Health Communications Specialist

The Health Technical Unit is a dynamic team of more than 45 professionals in Primary Health, Reproductive Health, Nutrition, and Environmental Health. They provide IRC’s 40 plus country offices and emergency response team with world class technical expertise, capacity building and a cross-country view of what works to achieve outcomes in terms of scientific evidence and practical experience. They also lead a focused research and policy change agenda, influencing UN, donor, and national policy to support interventions and innovations proven cost-effective to achieve positive change in people’s lives.

Sitting within the Health Unit, the IRC’s Health Policy and Communications Team advances the IRC’s ambitious health policy change agenda, and works to elevate the IRC’s as a sectoral leader in health. This includes an ambitious nutrition advocacy agenda that seeks to transform the United Nations’ current system for the treatment of acute malnutrition.

Major Responsibilities:

1. Lead IRC’s health and nutrition communications (50 percent)

* Develop and successfully execute IRC’s health communications strategy

* Develop communications materials like briefs and reports to showcase the IRC’s health work

* Advance the IRC’s ambitious policy change agenda for nutrition with media placements, op-eds, briefers, talking points, and other communications materials

* Support the IRC’s research uptake agenda for nutrition

* Ensure adherence to IRC’s style and brand across health materials developed

* Manage social media for IRC’s Senior Director, Health

2. Support IRC’s nutrition advocacy and policy work (50 percent)

* Support IRC’s ambitious and innovative nutrition advocacy strategy, focused on transforming how acute malnutrition is treated globally

* Manage the IRC’s Wasting Advocacy Coalition, a collection of CSOs who jointly advocate for improved wasting prevention, treatment, and prioritization

* Manage IRC’s public-facing events, including overall event planning, logistics, speaker briefings, and talking points

* Provide support to IRC’s nutrition policy uptake work with Ministries of Health in select countries as needed

Key Working Relationships:

• Position Reports to: Health Policy and Communications Advisor

• Position directly supervises: N/A

• Other Internal and/or external contacts:

* Internal: The position includes liaison and work with colleagues across all IRC departments, especially the other technical units, advocacy and communications teams; and the International Programs Department.

* External: The position includes relationship-building and communications with partner organizations and civil society groups.

Qualifications

• At least 3 years of experience in global health or humanitarian communications or advocacy

• Master’s degree in communications, public policy, public health or another closely related field desirable

• Expertise in communications: proven ability to develop materials for external audiences; experience with media is also desirable

• Advocacy experience in the field or with local civil society groups is also desirable

• Excellent written and oral communications skills; ability to communicate with many and diverse audiences; you listen intently and actively to all audiences; your communications are direct, simple and respectful.

• Strong negotiation, influencing and networking skills

• Fluency in English.

Working Environment:

The working environment is currently remote; the date at which IRC offices re-open is yet to be determined, but will not take place in the NY-HQ offices before April 2021.

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way – Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Equality, Service, and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Beneficiary Protection from Exploitation and Abuse, Child Safeguarding, Anti Workplace Harassment, Fiscal Integrity, and Anti-Retaliation.

IRC et les employés de IRC doivent adhérer aux valeurs et principes contenus dans le IRC WAY (normes de conduite professionnelle). Ce sont l’Intégrité, Egalite, le Service, et la Responsabilité. En conformité avec ces valeurs, IRC opère et fait respecter les politiques sur la protection des bénéficiaires contre l’exploitation et les abus, la protection de l’enfant, le harcèlement sur les lieux de travail, l’intégrité financière, et les représailles.