Senior Communications Officer

Senior Communications Officer

Position overview
We are looking for a dynamic and creative senior communications professional to lead the communications, outreach, and engagement for ICIMOD’s work on reducing climate and environmental risks. This role is suited for someone with a background in communications, press, and public affairs, who is highly motivated to have an impact in a crucial area of environmental action. It will appeal to someone who is able to manage priorities and is happy to work across the spectrum of a busy communications function – from directing and delivering digital communications to stakeholder engagement and fast-paced external affairs.

The ideal candidate will be a proactive and collaborative natural communicator, passionate about mountain cultures and ecosystems, who is able to amplify and strengthen ICIMOD’s advocacy voice, power, and profile in an area of urgent institutional focus. You’ll be joining a talented and tenacious team and organisation as we step up our communications to reflect the ambition in our new Strategy 2030: Moving Mountains and our Medium-Term Action Plans MTAP V (2023-2026), with opportunities for growth and progression.

About Strategic Group 1- Reducing climate and environmental risks

Strategic Group 1 houses ICIMOD’s work within two core areas of high vulnerability across the eight countries of the Hindu Kush Himalaya – managing cryosphere and water risks, and stimulating action for clean air:

• Action Area A, Managing cryosphere and water risks – works to ensure ICIMOD’s regional member countries have the best data and skills to inform policy making and cope with rising risks, many of them transboundary in nature.
• Action Area B, Stimulating action on clean air – focuses on educating people on the sources of air pollution, raising awareness of the risks to health and environment and brings in data to inform policy responses.

Responsibilities
Working under Strategic Group 1- Reducing climate and environmental risks, the Senior Communications Officer will work under the direct supervision of the Strategic Group 1 Lead on content matters, and guided by the Head of Communications on communications principles, approaches, and methods. The Senior Communications Officer will fulfil the following duties and responsibilities:

1. Communication support to Strategic Group

• Lead the design and delivery of high-quality communications strategies for ICIMOD’s actions on reducing climate and environmental risks (Strategic Group 1), managing cryosphere and water risks (Action Area A), and stimulating action for clean air (Action Area B) for internal and external audiences that deliver on mission, values, objectives, and our results framework.
• Establish a cohesive message regarding climate and environmental risk and guide the institution’s stance on the issue, in collaboration with the Strategic Group Lead and team, Action Area Coordinators, and Head of Communications.
• Provide feedback, creative direction, and recommendations on matters related to the Strategic Group for outreach, including identifying crucial campaign issues, devising and monitoring campaign plans, establishing performance indicators for success, and capturing valuable lessons from such campaigns.
• Oversee the Strategic Group’s contributions to major institutional communications moments – e.g., Climate Change and Biodiversity COPs, as relevant to the Strategic Group.
• Continuously evaluate and measure the effectiveness of the Strategic Group’s communication strategies and campaigns, using appropriate metrics and analytics.

2. Strategic planning and implementation

• Contribute to the development of the institution’s overarching communications strategy, ensuring coherence and alignment between strategies and campaigns at the Strategic Group and institutional level and providing expert communications input into major institutional campaigns and projects.
• Direct high-quality integrated communications plans for campaigns including press, digital marketing, and public affairs.
• Support the impact and reach of ICIMOD’s work through audience insight; copywriting; videos; case studies; national, regional, and global press coverage; and through the communication of impact.
• Help to maintain a central, forward-planning communications timeline and key message documents to generate content around major campaign moments and events.

3. Networking and external affairs

• Develop strong relationships with policymakers, thinktanks, academics, environmentalists, and journalists and detailed knowledge of future narrative trends and events.
• Demonstrate understanding of the perceptions of external stakeholders and how to influence or garner support using communications and storytelling.
• Build strong working relationships with analysts, researchers, leaders, and spokespeople within and across the Strategic Group, working to support and enhance the relationship between the Strategic Group staff and the Central Communications Unit team.
• Work closely with the Head of Communications and staff of the Communications Unit as well as other Strategic Group communications staff.

4. Leadership

• Champion communications and encourage greater communications activity throughout the Strategic Group with a particular focus on digital communications, and support colleagues to increase their communications capacity and strategic planning.
• Implement and uphold alignment with institutional communications strategy, principles, and standards.
• Support high performance and alignment amongst the communications staff including in other teams, and line manage communications officers.
• Support communications needs across the institution – including for concept notes, fundraising, monitoring and evaluation and science publications, working with Business Development and Resource Mobilization and Strategic Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning teams and for internal communications needs.
• Contribute to any arising reputational communications issues, advising where relevant.
• Ensure that those most impacted by climate impacts in the HKH, especially women and others from marginalised groups, are at the heart of communications in a respectful, developmental way that puts people in the lead.
• Deliver key campaign objectives to time and budget; including reporting on Key Performance Indicators.

