Public Relations Officer

Position description

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a neutral, independent, and impartial humanitarian organization seeking to protect and assist people affected by armed conflict and other situations of violence. Formed in 1863, the ICRC was at the origin of international humanitarian law (IHL) and of the world’s largest humanitarian network, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

The ICRC Regional Delegation for the U.S. & Canada, based in Washington, D.C., is at the heart of our efforts to deliver on the ICRC’s mandate, working to secure much needed and widespread support, influence, and partnerships for our work in conflict zones. We cultivate relationships with U.S. government agencies, civil society, donors, and the media. The team also works closely with our partners such as the American Red Cross and the Canadian Red Cross.

Purpose

With a focus on domestic, regional, and global reach, the Public Relations Officer is responsible for developing and executing narratives, content, and engagement strategies to advance ICRC’s positioning, influence and engagement objectives on key thematic and programmatic areas of work.

The Public Relations Officer works with the Head of Communications & Public Affairs in Washington, D.C. (70%) and supports the Head of Communications and Public Diplomacy in New York (30%) in putting in place editorial plans to position the ICRC on global priority themes and contexts, developing clear public messaging and coordinating roll-out plans across media relations and other channels.

Proactively engaging with media counterparts, the Public Relations Officer will build a network of contacts and develop constructive relationships with traditional and non-traditional media representatives, correspondents, journalists, and producers across the United States and Canada, with a strong focus on international desks of top tier media outlets; foster strong relationships with members of the UN press pool.

They also support, manage, and plan for crises communications, media relations opportunities and public communications support to senior leadership.

Based in Washington, D.C., the role will require frequent travel to New York in order to foster relationships with NY-based journalists, and support the New York delegation during regular high-level visits and key UN events.

Main Responsibilities and Accountabilities

• Create and coordinate the roll-out of integrated strategies to publicly profile ICRC, working closely with relevant team members at the delegation, regional and global levels to craft public communication plans in line with main objectives.
• Act as a spokesperson for the U.S. and Canada, along with Heads of Delegations in WAS and NYC as well as Head of Communications and Public Affairs in WAS and Head of Communications and Public Diplomacy in NYC, providing information on the ICRC’s activities and humanitarian concerns.
• Together with Public Relation Officers across the globe and at our Geneva headquarters, act as a focal point for the “follow the sun” crisis communications, including the ability to work outside of working hours when necessary.
• Ensure the development of compelling public messaging/narratives, and media/public relations partnership opportunities to proactively position the organization effectively with key audiences around designated priority issues.
• Oversee the preparation of well-written, targeted public communications materials and products, ensuring the team provides strategic advice on using media and public positioning for influence.
• Support the Head of Communications & Public Affairs in the overall coordination and planning of public communications output across all public channels.
• Manage the editorial calendar, ensuring follow-up and coordination of planned activities across channels.
• Manage requests incoming from different HQ Units concerning thematic public communications output.
• Network externally with media and other influential organizations with the aim of expanding ICRC’s profiling opportunities.
• Produce editorial content for priority webpages in main languages, coordinating across the network.
• Develop senior leadership profiling plans and opportunities to shape and promote high-level messages and generate media opportunities related to contexts and themes. This includes acting as coordinating focal point for high-profile senior leadership visits and events.
• Organize media events such as media stakeouts, press briefings, press conferences or other as needed.
• Ability to deliver high-quality results under time pressure.
• May be asked to perform tasks not covered in this job description and to provide support to other departments when necessary.

Required Minimum Skills & Experience

• University degree or equivalent (preferably master’s level) in a relevant field such as communications, public relations, international relations, or journalism.
• At least 10 years’ work experience in a relevant field.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills in English, fluent in Spanish highly desirable, and fluent in other languages highly valued.
• Editorial mind-set with attention to detail.
• Extensive and proven track record in communications, operating as a journalist and/or as other communications professional.
• International experience working for a humanitarian or similar organization a definite asset.
• In-depth knowledge of working with U.S. political, policy and media institutions.
• Proven ability in strategy development and implementation.
• In depth awareness of digital communications, social media platforms, metrics, and analytics.
• Good awareness of international geopolitics and trends in modern conflict.
• Problem-solving mindset and ability to operate in a complex matrix organization.
• Experience of working in a complex organization, and being a strong relationship builder who can demonstrate a high-level of diplomacy when engaging and negotiating with internal and external stakeholders to develop new activities and projects.
• Able to handle confidential and sensitive information, exercising discretion, maturity, and good judgment.
• Ability to master complex briefs quickly.
• Knowledge of International Humanitarian Law an advantage.
• Excellent interpersonal, networking and planning/organizational skills.
• Willingness to travel to countries where the ICRC is operational for some short missions.

As part of our efforts to continue to ensure the safety and protection of our employees against COVID-19, all staff members are required to be fully vaccinated. Upon employment acceptance, new employees must produce proof of COVID-19 vaccination.

Application instructions

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