Global Media Coordinator

The Global Media Coordinator will join the newly established Global Communications team working to maximise DRC’s presence across a range of global media – print, broadcast and digital – with an additional remit to support and guide media relations activity across DRC regional offices. The post holder will be expected to use strong news judgement skills to react quickly and strategically to the international news agenda, and proactively develop and secure coverage for stories that position DRC as the go-to development and humanitarian organisation supporting refugees and displaced communities.

Tasks include:

• Develop and own relationships with key global media outlets, building and promoting DRC’s external profile as a leading humanitarian organisation.
• Support comms colleagues across DRC country offices and regions to promote our work and priority issues in their respective national markets. This includes developing key media messaging, content and handling advice.
• Building regional and country office capacity, by providing technical advice, guidance and quality improvement coaching, to further media outreach, both globally and at point of impact.
• The role is primarily to support external communications. However, the post holder is expected to work collaboratively which requires flexibility and transferable skills.
• The post holder will report to the Head of Global Communications.

Accountabilities

• Using strong news judgement and knowledge of the global media landscape, build relationships with a wide range of journalists at influential global media outlets, resulting in consistent high-quality media coverage.
• Develop, deliver and evaluate media and communication strategies to raise the profile of DRC’s programmes, and our fundraising, policy, advocacy and influencing campaigns.
• Proactively spot opportunities to respond to the news agenda and position DRC as a key humanitarian organisation – drafting spokesperson quotes, social media posts and press releases at speed and co-ordinating quick signoff.
• Respond quickly and effectively to calls and emails from journalists, liaising with our technical experts and country/regional office colleagues to provide a timely service to global media. This will include being part of an on-call media rota during evenings and weekends.
• Maintain an up-to-date list of expert and spokespeople across key subject areas and operational countries/regions.
• Provide briefings and training for media spokespeople, as required.
• Produce high-quality media content, working both remotely, and when possible, travelling to programme countries. This could include interviewing case studies and/or DRC experts, organising photography or ghost-writing blogs/op-eds.
• Develop a range of innovative media packages and pitch these to print, broadcast and online media. Work with other offices across DRC to ensure content can be used across all channels, owned and earned.
• Ensure the comms team’s work is visible across DRC, attending and contributing to meetings and working groups, and compiling highlight presentations.
• Undertake reasonable additional duties and responsibilities as requested by the Head of Global Strategic Communications.

About you

The position holder will need to be confident representing DRC externally to the media, and excellent at working collaboratively across all levels of a large, global organisation. All employees should master DRC’s core competencies: Communicating, Taking the lead, Collaborating, Striving for excellence and Demonstrating integrity. We are looking for someone who can motivate, influence and rally colleagues from a diverse range of backgrounds and areas of expertise, including:

• Proactively developing and managing relationships with key journalists and influential global media outlets.
• Working collaboratively with media and communications leads at Country Offices, Regional Communications leads, playing a full part in our collaborative teams across the organisation.
• Liaison with programme experts and technical specialists, particularly Emergency, humanitarian, and advocacy colleagues, for creation of strategic content that positions DRC as a leading humanitarian organisation and thought leader on refugees and displacement issues.

Technical expertise, skills and knowledge

• Proven experience working in a busy news/media organisation or in a PR/media relations team
• Excellent verbal and writing skills in English, with the ability to produce punchy news copy and to adapt writing style to meet the needs of different audiences and media outlets
• Proven success at developing and placing media stories – from identifying an idea, to collating the relevant information and assets and securing high quality coverage
• Ability to build productive relationships with journalists, and to creatively and tenaciously pitch stories to the media
• Strong knowledge of global media outlets, their ways of working, audiences and requirements
• Ability to work quickly and flexibly under pressure, and motivating and supporting colleagues to do the same
• Ability to persuade, lobby and influence peers and colleagues and form productive relationships and contacts
• Experience of tailoring communications to different audiences and channels, including media, social media and digital
• An understanding of ethical storytelling and how safeguarding applies to media and communications work
• Experience interviewing and working with programme participants in a sensitive way, that honours the principle of “do no harm”
• Strong understanding of humanitarian and development issues and rights-based work
• Ability to work independently and on own initiative, with the strong organisational skills to manage a wide and varied workload
• Ability to work enthusiastically as part of a team, and to form collaborative working relationships both internally and externally

Source: https://candidate.hr-manager.net/ApplicationInit.aspx?cid=1036&ProjectId=171987&DepartmentId=19155&MediaId=5