Communications Officer

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

This position will be based in Kyiv with frequent travel to other locations in Ukraine. The position has a double reporting line to the Associate Director for Public Affairs (Europe) and the Advocacy and Liaison Senior Manager (Ukraine), working on the global and programmatic aspects of the response respectively. The Communications Officer will act as a spokesperson for the country programme as needed.

Communications, Marketing & Mobilization (M&M) is a dynamic team that is tasked with building the IRC's global profile and brand, increasing private revenue from deeper donor engagement and partnerships, and influencing our target audiences. The team is responsible for all of IRC's brand, communications, creative and content and digital engagement efforts. In alignment with our Strategy100 commitments, M&M has launched compelling multi-year campaigns that raise funding, profile and influence and will improve our share of voice and resonance in key geographies and globally. Lastly, they consistently work on innovating the IRC brand, which enables us to increase awareness, understanding of and support for our work so that we can raise more money and change policies to improve our crisis-affected clients' lives around the world.

JOB OVERVIEW

We are looking for a Communications Officer to lead the country communications strategy for the IRC's response to the war in Ukraine. This person will have a highly creative and strategic approach to positioning our work to key external target audiences, institutional and corporate donors, the NGO sector, people in Ukraine, and to government agencies and policymakers. The Communications Officer should be passionate about working in a global humanitarian response organization.

In this role, you will drive our communications strategy to promote our programming with IDPs and other conflict-affected groups in Ukraine. The role would collaborate with Global Communications for positioning with international audiences, including IRC priority markets (US, UK, Germany, Korea, Sweden and the European Union).

With a strong focus on knowledge management, media, storytelling, data and evidence, you'll take advantage of multiple communication channels to effectively connect with IRC audiences. You will approach this work with an inclusion lens, keeping in mind the diversity of our clients, our core values, and our need to protect people at risk of violence and displacement.

You will be an excellent writer and communicator; a creative problem solver; goal-oriented and an outstanding collaborator partnering with IRC staff across all levels. If you are someone who understands how communications can drive impact and improve our humanitarian response, then this is an outstanding role for you

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Adapt and implement a comprehensive communications strategy designed to effectively position the IRC and our programs to target audiences, including supporters, donors, the communities in which we work, and policymakers.
• Support IRC's media and PR on the response in Ukraine; assist in writing press releases, identifying trends and news angles, developing relationships with journalists, pitching stories, working with influence teams on our strategic media presence in the country and hosting reporters to visit IRC programming in Ukraine.
• Serve as an expert on IRC's work in Ukraine, keeping track of and sharing information about programming and context, identifying unique media angles, and working with the Regional Content Officer on spotting compelling stories to share on external channels.
• Draft articles, social media posts, and other communications content for sharing on IRC channels across our global markets.
• Drive growth and manage IRC Ukraine Facebook page.
• Develop and drive a communications calendar for the country team, report impact and results of communications efforts.
• Coordinate with regional communications leadership to ensure IRC and donor branding guidelines are followed, manage communication budget lines in donor grants and ensure that communications grant requirements are met.
• Work in partnership with the Advocacy and Liaison Senior Manager, the Country Director and the Programmes Team - support the programmes team with all aspects of programme-related communication activities on the ground (visibility, communicating with clients, etc.).
• Support Global Communications in the development of materials for global IRC campaigns.

QUALIFICATIONS

• 3-5 years' experience in NGO communications; previous experience in marketing or public relations/journalism is preferred.
• Consistent record of developing communications strategies that are creative and engaging, and generate positive impact for an organization.
• A "big picture" problem solver, bias for taking action, loves to drive projects independently, while collaborating cross-functionally.
• Excellent writing abilities in English– flair for simple and clear writing, great grammar, and well-honed editorial skills.
• Data enthusiast – problem solver who can pull and analyze data to uncover opportunities that improve our communications efforts.
• Knowledge of video and photo editing tools, social media platforms/channels.
• Able to build positive relationships and work in a fast-paced, multi-cultural environment and to meet crisis communications and time limitations under pressure.
• Fluent in English and Ukrainian.

Standard of Professional Conduct:The IRC and the IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in the IRC Way – our Code of Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability, and Equality.