Communications Officer

Sightsavers Ireland is a leading international NGO working to prevent avoidable blindness, restore sight and advocate for social inclusion and equal rights for people with disabilities.

Sightsavers Ireland was established in 2003 and is an independent affiliate that works to actively support the work of the global Sightsavers organisation

Salary: € 35,000 – € 40,000

Position: Communications Officer

Location: Dublin Hybrid / Remote

Contract: Permanent

About the role

As a key member of the Communications and Public Affairs team, the Communications Officer will play a crucial role in raising the profile and awareness of the work of Sightsavers Ireland to a diverse range of audiences. The role will particularly lead on Sightsavers Ireland’s social and digital communications, raising the profile and awareness of our work with the Irish public and stakeholders and supporting the thematic work of the organisation.

Principle accountabilities

1. Provide effective communications support to the Communications and Public Affairs department in Ireland

• With the support of the Head of Communications and Public Affairs, develop, manage and maintain systems and processes to support the team and its ways of working.
• Build knowledge and understanding of the department and its work and take the initiative in identifying communications opportunities that raise awareness and the profile of Sightsavers
• Key point of contact for the Strategic Partnerships and Individual Giving teams to support their work.
• Offer strategic communications guidance and advice to Sightsavers Ireland colleagues including supporting them to identify objectives, audiences and messages and make recommendations for appropriate communications approaches, tactics and/ or products needed to deliver.

2. Create engaging and creative content and communication products for use

across on and offline channels

• Develop creative briefs and where necessary to commission in-house designers or external freelance creative support.
• Work with the Sightsavers content team to identify and collect content needed to support communications activities and products.
• Design and manage the delivery of communication products that build the brand of Sightsavers Ireland, are on message and meet strategic objectives including developing content for websites, blogs, case studies, news stories, picture stories, presentations, social media or other digital assets, printed materials including leaflets, banners, posters, videos, audio stories; commissioning and briefing designers/ freelancers and reviewing/ testing materials where necessary.
• Ensure appropriate plans are in place to share new content/ communication products with relevant audiences to maximise potential and reach.
• Write and publish case studies to support various areas of Sightsavers Ireland’s work.

3. Lead on communications research for Sightsavers Ireland

• Support the design and publication of research reports ensuring they are consistent in style and design, drawing on the support of designers and freelancers as and when needed.
• Produce training materials to help build increase comms capacity across the Sightsavers Ireland team.
• Responsible for communications planning and deliverables around conferences and events.

Please note that the Communications Officer will be expected to have some international and domestic travel within the role.

This is a varied role, please read the full job description for further details. As an equal opportunity employer, we actively encourage applications from all sections of the community. Sightsavers is a Disability Confident Leader and qualified people with a disability are particularly encouraged to apply.

Jobholder entry requirements

Essential Requirements for Communications Officer:

• Professional communications experience
• Experience managing communication campaigns
• Experience in all aspects of digital and social media
• Experience working with stakeholders and the media and building strong relationships
• internally and externally
• A strong interest in current and public affairs and an awareness of the International Development sector and Irish political system would be an advantage

Knowledge and Skills

• Able to travel intermittently throughout the year.
• Working experience supporting busy project teams
• Excellent organisational, writing, editing, budgeting and communications skills
• Highly organised planning and time management skills with excellent attention to detail
• Advanced level in PowerPoint, Excel and Word, Sharepoint
• Ability to prioritise and work in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to work on own initiative but be a core team player

Benefits

Sightsavers offers some fantastic benefits. Our comprehensive benefits package includes generous annual leave allowance, pension, cycle to work scheme, discounted gym memberships and wellness discounts. Our offices are located in Central Dublin (Mountjoy) which has great public transport links.

Next steps

To apply for this exciting new opportunity, please complete an application via our recruitment portal. We are particularly interested in learning of your motivations for applying.

We anticipate that interviews will take place in our Country office and the evaluation process will include a short task to be completed by shortlisted candidates in advance of this.

We understand the importance of work-life balance and are committed to fostering a culture of flexibility. As such, we are open to the possibility of a four-day working week for this position. The salary will be pro-rated to reflect this arrangement. Sightsavers believe this approach not only benefits our employees but also contributes to a more productive and engaged workforce

Closing date: 17 December 2023

As an equal opportunity employer, we actively encourage applications from all sections of the community. Sightsavers is a Disability Confident Leader and qualified people with a disability are particularly encouraged to apply.

Sightsavers is an employer that does not tolerate any form of harassment and has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse. All potential candidates will be subjected to rigorous background checks and controls.