Job Title: Band/Level/Grade: Director Communications & Outreach
Department: Communications
Location: Islamabad
Over-time Eligible: Not Applicable (per local law)
Travel Requirements: As required
Program Background Summary: Pakistan Reading Project (PRP) is five year USAID funded project starting in June 2013 to support the provincial and regional Departments of Education (DoE) throughout Pakistan to improve reading skills of at least 1.3 million children in grade one and two. The project will achieve this goal through three major but interrelated initiatives that are working together to affect the quality of primary education, teacher education, policy reforms, and community engagement to re-establish a national culture of reading in Pakistan. The result will be improved reading and assessment of 23,800 teachers in 23,800 public schools with improved skills in teaching reading; 3,649 scholarships for ADE and B.Ed (Hons) students; and mobile bus libraries reaching out to 300 communities. PRP anticipates that 2.5 million children will be able to read at a level commensurate with standards at their grade level.
PRP is seeking an accomplished Director of Communications who has at least 10 years of communication experience, ideally in an in-house leadership role within a complex (number and variety of constituents) non-profit entity and covering areas such as website content, newsletters/reports, and communications. The ability to take knowledge and transform it into exciting and useful messages and disseminate it to the right audiences through the best distribution channels is critical.
Job Overview/Summary
Develops, implements and evaluates the Annual PRP Communications, Outreach and Media Plan (including but not limited to publications, announcements, press releases, power point presentations, and promotional materials) and master communication schedule in collaboration with the PRP Senior Leadership Team.
Provides oversight, directs, prioritizes, and manages all aspects of Communications & Outreach (graphic design, illustrations, publications, marking & branding, social media, and web), including direct supervision of personnel, contracts and budget.
Develops comprehensive strategy to secure local, regional, national, and international media coverage of PRPs launchings, workshops, conferences, programs, and other important events.
Ensures all Communication, Outreach and Media Materials are completed and appropriately placed in a timely manner as outlined in the Communications Schedule including: weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual reports.
Coordinates staff participation from various departments, disciplines, and locations to manage communication projects on time and on budget.
Liaises with Monitoring and Evaluation staff to compile and disseminate a best practices guide based on project learning and experiences and disseminate the results of project research.
Liaises with Grants Unit staff for monitoring Marking and Branding for sub-grantees.
Supports implementing partners and sub-awardees to design and implement media and publicity strategies, and provides technical assistance, training, and capacity development as necessary.
Ensures archives are well-organized and up-dated on a weekly basis.
Institutes a system to capture PRP material best suited for social media, determines the most effective social media tool, and posts the material in a timely manner.
Coordinates website maintenance and ensures that new and consistent information (article links, stories, and events) is posted regularly.
Puts communication vehicles in place to create momentum and awareness and tests the effectiveness.
Researches and recommends strategies, systems and procedures to improve PRPs internal and external communications.
Performs other duties as assigned or required.
Key Working Relationships:
Position Reports to: Chief of Party
Position directly supervises: Communication & Advocacy Coordinator, Information and Reporting Coordinator, Communications Manager, Senior Information Officer, Senior Media Officer and Provincial/Regional Communication Officers.
Job Requirements:
Education:
Masters degree from an accredited university in media, communication, public relations or other related field, or additional years of experience in both communications and education.
Work Experience:
At least 10 years of experience in education, communication, and outreach activities at the national and/or international level.
At least five years of experience with social media, marketing, and policies and practices in USAID projectsThe USAID-funded Pakistan Reading Project, implemented by the International Rescue Committee and its partners (Creative Associates International, World Learning, and Institute of Rural Management), is a seven-year project (2013-2020) with the objective to support the provincial and regional departments of education throughout Pakistan to improve reading skills of 1.3 million children in grades one and two. The project will achieve this goal through three distinct but interrelated components that will work in synergy to affect the quality of early grade education: Improved classroom learning environment for reading, Improved policies and systems for reading, and Improved community based support for reading in Pakistan.