communications
- Support the Senior Digital Engagement Officer to develop an annual content plan that reflects the requirements of the strategy and delivers against its objectives
- Maintain understanding of and engagement with the latest digital trends and approaches, ensuring Alert is compliant with relevant regulations
- Oversee the development of a digital plan and ensure it contributes to Alert’s programme priorities, influencing and funding strategies;
- Ensure the furthering of Alert’s reach and profile through more effective and targeted use of the website, digital marketing and social media channels
Programmatic communications
- Support programme and country teams in strengthening their communications and outreach, and facilitate the development of their own communications and influencing strategies;
- Identify deficiencies and gaps in programmes’ communications capacity, skills and materials and make plans to remedy them as appropriate;
- Ensure that quality trainings are provided for programmes, country teams and partner organisations on relevant aspects of communications;
- Provide quality technical assistance and advice to programme and country teams for project planning, proposals and reporting, ensuring communications is incorporated into programme design and budgets.
Line management, budget management and organisational leadership
- Line manage the Communications team staff, and interns, volunteers and consultants where appropriate, setting clear and manageable workplans, ensuring structured, regular support and supervision, and tailored personal development plans;
- Ensure strong team co-ordination and support, with regular team meetings and awaydays
- Accompany, mentor and functionally supervise communications staff in programmes teams;
- Set, manage and monitor the Advocacy and Communications budget, ensuring robust oversight of spend and adherence to finance and procurement policies;
- Work closely with the Director of Policy, Advocacy and Communications to review and strengthen communications strategy and delivery, developing strong relationships with the Senior Policy and Advocacy Officer and the GPU Director to ensure advocacy and communications objectives are co-ordinated and complementary;
- Ensure efficient team-wide communications and knowledge management, and contribute to organisation-wide communications, knowledge management, events and discussions on related topics/projects;
- Deputise for the Director of Policy, Advocacy and Communications where appropriate.
Please note that the above are just some of the role requirements. For the full role requirements, view the job description.
All applicants must have existing and permanent right to work in the United Kingdom.
International Alert prides itself on being an equal opportunity employer and particularly welcomes applications from underrepresented people including women, people from the Global South, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ people, disabled people, and other historically marginalised people.
While International Alert will endeavour to contact all candidates within a reasonable time, this may not always be possible due to limited resources.Therefore, if you have not heard from us within two weeks of the closing date, you can assume your application has, on this occasion, been unsuccessful.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Islamic Relief Worldwide is an independent humanitarian and development organisation, serving humanity for over 40 years. With an active presence in over 40 countries across the globe, we strive to make the world a better and fairer place for those affected by poverty, conflict and natural disasters.
IRW’s Network Resource and Development Division is recruiting for the position of ‘Communications Capacity Building Manager’ to join its dynamic Global Family Development team on a full-time, permanent basis, to based out of any of our IR offices globally.
The Communications Capacity Building Manager reports directly to the Global Content Manager and supports the development and implementation of the content vision and strategy. The job holder works primarily with communications colleagues and Country Directors in IR country and hybrid offices to build their capacity and capability in communications, content gathering, media, brand awareness raising and local public engagement. The job holder also works with Member and other IRW stakeholders to ensure the capacity and capabilities in country offices are appropriate for meeting their requirements and business needs.
The role holder also facilitates appropriate communications training for field office staff and acts as an advisor to communications leads in field offices.
The successful candidate must have or be:
· A degree level qualification in communications or a marketing discipline.
· Qualification(s) in media applications would be advantageous.
· Experience in public engagement - communications, fundraising and/or marketing - role(s) within the INGO sector.
· Experience in building and developing use of traditional, new and emerging media channels, technologies and tools especially digital media.
· Experience in visual and other forms of content gathering, curation and dissemination ideally in an international context.
· Experience of managing, overseeing, guiding and coordinating the work of others.
· Proven track record as a project manager, operating within a team with budgetary responsibility and delivering results across a range of activities.
· Experience of managing, building, guiding, training and influencing teams to work collaboratively to a high standard.
· Experience of developing creative brand awareness, fundraising and other marketing campaigns for a variety of audiences.
· Experience of working with multiple stakeholders, within an environment of competing deadlines.
· Understanding of the range of audiences that Islamic Relief wants to communicate with
· Understanding of the purposes, strategies and tools for gathering content for use across range of communications media.
· Demonstrate and continuously develops knowledge of the latest technology for content gathering or curation.
· Fluent written and spoken English. Working knowledge of Arabic, French or Spanish is advantageous.
· Demonstrate strong relationship-building skills; the ability to establish effective working relationships with people of all working styles and backgrounds.
· Sound financial and resource management skills that ensure that goals can be achieved
within budgetary constraints.
· Exceptional team-working and interpersonal skills including the ability to effectively consult, listen to and influence others as well as the ability to work across different cultures with individuals who face competing demands.
· Strong ability to work calmly under pressure to tight deadlines and balance competing priorities.
· Results focused; able to plan, co-ordinate and deliver on objectives and targets with a positive drive to achieve results.
· Willingness to work autonomously and take the initiative.
· Demonstrable experience of understanding and applying marketing related theoretical concepts
For more information, please click on the Documents tab above to view the full Job Description.
If you are talented, reliable, service-minded, resilient and a highly motivated professional looking for a meaningful career, with a strong commitment to IRW’s mission and values of sincerity, excellence, compassion, social justice and custodianship, please apply by completing our online application form.
For more information on the excellent company benefits we offer our employees, please visit our website.
PLEASE NOTE: Interviews are expected to take place on 24/04/2024.
Pre-employment Checks:
Any employment with Islamic Relief will be subject to the following checks:
- screening clearance
- proof of eligibility to live and work within the UK (if applicable)
- receipt of satisfactory references
Our values and commitment to safeguarding
IRW is committed to preventing any type of unwanted behaviour at work including sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse, lack of integrity and financial misconduct; and committed to promoting the welfare of children, young people, adults and beneficiaries with whom IRW engages. IRW expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment through our code of conduct. We place a high priority on ensuring that only those who share and demonstrate our values are recruited to work for us.
The post holder will undertake the appropriate level of training and is responsible for ensuring that they understand and work within the safeguarding policies of the organisation.
All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which can include criminal records checks. IRW also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme.
In line with this Scheme, we will request information from job 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 his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures.
Islamic Relief is an equal opportunities employer
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.