Director of emergency communications

Purpose of position

This position is be responsible for setting strategic direction for Partnership communications response to sudden onset, chronic emergencies and fragile states responses. It leads the development of a new global emergency communications strategy to ensure first mover advantage and ownership of the emergency in the first two hours of onset in the media and digital domain through to long-term communications around humanitarian accountability and disaster risk reduction. It contributes to Objective 3: Authoritative Voice for Change and Objective 1: Grassroots to Global communications.

This Director will lead SO, RO and GRRT (matrixed) co-ordination around emergencies to ensure first mover advantage, public awareness and ongoing accountability. He or she will be responsible for gaining maximum public awareness (ensuring both high profile on and offline and social media coverage) consistency of messaging/positioning, and ensuring the collection and utilization of information, content and other resources produced by field-based specialised, and largely indigenous communications and HEA staff for the full life cycle of an emergency to meet both media and marketing needs. This role will also be responsible for ensuring internal information flow and communication around responses and alignment with Marketing, Advocacy and HEA.

The benefits of this position will be evidenced in part by a resulting increase in consistent and reliable streams of funding support to the WV HEA global emergency response infrastructure and programming, along with the enhanced global reputation and donor accountability of World Vision.

Key responsibilities

20%:
- SET strategic direction for Partnership communication response to sudden onset and high profile and chronic emergencies worldwide, providing global co-ordination of proactive on and offline media and social media campaigns to ensure maximum public awareness to support fundraising and policy change, contributing to Objective 3: Authoritative Voice for Change

End Results Expected:
- End-to-end strategies developed for Partnership-wide communications around sudden onset and high profile emergencies from ownership of the emergency in the first two hours of onset in the media and digital domain through to long-term communications around humanitarian accountability.
- Strong effective and integrated campaigns that drive public awareness around emergencies, developed in consultation with global marketing advocacy and HEA.
- Partnership-wide media and public advocacy strategies, messages and spokespersons are effectively defined and positioned for humanitarian emergencies and consistent across both marketing and communications.
- Working with Director of Field Communications to ensure the delivery and positioning of field-based/field-driven content, messaging and spokespersons for key Partnership and HEA-specific fundraising, media and advocacy opportunities.
- Robust delivery of news, information, stories and visuals to WVI digital platforms and key external platforms including Reuters Alertnet and UN OCHA’s ReliefWeb.

25%:
- LEAD the global development and implementation of a new Humanitarian Emergency Communications strategy, systems and workplans, with matrixed functional leadership of regional emergency communications advisors and global rapid response communications managers (see note), contributing to Objective 1: grassroots to global communications.
End Results Expected:
- Aligned and improved emergency communications workplans, systems, teams and recruitments to ensure first mover advantage in the first 2 hours.
- Liaison with Director of Field Communications to develop/pilot field- and community-based innovations to effectively leverage new digital technologies, platforms, social media, audience experience and community voice from the early onset of an emergency.
- Increased delivery of high-value and evidence-based content (information, stories, visuals and casual assets) from the frontlines of WVI humanitarian emergency operations
- Strategic communications and content delivery for corporate and donor engagement, new product development, resource acquisition, cause-related marketing, and enhanced brand awareness by/for HEA
- Globally matrixed business processes, accountabilities and performance metrics for WVI emergency communications teams
- More strategic integration of humanitarian emergency communications into HEA and Global Communications business processes, marketing and brand-building
- Marketing and media expertise and spokespersons on the ground in emergency zones for the more timely and strategic meeting of global media, donor and corporate engagement opportunities

20%:
- LEAD the building of emergency communications core competencies, standards, protocols, and capacity-building initiatives at global, regional and national levels of Partnership humanitarian operations; contributing to Objective 5: World class global communications.
End Results Expected:
- Globally established/mandated core competencies, standards, protocols, and capacity-building initiatives (supported by a new e-learning Communications Academy)
- Qualified indigenous emergency communications staff who can leverage key media and fundraising opportunities (while reducing Partnership reliance on roster-deployed communicators)
- Enhanced communications capacity by emergency-impacted and relief-focused field offices – commensurate with global media interest (and non-dependent on the World Vision emergency declaration system)
- Core competencies of indigenous emergency communications staff are built through trainings, secondments, deployments and tools-sharing.

20%:
- LEAD the definition and delivery of new products within “HEA contexts” that will demonstrate Partnership delivery on donor promise from emergency locations and life cycles to external audiences, major donors, media and other constituencies.
End Results Expected:
- Pre-created, globalised and repurposeable HEA marketing products to engage and build support of major donors, corporates, churches in World Vision’s emergency responses
- New WV-HEA branded communications products and applications for consumer smartphones, tablets and laptops
- Community-based blogs, podcasts and other digital products are conceived and delivered from emergencies.

10%:
- LEAD the mobilization of Partnership expertise, collaboration and deployments in global communications of chronic and national level responses with high media profile.

End Results Expected:
- Collaborative workplans and activities of 2 HEA-GRRT and 3-5 regional emergency communications managers
- Strategic relationships are built and managed with key organisational constituencies, stakeholders and communities of practice
- Managed international co-ordination ensuring equitable and fair management of Partnership needs including timely allocation of spokespeople and provision of appropriate content in relevant languages (including liasion with President’s office on relevant positioning).

5%:
- Develop strategies to raise awareness of humanitarian accountability and disaster risk reduction.
End Results Expected:
- Positioning/key messaging for the Partnership around humanitarian accountability are developed – participating in sector wide groups e.g., SCHR to develop sector-wide responses.
- Develop positioning and strategies to raise awareness of measures to mitigate the effect of repeated natural disasters on vulnerable communities.

Knowledge, skills and abilities

- REQUIRED: Bachelor's degree in journalism, communications or public relations and master's degree in communications or international studies, or the equivalent experience
- Understanding of humanitarian and faith-based issues and causes addressed by World Vision, respective to global and community-based development, relief and advocacy.
- Demonstrated experience in strategic international communications leadership, planning, and team performance management, within the humanitarian and/or non-profit fields
- Additional work experience required as a minimum qualification for this position.
- Demonstrated awareness of challenges/complexities of the contexts in which the GRRT operates.
- Experience of, and understanding of the challenges inherent in, influencing and ensuring performance across a range of contexts and geographies beyond direct line management.

- PREFERRED: Capacity-building expertise in relief communications with multi-cultural teams