Communications Officer, EdTech Hub

Results for Development (R4D) is a leading non-profit global development partner. We collaborate with change agents around the world — government officials, civil society leaders and social innovators — to create strong systems that support healthy, educated people. We help our partners move from knowing their goal to knowing how to reach it. We combine global expertise in health, education and nutrition with analytic rigor, practical support for decision-making and implementation and access to peer problem-solving networks. Together with our partners, we build self-sustaining systems that serve everyone and deliver lasting results. Then we share what we learn so others can achieve results for development, too.

We have a unique and vibrant culture at R4D. Diversity, equity and inclusion are at the heart of our work environment and help advance our mission. Diversity—of ideas, identities, perspectives and backgrounds—is vital to who we are and what we do. We seek people who embrace these values and will help reinforce them. Our work culture is collaborative, creative and entrepreneurial. We operate based on trust and respect. Teams across the organization frequently collaborate on programmatic work and support each other in continuously building a better R4D.

R4D is seeking a Communications Officer who will be dedicated to supporting our flagship EdTech Hub program.

About EdTech Hub

R4D is the prime contractor for the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Directorate for Research and Innovation Hub on Technology for Education (EdTech Hub) programme. The aim of EdTech Hub is to empower people by giving them the evidence they need to make decisions about technology in education as part of a global non-profit partnership focusing on research, innovation and engagement.

At EdTech Hub we do rigorous academic research on how to use technology in education and provide technical assistance to support decision-makers inside and outside government to make clear policy and implementation decisions to achieve maximum impact. EdTech Hub additionally seeks to function as a “hub” for learning, and share a range of global public goods to make evidence available to a wide audience.

EdTech Hub is delivered through a consortium of R4D and five core sub-contractors, two regional sub-contractors, as well as a range of country- and activity-specific local and international sub-contractors. From a management perspective, it is a complex program funded by multiple donors including various departments within the FCDO, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank and UNICEF. Ed Tech Hub is in the 3rd year of an anticipated 8-year funding period, with a secured budget of £24M.

Opportunity

As the Communications Officer for EdTech Hub, your primary role will be the creative and consistent promotion and dissemination of the evidence EdTech Hub generates and aggregates through its research, innovation and engagement work. You will be responsible for writing, producing and distributing content related to this evidence across all EdTech Hub channels and opportunities. This primarily consists of EdTech Hub’s digital channels (social, email, website, blog), but also encompasses supporting events, partnerships and internal communications.

As a successful candidate, you are an enthusiastic communicator who possesses a standard-issue “strong writing and editing background,” and you can translate dense material into compelling formats like blogs, social posts, talking points, web content and more. What makes you exceptional is your energetic, detail-oriented and well-coordinated approach. Critically, you have a confident and creative hands-on knowledge of digital communications platforms, and an appetite to learn and master the unfamiliar. If there are digital spaces not being utilized by EdTech Hub where you see opportunity, you’ll gather the intelligence and make the case for expansion.

In your daily work, you bring a passion for finding and telling a story in a way that resonates with a target audience – which you help identify, engage and nurture. You are proactive in your approach, and truly enjoy distilling complex material into easily consumable content. You can discover a ripe opportunity for promotion on your own, as well as engage your colleagues to draw out details of existing opportunities for communications purposes.

You’re comfortable working with a high-volume, high-touch, content-generating team of subject-area experts, and you have your own perspective on how to best show off that content and influence uptake and action. You are calm under a deadline, prefer to over-communicate versus the alternative, and embrace the process as a part of the creative journey. You believe in the power of getting communications involved early in a project’s lifecycle and will be an active participant at the table when it comes to coordinating where communication intersects with programmatic work.

While the written word will be your primary medium, the content you develop or support may also include videos, photos, infographics, audio and more. You don’t need to be a designer or videographer in your own right (though if you are, that’s worth noting), but you do have an aesthetic point-of-view for what works and why and are comfortable working with other creative talent to get the job done.

This position reports to the Head of Communications for EdTech Hub. Comfort in organizing across international time zones is vital, as you will sit within a small Communications team that supports content creators globally.

Individuals with the right to work in the US, UK or the Hub priority countries of Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania are able to apply for this full-time staff role. Applicants with the right to work in the Hub priority countries of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sierra Leone will be considered for contractor roles. EdTech Hub seeks to ensure equal opportunities and an inclusive working environment for all staff. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, sex, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity. We embrace diversity and difference.

Responsibilities

• Editorial and management lead of EdTech Hub communications channels (social, email, blog, etc.), as well as principle content creator for promotion
• Maintains editorial calendar across social and email.
• Tracks and benchmarks social and email performance in collaboration with Web Products and Project Manager.
• Content writer for website in collaboration with Web Products and Project Manager, and other content stakeholders within the organization
• Copywriting partner to subject-area experts on social, blog, email and other promotional platforms.
• Surfaces new content creation by sourcing relevant stories and assets for Comms Team
• Collaborates with Head of Communications on development and execution of editorial and communications strategy
• Leads communications support for preparation and promotion of events hosted by EdTech Hub, and supports coordination and promotion of events where EdTech Hub is a participant.
• Provides communications support to special projects including but not limited to reports, internal messaging, PR, and other opportunities as they arise.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree +/ 5 years experience in communications and/or digital content creation and management
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to present complicated and detailed data to team leads
• Fluency in English required, with command of other languages spoken in Hub-focus countries a plus
• Comfort or working familiarity with a WordPress environment for blogs and content, email marketing platforms (MailChimp), and Google Suite for day-to-day production.
• Working experience in organizational social media (specifically Twitter and LinkedIn).
• Working knowledge of digital meeting and coordination platforms (specifically Google Meet, Zoom, Teams, Eventbrite)
• Enthusiastic about joining a diverse and inclusive work environment
• Comfortable with virtual work and collaboration with colleagues dispersed across the globe as a norm.
• High level of organization, attention to detail, professionalism, and reliability
• Experience tracking and managing resources required
• Highly collaborative and approachable team member who is enthusiastic about supporting the team and working closely with others at EdTech Hub
• Ability to prioritize and manage work in a fast-paced environment across multiple projects and work streams with competing time/resource demands
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team
• Enthusiasm, energy, good judgement, and humor
• Motivated to learn, grow, contribute and produce