Associate, Communications

ABOUT VILLAGEREACH

VillageReach transforms health care delivery to reach everyone, so that each person has the health care needed to thrive. We develop solutions that improve equity and access to primary health care**.** This includes making sure products are available when and where they are needed and primary health care services are delivered to the most under-reached. Radical collaboration with governments, the private sector and other partners strengthen our ability to scale and sustain these solutions. Our work increases access to quality health care for more than 46 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. VillageReach in incorporated in Washington State and has offices in Seattle (USA), Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, and Mozambique.

Summary

We have an exciting role open for a Communications Associate to shape key communications initiatives for the organization. The Communications Associate will be a key member of the Communications team in its quest to build an organization of storytellers. If you possess exceptional writing abilities and have a well-rounded background in Communications, we invite you to join us in delivering World-Class Communications that engages and inspires.

Description

Essential Duties

This Communications Associate will manage Organizational Communications, as well as collaborate with the Digital Manager on the management of our digital channels, and will serve as a Communications partner to the Development team. They will be responsible for brand-related campaigns, media relations, storytelling and brand ambassador initiatives.

Responsibilities include:

DIGITAL – Management of social channels, including monitoring and engaging with the community. They will also drive the coordination of the website.

BRAND – Co-own brand management with the Communications Lead, including providing guidance to brand ambassadors and management of assets such as brand book, logos, photo bank, collateral, language and photography guidelines, etcetera.

MEDIA RELATIONS – Management of the media relations program, including writing press releases, preparing press kits, developing pitches and research.

STORYTELLING – Responsible for overseeing storytelling initiatives, which includes supporting staff across the organization in writing for their stakeholder audiences, targeting key messages and creating compelling call-to-actions.

WRITING – Writing for a range of mediums requiring an eagle’s eye for editing, proofreading and producing content, such as articles, blog posts, press releases, presentations and collateral.

MEASUREMENT – Ownership of digital and post-campaign reports, which includes providing analysis and insights.

• Experience with producing/editing video, photo/image management and designing light graphical assets would be highly desirable.

Competencies:

The following competencies reflect what is expected of all VillageReach employees; including examples of how one might demonstrate each of these competencies in one’s role.

• Personal Motivation and Drive: Is self-directed in one’s approach to work, but asks for help when needed; holds oneself accountable; undertakes self-development activities; seeks to build and master new skills; looks for and takes advantage of opportunities within the organization
• Collaboration & Effective Communication: Establishes and maintains effective relations with coworkers, partners & stakeholders and external parties; works collaboratively with others to accomplish organizational and team goals and objectives; works actively to resolve conflicts; expresses ideas and thoughts effectively; selects and uses appropriate communication methods and maintains meaningful communication with virtual coworkers and other parties to keep them informed
• Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion: Takes personal responsibility for and supports others across the organization in creating and sustaining a diverse work environment where individuals are welcomed, valued, respected and supported; personally committed to attaining cultural competency including self-awareness of one’s own attitudes about culture and cross-cultural interactions; exhibits the willingness and ability to engage openly and respectfully around issues of race, colonialism, identity and culture; upholds equity in access to sharing of information, ideas, and opportunities throughout VillageReach
• Commitment to Excellence: Produces a high output of work, both in terms of quality and quantity; looks for ways to improve and promote quality; monitors work to ensure quality; has a personal commitment to the mission of VillageReach
• Solution Orientation & Innovation: Focuses on results and desired outcomes and how to best achieve them; gets the job done; sees opportunities for creative problem-solving while staying within the parameters of good practice; sees old problems in new ways and has novel approaches to solving those problems; contributes original and/or resourceful ideas to their area of responsibility; is able to consider and articulate risks and consequences of proposed innovations and factor these into decision-making

REQUIREMENTS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

This position has no supervisory responsibilities.

Education & Experience:

Minimum of 3 years of experience in communications or public relations or journalism

Must possess a Bachelor’s degree, in global health, international relations, international development, or communications-related fields

Subject-matter expertise in areas, such as global health, international relations, international development or public health is highly preferred.

Other Qualifications:

• Comfortable working in a global organization or in an international capacity, e.g., early morning 6:00 – 7:00 calls are normal.
• Established cultural competency in collaborating with racial, cultural and linguistically diverse groups.
• Demonstrated understanding of challenges with working in rural, under-served and low-income environments.
• Power-user proficiency in PowerPoint; familiarity with design software, such as Canva; InDesign a plus.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Excel) and comfortable in a fast-paced technical environment.
• Fluency in French or Portuguese would be nice, but not required.

Environment and Physical Demands

VillageReach has no private offices, employees work in a shared, open environment with task and conference rooms accessible to employees for privacy and meetings. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet. Due to the time zone differences between our Seattle office and our Country Offices and location of other global staff, US based staff are expected to be available for early morning meetings starting at 6am. In addition, our global HQ and Country office staff are expected to be available for late afternoon/evening meetings up to 6pm.

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY & INCLUSION:

VillageReach is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer committed to workforce diversity. We believe that diverse, equitably weighted perspectives foster an organizational capacity to create novel solutions that improve health in the most underserved and hard-to-reach areas. To align our values, innovations and impact, VillageReach is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse global workforce.

Safeguarding:

VillageReach is committed to promoting the welfare of children, young people, adults, and beneficiaries with whom it engages. We expect everyone working with us to share this commitment through our code of conduct. All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which may include criminal records. VillageReach participates in the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme and, in line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By applying, the job applicant confirms his/her understanding of these recruitment procedures.

Compensation:

VillageReach has an established compensation structure that is based on the relevant market and internally transparent. We hire people into the established range based on one’s experience and education and considering internal equity. We do not inquire about salary history.