Minimum qualifications and experience
Essential

• Master’s degree or equivalent with a minimum of five years’ experience in leading communications, public affairs, engagement, or fundraising roles in a fast-paced environment. A bachelor’s degree in a relevant subject, in combination with seven years of qualifying experience will be accepted in lieu of the master’s degree.
• Demonstrated experience in how an integrated communications campaign is planned and implemented.
• Experience in multiple communications and engagement areas such as press and media, internal engagement, campaigns and influencing, digital, public affairs, marketing, brand and reputation management, and fundraising.
• Knowledge of digital platforms and how they relate to engagement and campaigns.
• Experience in managing a team of communication professionals.
• Excellent interpersonal and time-management skills.

Preferred

• Knowledge of or interest in the languages and culture of the HKH region.
• Ability to grasp new, complex information quickly and distil it into communications content.
• Skills and knowledge in a range of communication and fundraising areas.

Competencies

• A commitment to the voice and leadership of women and marginalised people across the HKH.
• Excellent written and verbal communication/presentation skills including listening skills with the ability to produce high-quality communications content.
• Provides information to and shares resources with other units to make decisions collaboratively.
• Adapts personal style, manners, and communication to accommodate various cultures.
• Draws on people with different skill sets and backgrounds to build enthusiasm and gain support to meet challenging objectives.
• Proactively generates concrete results at the output level within and outside the organisation.

Reporting and supervising
The Senior Communications Officer will report to the Strategic Group 1 Lead in coordination with the Head of Communications. They will work in close collaboration with ICIMOD’s Central Communications Unit, Action Areas A and B, and other Strategic Groups, Action Areas, and units, where relevant.

Location
You will be working in a cross-cultural, impact-oriented environment at ICIMOD’s head office in Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Nepal. Occasional travel in the HKH region will be required.

Kathmandu is a lively and exciting place to live. People are friendly, living costs are comparatively inexpensive, food is delicious (with a range of local and international cuisines), good local and international schools, and a low crime rate. Nepal offers amazing trekking, white water rafting, and safaris, combined with a rich culture and charming yet lively nightlife.

Duration
Three years, with a probation period of six months, with the possibility of extension subject to performance and ICIMOD’s future funding levels.

Remuneration and benefits
This is an international position at 1CIMOD. Remuneration is commensurate with experience and qualifications. Salaries and benefits at ICIMOD are competitive compared with other international organisations. We offer a comprehensive benefits package, which includes a provident fund, health insurance, severance pay, children’s education grant, and paid leave (30 days holiday and 10 days public holidays). For expatriates, there is a tax exemption in Nepal; they are responsible for their home country’s tax payments. Expatriate staff are entitled to housing allowance, annual home leave ticket, shipment of personal effects, and an installation and removal allowance.

ICIMOD’s core values
Our core values are: integrity, neutrality, relevance, inclusiveness, openness, and ambition. These values are an expression of our culture and are central to the guiding beliefs and principles of our work and behaviour. Our core values will lie at the heart of ICIMOD’s operations and delivery. They will underpin everything we do and frame how we work with our partners. They reflect our founding intentions and the balances we seek to hold, while equipping ourselves for the future.

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and safeguarding
ICIMOD’s human resource selection process is based on the qualifications and competence of the applicants. As an employer, ICIMOD is committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, and offers equal opportunities to applicants from all backgrounds and walks of life, including but not limited to gender, age, national origin, religion, race, caste, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, or social status. ICIMOD strongly encourages applications from people, especially women, from all parts of the Hindu Kush Himalayan region.

ICIMOD is dedicated to establishing and upholding a safe and nurturing work environment, where all its employees can participate fully and meaningfully without fear of violence, harassment, exploitation, or intimidation. Any type of abuse or harassment, including sexual misconduct, by our staff, representatives, or stakeholders, is not condoned or tolerated.

Background to ICIMOD

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), based in Kathmandu, Nepal, is the leading institute for the study of the Hindu Kush Himalaya. An intergovernmental knowledge and development organisation with a focus on climate and environmental risks, green economies, and sustainable collective action, we have worked in our eight regional member countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan – since our foundation.

Entering our 40th year, ICIMOD is perfectly positioned to support the transformative action required for the HKH to face the challenges of the escalating effects of climate change, pollution, water insecurity, increased disaster risk, biodiversity loss, and widespread socioeconomic changes. We seek to raise our ambition to support the required transformative action to step up our engagement through to 2030.

Method of application
Applicants are requested to apply online before 7 July 2023 (11:59 PM, Nepal Standard Time) through the ICIMOD vacancy application portal.

Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

Tagged as: Communications Officer, NGO INGO