Communication Officer

Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation is an international development organisation that supports achieving human rights. It stands for development that balances economic viability, environmental suitability and social benefit, foster intercultural exchange of ideas, the exchange of experiences and knowledge. It works with CSO, private sector and government actors and encourages exchange among them at local, national and international levels.

HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation in the consortium with Civic Initiatives is implementing Swiss Government project “For an Active Civil Society Together – ACT”.

ACT aims to contribute to an active civil society for the benefit of all people and higher citizens’ engagement in decision-making, particularly at the local level. It provides a four-year support to Civil Society Organisations in Serbia (2019-2023) through granting schemes and capacity building in order to efficiently address the challenges of civil society activism in Serbia.

We are looking for a motivated person for the position Communication Officer.

(1-year engagement with a possibility of extension)

Employment rate: 60%

Main duties and responsibilities:

• Proactively manage all internal and external strategic communications in partnership with PIU, and ensure that high quality, strategic communication plan is consistently implemented. This includes ensuring clarity, accuracy, relevance, and engaging narratives in all materials that the project team produces.
• Build and maintain a positive public image of both the ACT project and brand.
• Build and increase awareness of the ACT brand in accordance with the ACT External Content Marketing Strategy 
• Manage and organise all press relations and communication activities of the ACT project (preparation of press releases, interviews, speeches, press conferences, press articles etc.); General coordination and participation in all information activities on the ACT project (including public events, publications, websites, social media);
• Actively promote ACT among different stakeholders and target groups as per Strategy - coordination and organisation of different visibility events and activities
• Establish and maintain relationships with the relevant media (print, TV, radio) on both national and local level
• Secure media outreach and public awareness on the local and national level of the ACT project and its activities/results
• Ensure high visibility of ACT grantees’ project activities in cooperation with the E-Communication Officer
• Actively participate in creating success stories about the ACT project and its grantees - creative and engaging feature and human-interest stories, blogs, profiles, and other materials.
• Assure coordination of relevant programme activities with the key ACT Project partners and other stakeholders
• Together with the E-Communication Officer, ensure implementation of the ACT Communication Guidelines for Grantees
• Facilitate the transfer of knowledge and know-how to E-Communications Officer related to public affairs and media relations
• Manage the PR aspect of a potential crisis as defined in the ACT Internal Communication Strategy
• Coordinate ACT's reporting on communication activities
• Monitor and compile media monitoring for the ACT project and Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation.
• Reference: pXUxBLdU79gJ2WROUmfOrV8CGf6io06eHvMbSoogl30.

Requirements:

• University degree in communications, journalism, social sciences or any field relevant to the scope of work or equivalent experience in the field of communications, PR and media relations 
• Minimum 7 years of work experience in communication, marketing and with or in media;
• Previous experience of working in national or international non-governmental organization and/or donor-funded projects will be considered as an advantage
• Previous experience in working for a PR agency will be considered an advantage
• Proven experience in organising a variety of high visibility events, preferably with an innovative approach, such as conferences, round tables, opening/closing events, as well as designing and/or implementing public awareness campaigns
• Excellent knowledge of the media landscape in Serbia
• Proven ability to operate effectively in a multicultural environment
• Advanced level of English language, written and spoken
• Good knowledge of MS Office (Word, Power Point); good knowledge of social media tools
• Availability to travel within Serbia.

Competencies and skills:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills (with sensitivity to cultural differences)
• Demonstrates an in-depth understanding of target audiences, highly effective writing style, and expertise in high-impact messaging to relevant audiences
• Creativity, imagination and initiative
• Innovative approach
• Excellent organisational and time management skills with the ability to multitask
• Highly developed problem solving and analytical skills
• Solution-oriented approach, independence and responsibility in work

The application must be in English and should include a motivation letter outlining clearly how the candidate meets the requirements of the position and a detailed CV. The position title must be indicated in the cover letter.