Working at the British Embassy offers a unique and rewarding opportunity to grow professionally while collaborating with a talented group of individuals.
The British Embassy is involved in a wide range of important and interesting work. Job opportunities are varied and range from helping distressed British nationals to providing analysis of developments in Afghanistan. The Embassy is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.
Current vacancies
Press Officer
Background
The UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) Afghanistan is looking for an enthusiastic, flexible and self-motivated individual to take up the position of Press Officer. This is an excellent opportunity to be part of a major donor development programme in Afghanistan, where DFID is the fourth largest bilateral donor. Afghanistan is one of the UK’s top development priorities.
Working closely with the DFID team in Kabul, the Embassy’s integrated Press and Public Affairs office and press teams based in London, you will interact with the Afghan and international media corps to deliver proactive and reactive news messages. You will need to be an excellent communicator, able to both write and speak fluent Dari, Pashto and English, and willing to get involved in a range of activities – including drafting formal statements, facilitating media visits and press conferences, producing content for our digital channels, creating and delivering strategic communications plans, and responding to the unexpected. More details on the following websites.
The UK is clear that the international troop drawdown does not mean the end of the UK’s support for Afghanistan: we will continue to have a strong relationship based on diplomacy, trade, aid and development. DFID have made a long-term commitment to provide £178 million per year to Afghanistan until 2017.
With international media attention moving away from the conflict, there is space to offer a fresh perspective on the UK’s development work and Afghanistan’s progress. Communicating directly with the Afghan audience will become increasingly important. In a streamlined Embassy team, this job provides real scope for an individual with drive and vision to work creatively and independently to help shape the position and drive forward DFID’s media engagement in a fast-paced, high-profile and hugely varied working environment.
Structure of the role
As DFID Afghanistan’s Head of Press, you will be an integral member of both DFID’s Joint Programme and Results Group and the British Embassy’s coordinated Press and Public Affairs (PPA) office, which ensures that the Embassy speaks with one voice. The structure of your post may evolve over time, but it is expected that you will share your time between the DFID office and the PPA office, both of which are on the BEK compound.
You will lead on the communications on all development-related issues, including women and girls, human rights and the economy. The work of PPA is fast-paced and your responsibilities and duties are likely to develop over time. In line management terms you will report directly to DFID, but you will also work closely with the Head of the PPA section, who will be your quality assuror and approve your public-facing work.
Key Responsibilities and Duties
Proactive media management
- Build public support through media output (both UK and Afghan facing) for the UK’s engagement in Afghanistan, with a focus on how DFID’s development work is contributing.
- Identify and promote positive stories about the UK’s engagement in Afghanistan, with a specific focus on development. This includes drafting case studies, press notices and web stories and compiling or commissioning photographic and film material.
- Make full use of a wide range of communications channels, including social networking and digital channels.
- Compile and support media and VIP visit programmes, including establishing project visits, briefings (oral and written) and interviews.
- Work closely with the DFIDA programme teams to identify proactive comms opportunities, both for external publication and on DFID’s intranet.
Reactive media management
- Answer media queries relating UK/DFID activity in Afghanistan.
- Monitor and identify forthcoming issues such as critical reports / breaking news. Notify DFIDA senior management and, in consultation with Embassy colleagues, prepare reactive lines to take.
- Provide media handling advice to DFIDA senior management and officials.
- Set up briefings as requested by media with officials, Ministers and the Ambassador.
- Review core scripts and other comms products as necessary.
Contribution to the development of strategic communications
- Work with colleagues from across the Embassy and from government departments in London to design, develop and support the strategic direction of cross government Afghanistan comms.
- Liaise with communications colleagues from international Embassies, Afghan government ministries, NGOs and the development community to ensure good coordination.
You will need to be an excellent communicator (oral and written) with strong Afghan press contacts, good drafting skills and a sound understanding of Afghanistan’s media environment. You will be responsible for providing media handling advice to senior managers, programme managers and advisers across the Embassy and DFID Afghanistan, and will be able to identify and promote communications opportunities within the DFIDA programmes. You must be a good team player, willing to support and provide cover for others. You will also need to respond to tight deadlines and short notice requests, often taking into account the time difference between Afghanistan and London. As a Fragile and Conflict Affected State, DFID’s work in Afghanistan is high profile and attracts interest and scrutiny. Security considerations are important in everything we do, ranging from the design of our programmes through to the way we communicate about them to our ability to get out and visit them on the ground. You will need to demonstrate the flexibility and resilience to respond to the challenges of this kind of environment.
