Regional Director of Communications and Advocacy

With over 70 years of experience, our focus is on helping the most vulnerable children overcome poverty and experience fullness of life. We help children of all backgrounds, even in the most dangerous places, inspired by our Christian faith.

Come join our 34,000+ staff working in nearly 100 countries and share the joy of transforming vulnerable children’s life stories!

 

Employee Contract Type:

Local – Fixed Term Employee (Fixed Term) 

Job Description:

REGIONAL DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS & ADVOCACY – MEER

 

PURPOSE OF POSITION

The Regional Director of Communications and Advocacy is responsible for the strategic direction and successful implementation of communications, advocacy and external engagement work across the Middle East and Eastern European region (MEER) ensuring agile, high quality, high impact, solutions-driven and brand-aligned outcomes.

 

The Director will lead WV MEER efforts to influence, raise awareness and understanding among key stakeholders of the needs of vulnerable children, families and communities across the region, leveraging the societal, political and environmental challenges which impact the wellbeing of children, and of World Vision’s development and humanitarian interventions, demonstrating evidence of impact of work implemented across the region.

 

The Director will contribute to enhancing World Vision’s organisational capacity to effectively position the organisation as a leading relief, development and advocacy agency in the region, and will work closely with senior leadership to coordinate and lead World Vision’s external engagement on regional issues.  The role will lead efforts to strengthen World Vision’s brand, reputation, and influence, building trust with audiences for greater organisational impact and income. The role holder will also lead rapid, real-time Communications & Advocacy response for emergency/crisis situations in the region.

 

The role holder will further support Field Offices in successful delivery of their respective advocacy and policy goals. This involves providing strategic input, support and direction to National Offices to fulfil their strategies, including communicating their evidence base, ensuring effective local and national level advocacy, hearing and communicating the voices of children and that the campaign is integrated across all sectors and functional areas at the national level.

 

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

 

Strategic Leadership

-The director leads and executes an integrated communications, advocacy and public engagement strategy and business plan to build World Vision’s reputation and brand with key audiences, tell our story and support key advocacy priorities in MEER.

-Advises and supports the Regional Leader/Senior Director of Operations and the regional team on effective public positioning of World Vision

-Oversees the development of communications and advocacy plans in National Offices (NO) to ensure they are appropriate to context and in alignment with Our Promise

-Directs response communications and advocacy, guiding NOs in humanitarian emergencies and political, social, economic and environmental crises to ensure Partnership media, fundraising and advocacy needs are met through provision of targeted content, messaging and media spokespersons.

-Advises leadership and National Directors in field programmes across the region on strategic reputation, internal and external positioning, advocacy issues, technical branding, global branding, and communications opportunities to elevate understanding, performance, and accountability across the region.

-Lead WV’s engagement with the regional bodies and regional civil society networks to influence national policy agenda related to child wellbeing objectives and child rights agenda.

-Lead process of review and strengthening the application of advocacy models in disaster response.

 

 

Technical Advocacy and External Engagement

 

-Mobilises stakeholders to drive the region’s advocacy agenda and influences other units to ensure that advocacy priorities and understood and embedded where possible.

-Represent MEER in regional and global fora as necessary to achieve MEER advocacy goals.

-Provides platforms to hear the voices of children to influence change and communicate impact.

-Influences national leadership to pursue a child-focused humanitarian advocacy agenda that is aligned with global advocacy strategies and positioning.

-Champion the policy work of country-level advocacy and policy staff and program staff providing training when necessary and ensuring that country-focused information and materials are widely disseminated within the organization, as well as with relevant external stakeholders.

-Champions the global campaign ENOUGH, plus agreed Global Moments and WV contribution towards Sustainable Development Goals and Social Accountability ensuring effective take up across national offices.

-Develops and executes a strategic research and analysis agenda on emerging issues and the region’s metanarrative that will enhance child wellbeing.

-Builds a strong network of bilateral strategic relationships within the humanitarian community and civil society to influence external actors, such as donors, UN agencies, and government ministries

 

 

Reputation Risk Management

 

– As the regional focal point on reputation risk management in the region, the role identifies, assesses, and coordinates World Vision responses to current or risk potential issues.

-Escalates major issues and coordinates with the Global Centre risk unit as part of the Integrated Risk Management approach.

-Socialises a proactive risk management approach with leaders across the region, identifying opportunities to build reputation and decrease impact of specific risk issues.

