Communications Assistant

COMPANY DESCRIPTION:

Amideast is an American nonprofit organization with a 70-year record of creating hope, opportunity, and mutual understanding among the peoples of the United States and the Middle East and North Africa. Our programs and services improve educational opportunity and quality, expand access to U.S. study, strengthen local institutions, and develop language and professional skills for success in the global economy. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Amideast operates offices in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, the West Bank/Gaza, and Yemen.

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

The Communications Assistant works within the Headquarters Communications team and with counterparts across the organization to support our social media, website content, publications, and other corporate and program communication activities. This position reports to the Director of Communications and works as part of the Administration team.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Develop creative content for social media accounts (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc.)
• Write content for website and various publications including (annual report, newsletters, press releases, eblasts, etc.)
• Work cross-functionally to gather and craft compelling narratives that promote and amplify the impact, innovation and influence of Amideast programs, as well as our funders/partners across a variety of channels
• Research topics related to education and socioeconomic development in the MENA region
• Update contact databases
• Work on infographics and other graphic representations of Amideast’s work for online presentation and audiences
• Drafts correspondence, recommendations, reports, and memoranda related to outreach and communications, as assigned
• Assist with corporate internal communications
• Develop talking points, briefing materials, and draft op-eds for Senior Leadership team, as requested
• Contribute to knowledge management and continuous improvement efforts; develop and maintain communications, audience, and impact tracking systems
• Perform other tasks as required

QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS:

Required
• Bachelor’s degree in English, Communications, Journalism, Education, International Affairs or Relations, Business, or other related field
• Minimum one year of professional experience, preferably in Communications, Graphic Design, or Social Media
• Excellent written and oral communication and research skills
• Experience in social media/marketing and analytics
• Experience with desktop publishing/graphic design
• Demonstrated interest in the MENA region
• Familiarity with Chicago Manual of Style and/or AP Stylebook
• Experience in content management systems or other forms of web publishing
• An eye for graphics and ability to use Photoshop, InDesign, and video editing software
• Must be a quick learner; self-motivated, and able to work independently
• Fluency in English

Preferred
• Arabic and French language writing skills strongly preferred
• Experience w/ Hootsuite, Facebook ad campaigns, social media metrics, Google AdWords
• Familiarity w/ HTML+CSS, PHP
• Relationship management experience and ability to work under short-term deadlines