Communications Associate

Job Description

DAI seeks a Communications Associate for the USAID-funded Program for Aquatic Natural Resources Improvement (PANI). The Communications Associate will support the Paani Communications Specialist in all areas of Paani’s Outreach and Communications Strategy/Plan. Reporting directly to the Communication Specialist, the Communications Associate will be in charge of managing content for the new Paani Facebook page as well as producing Nepali versions of Paani sub-products, working closely with technical and cross-cutting team members as needed.

The Communications Specialist will supervise the Communications Associate.

Applicants must have a Bachelor’s degree, preferably in a media/communications-related field. A master’s degree is preferred with a minimum of five years of experience in one or more of the following areas: media/communications/outreach/advocacy, preferably on an international development project funded by USAID or other international donors.

DETAIL SCOPE OF WORK

Name: TBD

Position: Communications Associate

Period of Performance: On/about January 25, 2018 – January 24, 2019

Level of Effort: LTTA,260 days per year

Location: Kathmandu, with field travel to Paani target river basin areas

BACKGROUND:

The USAID Paani Program is a 5 year, $25 million USAID funded Project in Nepal. Paani aims to enhance Nepal's ability to manage water resources for multiple uses and users through climate change adaptation and the conservation of freshwater biodiversity. Paani focuses at the watershed, basin, and national scales and the project has approximately $5 million in grants and activity procurements. This goal will be reached by meeting the following objectives: reduce threats to freshwater biodiversity in the Karnali, Mahakali, and Rapti river basins; and increase the ability of targeted human and ecological communities to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change through improved water management.

Paani is implementing a variety of media/communications and advocacy activities to achieve these objectives, including a partnership with the Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (NEFEJ) to produce a reality TV show and radio programs, develop an online news portal, and hold a series of town hall meetings with water sector stakeholders in Paani program areas, amongst other activities. Paani is also creating a series of watershed profiles and health reports, which assess sustainable watershed management opportunities and risks and provide the basis for action plans that define objectives, actions, roles and responsibilities for the Paani team, its partners, and collaborating stakeholders. In addition, Paani is creating online and in person forums to disseminate research and support civil society organizations (CSOs) advocate for sustainable hydropower, freshwater biodiversity conservation and resilience to climate change, local water management best practices, and other topics.

Paani is also creating a series of sub-products to further share knowledge on these issues, and will soon launch a Paani Facebook page (dependent on final USAID approval) to share content and, in particular, to inform audiences of upcoming media activities under the NEFEJ grant. The Paani communications team also works closely with the technical and operations teams on a number of events and workshops throughout the year, and oversees USAID-required branding and marking for the project.

Purpose:

The Communications Associate will support the Paani Communications Specialist in all areas of Paani’s Outreach and Communications Strategy/Plan as outlined above in the background section. Reporting directly to the Communication Specialist, the Communications Associate will be in charge of managing content for the new Paani Facebook page as well as producing Nepali versions of Paani sub-products, working closely with technical and cross-cutting team members as needed. The Communications Associate will have a background in media/communications, preferably in international development, and have an understanding in the principles, methods, practices and techniques of stakeholder coordination for diverse stakeholders including local communities, academia, media, civil society, and government agencies.

TASKS:

Communications Associate

• Support the Communications Specialist to implement Paani’s Outreach and Communications Plan, including all communications, outreach, and coordination aspects of the project
• Create/launch and manage the Paani Facebook page (once approved by USAID), ensuring that it is consistently updated with information about Paani activities (e.g. announcing topics and broadcasting times for Paani’s TV show, radio programs and other activities) and is used to share success stories, photographs and other content
• Manage the production of Nepali communications products, working closely with technical and cross-cutting staff, and translators to ensure Paani messages are being properly incorporated.
• Support the Communications Specialist, and work closely with federation and consortium partners, to develop a bilingual civil society guide to healthy rivers, climate resilience, and sustainable hydropower
• Support the Communications Specialist in managing the NEFEJ grant, which includes reviewing/providing feedback and working with other Paani team members on media products to ensure that program messages are accurately incorporated. The Communications Associate will also participate in occasional town hall meetings in the watersheds with the Communications Specialist and other Paani staff.
• Support the Communications Specialist to create Integrated River Basin Management Platforms (IRBMPs) for target river basins. These may include in person meetings, round table discussions and/or online platforms for sharing information.
• Support the dissemination of Paani-produced and water-related studies to inform the broader freshwater resource agenda in Nepal and internationally
• Support the Communications Specialist, and work closely with technical, cross-cutting and operations teams, to hold a series of events and workshops, including an international hydropower seminar to be held in 2019
• Support the Communications Specialist to submit advance requests to USAID for all public and media documents, speeches, and events in accordance with USAID/Nepal’s outreach and communications procedures, and assure that all project communications products conform to the approved Paani branding and marking plan
• Effectively develop and use a wide range of communication tools to advance Paani objectives as required, such as: press releases, press conferences, media interviews, site visits to Paani’s target landscapes and districts, success stories, beneficiary testimonials, professional photography, public serve announcements, videos, webcasts, group e-mail lists, etc.
• As required, interpret from Nepali to English for the Communications Specialist and translate a limited number of communications products. More often, the Communications Associate will review documents already translated into Nepali by professional translators.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in a media/communications-related field. Master’s degree preferred.
• At least 5 years of experience in one or more of the following areas: media/communications/outreach/advocacy, preferably on an international development project funded by USAID or other international donors.
• Experience working effectively on multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural teams
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to establish, maintain, and manage relationships with diverse groups of stakeholders
• Professionally proficient and fluent in written and spoken Nepali. Fluency in spoken English required.
• Preferred: Experience with biodiversity and/or climate change adaptation projects

Level Of Effort/Timeline:

• The Communications Associate is based in Kathmandu, with regular travel to Paani target river basin areas. The level of effort is 260 days per year.

Supervision:

• The Communications Associate will work under the direct supervision of the Communications Specialist. S/he will coordinate regularly with technical, cross-cutting and operations staff of the Paani program. 

Apply Instructions

Applicants should submit a CV and cover letter to PANI_recruitment@dai.com by January 9, 2018. 

Please mention the position in the subject line of the email.

Women and people from marginalized communities are highly encouraged to apply.

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