 

 

Media/Social Media

 

– Engages media across the region, together with national media focal points in coordination with Partnership media managers, to maximise positioning opportunities with targeted outlets, developing regional spokespersons and messaging as needed.

-Directs an aligned and engaging digital presence at regional and national level that leverages World Vision’s global brand, regional value proposition and field ministry impact.

-Oversees an effective and globally aligned insights and metrics framework for media and social media efforts.

 

 

Content Management

 

– Provides oversight of region-wide production of high-quality, child-focused content/multi-media packages to meet World Vision’s priority audience needs, including advocacy and external engagement, grant acquisition and other fundraising and resource development activities.

– Promotes wise stewardship of resources through content sharing and trip and assignment planning and coordination.

 

 

 

Internal Engagement

 

– Leads the development and implementation of an internal engagement approach and plan that connects, informs and inspires leaders and staff across the region around World Vision’s local to global ministry.

 

Team Management and Coordination

 

– Line-manage a core team of three straddling both communications and advocacy functions.

– Region-wide coordination and management of national teams, through a matrix relationship will include coordination with national leadership to ensure that teams are high performing, equipped to deliver on Partnership priorities and advising on capacity gaps.

– Contribute to development of global policies, guidelines and standards relating to communications and advocacy and provide leadership in contextualizing and mainstreaming them within the region through L2G mechanisms and similar coordination vehicles.

 

 

General

 

– Lead and support Christian activities that enrich and develop mutual growth in Christ.

– Perform any other tasks assigned by Line Manager, Functional Manager, Regional Leader.

 

 

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS

– University degree in Communications, Marketing, International Affairs, Policy & Advocacy, Political Science, or any other relevant field. Masters degree is preferred.

– Excellent oral and written (English) communications as well as (presentation, written, verbal) and numerical skills.

– Training, coaching, and editing skills.

– High level of awareness of global and regional socio-economic, political, and environmental issues.

– HEAT Training.

– Competent in the use of Microsoft Office computer programs including Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

– Fluent English is essential; knowledge of one or more regional languages is an asset.

– Arabic highly regarded.

– At least 10 years professional experience in global communications, media, or public affairs.

– At least 10 years of increasingly responsible professional experience responding to complex humanitarian crises and/or post-conflict situations, with a track record of delivering change through highly impactful policy, advocacy, and communications strategies.

– In-depth understanding of key aspects of child right, advocacy and campaigns, demonstrable understanding of the essentials of transformational development and humanitarian programming across a variety of contexts

– A keen understanding of political complexities in the MENA and Europe regions is required; previous experience working in the Middle East is preferred.

– Experience in high level government, IO & UN representation.

– Demonstrated understanding of international development and humanitarian (relief) systems, and communication/donor networks working in fragile contexts.

– Experience in technical branding, and developing policy and advocacy messaging, initiatives and analysis.

– Strong track record in media relations/crisis, creating constructive relationships and having the confidence to represent the organisation in the media.

– Ability to react very quickly to disasters and provide strategic and operational advice on handling them.

– Experience negotiating with multiple business units in a large and complex federated structure.

– A demonstrable track record of critical and analytic thought that influences organisational direction and change and forges strong partnerships.

– Demonstrable track record of developing and executing external communications within scope and budget to positively impact the organisation’s influence and visibility.

– Demonstrated experience leading effective digital communications, including social media and an understanding of relevant tools and trends.

– Proven ability to effectively team and project-manage to deliver outcomes on time and on budget.

– Strong interpersonal, collaborative, negotiating, networking and organizational skills.

– Experience linking communication outputs with fundraising, especially in a non-profit setting.

 

 

PREFERRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS

– Experience leading a team in the international humanitarian & development sectors.

– Background/familiarity in disasters and crises, especially in fragile contexts.

– Able to enable an efficient, effective, and transparent flow of information, across entities and with key stakeholders (requiring high levels of written communication and reporting as well as clear and persuasive verbal presentation style).

– Experience negotiating with multiple business units in a large (37k+ employees) federated structure, preferably in a matrix management environment.

– Ability to manage high level internal and external stakeholders in complex emergency situations.

– Knowledge in photography, graphic and website design.

– Solid/advanced work experience at a similar level, leading communications, advocacy and public engagement strategies in the NGO or private sector

 

 

TRAVEL AND/OR WORK ENVIRONMENT REQUIREMENT

 

– The position requires ability and willingness to travel domestically and internationally up to 30% of the time.

– May need to work with other virtual teams of different time zones.

 

Applicant Types Accepted:

Local Applicants Only