Senior Communications Officer - Beirut

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps people affected by humanitarian crises to survive, recover and rebuild their lives. We deliver lasting impact by providing health care, helping children learn, and empowering individuals and communities to become self-reliant, always with a focus on the unique needs of women and girls. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, we now work in over 40 countries as well as communities throughout Europe and the Americas.

The IRC established multi-sectorial relief programs in Lebanon in 2012. Today, the IRC Lebanon provides emergency aid and long-term services for people affected by, and recovering from, crisis across multiple sectors: child protection, protection, women's protection and empowerment, education, health, and livelihoods. The IRC operates in Beirut, Mount Lebanon, North, Akkar, Bekaa and Baalbeck.

Job Overview/Summary:

The Senior Communications Officer will support the IRC Lebanon’s communications and visibility activities. S/he will ensure regular, timely, and high-quality communications to showcase the project’s/programs’ successes on the IRC’s communications and social media channels through a range of products including success stories, information and fact sheets, social media posts, and other communications products. S/he will be responsible for content collection and the development of proactive and reactive communications elements. The Communications Officer will report to the Advocacy and Communications Manager as a member of the Policy, Advocacy, and Communications (PAC) Department, and will work in close collaboration with the Lebanon program’s grants, partnerships, and MEAL teams, as wells the Middle East Regional Communications team and global content and creative teams. This role will help to elevate the internal and external visibility of the IRC Lebanon country program in alignment with the country office’s strategic action plan.

Major Responsibilities:

Managing visibility and branding requirements:

• Work in close collaboration with IRC grants team to ensure adherence to branding and visibility requirements across IRC Lebanon programs and in partner locations.
• Maintain a calendar of donor deliverables and support in the collation and submission of products to the donor by deadlines.
• Attend the projects’ implementations meetings organized by the grants team and share communications updates with programs teams.
• Contribute to training program colleagues and partner organizations on IRC and donor branding and visibility guidelines to ensure the production of highly quality communications materials.
• Coordinate sign off on branded items and products as necessary, in coordination with the Advocacy and Communications Manager.

Planning, collecting, and developing communications content:

• Work in close coordination with Advocacy and Communications Manager, program teams, and Regional Content and Digital Specialist to develop a communications work plan that includes the collection and production of high-quality communication materials such as annual reports, human-interest stories, photos, blogs, and videos in English and Arabic.
• Conduct field visits to collect content – including stories, photos, and video – that communicates the impact of IRC programs and initiatives for internal and external audiences.
• Produce and maintain up-to-date information materials for the country office, including fact sheets, newsletters, and infographics, and contribute to the creation of social media posts in Arabic and English.
• Collaborate with IRC programs to gather information and data for annual reports. Compile and organize content in alignment with the organization's strategic objectives.
• Organize and archive all communications content and consent forms to IRC’s internal content management systems and digital storage platforms.
• Work closely with the Advocacy and Communications Manager to stay updated on all ongoing and upcoming project/program activities to anticipate and plan comms opportunities for IRC programs.
• Develop a social media content calendar for the IRC X (Twitter) account and other platforms in collaboration with the Advocacy and Communications Manager.

 Monitoring and information management:

• Work closely with program and MEAL teams to collect program information, updates on the impact of our work, and updated quantitative data to use in communications products and posts.
• Support PAC Department in response to information and briefing requests.
• Work Closely with the Advocacy and Communications Manager to monitor and archive media appearances of IRC Lebanon.

Internal communications and visibility:

• Lead in the production of IRC Lebanon internal newsletter, highlighting IRC Lebanon program activities, success stories, and partnership goals.
• Provide training and guidance to IRC staff and partners on best practices for communications.
• Provide English-Arabic and Arabic-English translation as needed.

Media:

• As assigned, liaise with the Advocacy and Communications Manager and Regional Senior Communications and Media Manager for emergency response and media-related opportunities.
• As applicable, support media and VIP visits in-country.

Key Working Relationships:

• Position Reports to:  Advocacy and Communications Manager (Lebanon);
• Position provides technical support to:  IRC Lebanon program staff and partners;
  Other Internal and/or external contacts:
  • Internal: Technical coordinators, grants staff, MEAL staff, Regional Senior Communications and Media Manager; Regional Content and Digital Specialist
  • External:  IRC Lebanon partners

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree, in journalism, media, communications, or relevant experience with at least 3 to 4 years of relevant job experience.
• Excellent writing and storytelling skills, and ability to adapt communication styles to different audiences.
• Ability to take high quality, professional photos in various settings, and basic photo editing skills.
• Basic knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite (esp. Final Cut, Illustrator, Photoshop and In Design) is highly desirable.
• Fluent (spoken and written) English and Arabic is required.
• Ability to build strong professional relationships across diverse departments and take initiatives.
• High proficiency in handling varied, demanding and complex tasks.
• Previous experience working in an NGO in a similar role is a plus.

The IRC and IRC workers must adhere to the values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct. These are Integrity, Service, Accountability and Equality. By 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