Media and Communications Manager – London

Location: London, UK (currently remote due to Covid-19)

Position Status: Full-time, Fixed-Term Contract for 3 Years

Reporting to: Head of Advocacy Workstream, with dotted line to Chair of Alliance Management Team

Travel: Up to 20%, within the UK, US and possibly to country programmes (currently on hold due to Covid)

Salary: £47,000 annual + Benefits
Closing Date: 29 November 2020

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Candidates must have the right to work in the UK at the time of appointment.
Apply with CV and Cover Letter before the closing date to be considered. **

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible.
In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.
Now, and for the future.

About the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance

The Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance (ZFRA) is a multi-sectoral partnership focusing on finding practical ways to help communities in developed and developing countries strengthen their resilience to flood risk. It includes nine organisations from the public and private sectors with a shared vision that floods should have no impact on people’s or businesses’ ability to thrive. The Alliance works collaboratively together to advance three main objectives: increased investment, improved policy, and improved practice for flood resilience.

The work of the ZFRA is delivered through a series of workstreams, which coordinate the work of Alliance members. The workstreams are: Community Programmes – delivering interventions in communities across the world; Knowledge – gathering and amplifying knowledge from the programmes and elsewhere; research; and advocacy – influencing international, national and sub-national policies, funding and practice to improve communities’ resilience to flooding. This role would be based with Mercy Corps who lead the advocacy workstream, but work closely with all ZFRA members and workstreams.

(more details of the Alliance can be found here: www.floodresilience.net)

The Role

The Media and Communications Manager will support the overall profile raising and influence objectives of the ZFRA by supporting and delivering highly effective media and communications.

The successful candidate will not only have the right experience on paper but also be the right personal ‘fit’; someone compassionate and collaborative, ready to work across Alliance members for an important common objective of helping vulnerable communities adapt to the climate emergency.

Essential Job Responsibilities

• Work with Alliance members to identify and capitalise on strategic opportunities to achieve the overall ZFRA objectives of influencing funding, policy and practice around climate adaptation and flood resilience,
• Develop and deliver a strategy to secure media coverage for the work of the ZFRA, as well as for the need for increased investment in climate adaptation and resilience, with a focus on top tier outlets in the U.S. and Europe and ZFRA program countries. Drive strategic outreach to press contacts, advancing ZFRA messages, building our external profile and forging relationships with journalists who could tell our stories.
• Partner with each Alliance member to leverage their activity to the media, and to key audiences and stakeholders.
• Write and edit op-eds (~5 a year), press releases, fact sheets and other communications materials
• Conduct media training for ZFRA HQ and field staff. Develop the capacity of key ZFRA members to serve as highly effective on the record spokespeople, providing appropriate support as needed.
• Scope and target forums and other spaces to proactively participate in events beyond traditional advocacy targets to help mainstream ZFRA messages.
• Coordinate across workstreams of the Alliance to ensure unified messages and elevate Community and Research Workstream messages into public facing messages
• When needed/occasionally organise press briefings around key events for ZFRA staff and other high-profile spokespeople.
• Identify opportunities for ZFRA and Alliance members to increase its profile through news media, specialist media outlets, and applying for awards and media and seasonal newspaper partnerships.
• Develop a reactive communications strategy to respond to climate related events of relevance.
• Develop and manage a crisis communications strategy to respond to reputational damage for the Alliance or any of its partners
• Provide general communications, brand and marketing support and capacity building for partners.
• Manage the monitoring of press coverage, undertake media scans and analysis and provide regular reports to the Head of the Alliance and the Advocacy, Knowledge and Research Workstreams
• Survey, track and report on trends in mainstream and social media.
• Research and create targeted media lists.
• Deploy to the field when needed to accompany media
• Stay current on best practices in media and communications strategies and innovations across industries.
• Be reactive to incoming media enquiries, knowing that a quick response is crucial.
• Support the development of a plan to implement the Alliance communications strategy.

Organisational Learning

• Both Mercy Corps and ZFRA are committed to organisational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organisations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps and the ZFRA as well as themselves.

Accountability to Beneficiaries

• Team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically
  to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Knowledge and Experience

• Ideally five years of media relations experience.
• Educated to degree level (or equivalent).
• Experience of working in an NGO, or in an agency working with NGO clients or other similar organisation essential. Experience of working in a consortia or coalition of multi-sector stakeholders desirable.
• Some experience of working in the field is desirable.
• Working knowledge of Vocus media relations database or similar desirable.
• Additional languages (French/Spanish) preferred.

• Full proficiency with MS Office software (including Excel and PowerPoint), Sharepoint and GoogleDocs.Success Factors

• Strong partnership and collaborative nature, able to mobilise and coordinate with multiple stakeholders with differing perspectives, cultures and priorities.

• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.

• A strong eye for detail.

• Multi-tasker, with excellent organisation skills.

• Able to build and maintain effective internal and external relationships. Strong team worker.
• Able to cope with changing priorities, often at short notice, and work well under pressure.
• Proactive and solutions-based attitude.
• High levels of motivation, professionalism and resilience.
• Skilled in translating complex concepts into accessible language.
• Skilled in anticipating and solving problems and communicating issues, involving others as needed.
• An exposure to and interest in international development issues specifically climate related issues is important, along with an empathy for MC’s mission.

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Ongoing Learning**

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct elearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.