Communications and Membership Engagement Officer

Communications and Membership Engagement Officer

Eurodiaconia

Brussels, Belgium

Closing date for applications is Monday 29^th January 2024 09:00 CET.

However, we will review applications on a rolling basis and reserve the right to close applications if suitable candidates have been found before this date. We therefore encourage applicants to send their applications as soon as possible.

Interviews are foreseen to take place on the week starting on 5^th February.

Eurodiaconia is a European network of churches and Christian NGOs providing social and health care services and advocating for social justice. Together our membership represents the needs and unique experiences of 58 national and regional organisations in 32 countries.

Diakonia is Greek for service and in the biblical sense, this means service for and with people in need. Members’ activities facilitate social cohesion and inclusion through diaconal work – the provision of social and health services to young and old, people experiencing marginalisation, exclusion and poverty and situations of abuse as well as advocating for social justice.

Eurodiaconia creates a platform for diaconal actors to facilitate trans-national networking. It also creates a link between the regional, national and European levels, developing ideas and feeding into policies to combat social exclusion, isolation, poverty, injustice and inequalities.

Our Communications and Membership Engagement Officer will have already worked in communications for 2 – 3 years and have developed a passion for providing value driven content in a variety of mediums. You will be tech & digital savvy, with skills for engaging and connecting with people. You will understand and drive how strong advocacy content and communications re-enforce each other and be committed to working as part of a team to get our messages to key stake holders. You will also be passionate about supporting our members in their communications work and promoting their work at EU level.

Purpose of job: to lead Eurodiaconia’ s communications work so that we are impactful and visible.
Reporting to: Head of Engagement and Secretary General.
Line management: Communications Assistant.

Main tasks

• Develop, implement and regularly evaluate a communications strategy for Eurodiaconia that contributes to the objectives of the Eurodiaconia strategic plan;
• Through the implementation of the media elements of our strategy ensure positive coverage for Eurodiaconia in relevant general and Christian media;
• Produce media tools such as press releases, promotional communications etc.;
• Produce communications tools that promote our advocacy aims such as videos, infographics, newsletters, websites etc.;
• Provide and produce online content through a variety of social media channels and on our website;
• Work with graphic designers and printers to produce relevant communications materials such as the Annual Report, special publications etc.;
• Be responsible for the communications elements of our advocacy work in co-operation with the policy team;
• Ensure colleagues are trained in the use of social media for advocacy purposes;
• Ensure a corporate identity across all media and publications;
• Provide information on Eurodiaconia and its work to outside groups/individuals when necessary and host members in the Brussels secretariat.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Knowledge and Experience

• 2 – 3 years work in Communications, preferably in an NGO with advocacy work;
• A passion for communication, strong communication skills including all new media channels and a general gift for engaging and connecting with people;
• Sound experience of online and social media campaign strategy construction and implementation;
• Ability to draft an impactful communications strategy and to develop and implement a proactive plan for executing this;
• A strong sense of personal responsibility for leading projects and seeing them through to a successful conclusion on deadline, from constructing a retro-planning, to managing budget and supervising the work of external contractors and junior colleagues;
• Experience of managing organisational websites and social media profiles;
• Experience of design packages, WordPress, CMS, Piktochart, Mailchimp, html etc.;
• Experience in designing, producing and editing publications, working with designer/printers;
• Knowledge of branding/visual identity;
• Knowledge and experience of the engagement of non-governmental stakeholders in EU policy processes;
• Demonstratable evidence of achieving impact through communications;
• Knowledge of governance and membership structures in NGO’s and how it relates to membership management and development;
• Knowledge of social justice and its practical policy approach;
• Sympathy with the values of Diaconia in both practice and theory.

Skills/abilities

• Excellent writing and speaking skills;
• Experience of implementing communications and media strategies, delivering media coverage and raising visibility of an organisation;
• Strategic mind with creative ideas and proactive;
• Knowledge of key EU media;
• Excellent IT skills;
• Strong interpersonal skills and team work;
• Strong commitment to the goals of Eurodiaconia and to the principles of Diaconia;
• Excellent organization and coordination skills with an ability to manage multiple projects and tasks at one time;
• Sense of initiative and ability to be self-supporting;
• Fluency in English, knowledge of other languages an advantage;
• Sound understanding of working methods in membership-based organizations;
• Ability to travel.

How to apply

Please send a CV and cover letter outlining your experience and how you match the job description to recruitment@eurodiaconia.org. Cover letters should be no more than 2 pages in length. Please do not send any additional documentation such as references, certificates etc. Applicants should have the existing right to live and work in the European Union and we are not able to sponsor any work permits for this post. We are looking for candidates who can start as soon as possible and will review applications on a rolling basis so please apply as early as possible. Due to the high level of applications anticipated we will not be able to reply to each application. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interview.

The deadline for applications is Monday 29^th January 2024 09:00 CET. However, we will review applications on a rolling basis and may start interviews with suitable candidates before the deadline.