Application
Candidates will be assessed against DFID’s professional communication competencies and general competences shown below. Both the professional communications competency framework and the general competency framework for B Band are available on the website. Strong cross office working skills are essential. The successful candidate will be comfortable covering a broad agenda and able to demonstrate skills in effective prioritisation.
Professional communication competencies
- Insight
- Demonstrate and maintain an awareness of the news agenda and emerging news events.
- Understand how to optimise audience reach through a mix of media channels.
- Demonstrate understanding of and ability to review existing sources of insight (including previous communications activity) to understand the overall context for communication and audience influences/influencers.
- Use insight to identify target audiences and partners, support decision making and help inform the overall communication approach.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the communication objectives and how these support the overall policy and DFID departmental objectives.
- Ideas
- Demonstrate a practical understanding of how print, broadcast and digital media work, including the media cycle, circulation and deadlines.
- Proactively identify and work up ideas for stories and case studies that support DFID communication objectives.
- Develop outline communication plans, identifying the most effective channels and tools to engage audiences and maximise reach.
- Demonstrate an awareness of how channels work together and complement each other.
- Develop key messages and content for target audiences.
- Implementation
- Develop and nurture excellent relationships with journalists and contacts in all forms of media, to improve story placement and check progress.
- Demonstrate techniques and strategies for handling journalists. Respond quickly to media requests and agree points of escalation.
- Draft quality press releases, press packs and lines to take and issue within agreed protocols, demonstrating clear, concise and accurate written and oral communication skills.
- Adhere and promote relevant policies, legislation and guidance for the delivery of UK Government communication.
- Impact
- Assess the impact and effectiveness of communication, identifying lessons learnt and sharing feedback.
- Conduct media monitoring (of print, broadcast, digital and social media) to assess reach to target audiences and delivery of key messages.
General Competencies
- Delivering at pace.
- Leading and communicating.
- Collaborating and partnering.
- Seeing the big picture.
- Managing a quality Service.
- Making effective decisions
Personal Qualities and Skills Required (Person Specification)
You will:
- Have relevant and recent employment experience, preferably with a donor agency, multilateral organisation, international NGO, or diplomatic mission.
- Have completed secondary education and possess an appropriate degree.
- Have excellent spoken and written English as well as excellent Dari or Pashto language skills.
- Have good interpersonal skills and a proven ability to work well in a multicultural team.
- Be able to work in a busy environment, under pressure.
- Be familiar with Microsoft Office software, in particular Outlook, Word and Excel.
- Respect DFID’s working principles, including understanding and adherence to equal opportunities and being able to work productively with others and with respect, regardless of gender, race, culture, religion or personal orientation.
- Have an interest in, and commitment to, assisting DFID with its development programme in Afghanistan.
- Hold Afghan citizenship.
Assessment Centres:
Candidates will be shortlisted and invited to participate in an Assessment Centre, likely to be held the 2nd or 3rd week of January 2015. This is likely to consist of an interview, written test, language test, group exercise and management role play.
Salary and Benefits:
According to DFID local staff pay scales, a competitive salary and benefits package will be offered. Salary range for B1 is between $ 2,622 and $ 3,935 per month (before tax) and will depend on experience, quality of the candidate and previous salary.
Transport and medical allowances are paid monthly. DFID is committed to staff development. The successful candidate will receive both on the job and formal training and have the opportunity to apply for funding for higher/further education upon satisfactory completion of their probation period and having completed 12 months in post and are performing well.
How to apply
If you meet the requirements in the job descriptions, you should apply by submitting the following three application documents to the email address r-kabul@dfid.gov.uk:
- Completed application form which must set out how you meet the requirements for the post including evidence of work under the competencies highlighted for the post you are applying for;
- Completed Technical Application form
- CV.
Only applications with all three duly completed application documents listed above will be considered. All application forms should state “Press Officer” in the subject box.
The closing date for receipt of applications is 16:00 hrs KBL time 14 December 2014. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
The successful candidates will be required to complete medical, security, reference and educational qualification checks before inclusion in the poll for future posts.
The successful applicant will need to hold Afghan citizenship.
DFID is an equal opportunities employer. Applications are welcomed from all parts of the community and we actively encourage interest from women, ethnic minority groups, and those with a disability. Selection is on merit although you will need to hold Afghanistan citizenship.
