Description
BACKGROUND:
Internews Network is an international media development organization based in Arcata, CA and Washington, DC whose mission is to empower local media worldwide to give people the news and information they need, the ability to connect, and the means to make their voices heard. Internews has been working in South Sudan since 2006 to establish community radio stations across the country, and to train South Sudanese journalists to operate them. We also implement other activities across the sector, including actively working to meet the critical information needs of the South Sudanese communities who have been impacted by the recent conflict.
Internews has made critical and valuable contributions to the humanitarian space since the conflict erupted in South Sudan in December 2013. Communications with Communities (CWC) affected by disasters is increasingly recognised as a growing technical area of importance in humanitarian responses. Getting accurate, reliable, timely and relevant information to communities affected by crisis is not only life saving and life enhancing, but also closely linked to accountability. Internews South Sudan has been developing a Community Centred Approach to CWC, with tools and training modules to help its own programs and other agencies to deliver better impact on the ground.
GENERAL FUNCTION:
The CWC Technical Advisor (CWC TA) will roll out the Internews South Sudan Community Centred Approach to CWC working with our humanitarian team and network of community radio stations, in close coordination and collaboration with UN Clusters and NGO partners working in South Sudan.
Humanitarian agencies often have a technical and resource gap in communicating effectively with communities in crisis. CWC is a relatively new, though expanding field that requires specialization. The TA will help agencies deliver key humanitarian information to the people who need it most.
The CWC TA will build capacity and provide training and hands on support to agencies and their community mobilization teams to use multiple channels of communication to provide more effective communications, and to provide a platform for communities to have a voice and give their feedback on services provided. The CWC TA will cover Central Equatoria, Upper Nile, Unity, and Jonglei States.
In addition humanitarian agencies have a gap in speaking to the media, including practical drafting of messages, speaking to radio and producing effecting materials to change behaviour. They also often have a gap in reaching local media to report on key humanitarian issues and share messages. The CWC TA will work with partners to develop modules and skills in this area.
The CWC TA reports to the Humanitarian Director, and works closely with the humanitarian team on mainstreaming CWC. The TA will have extensive experience in CWC, social marketing, community engagement /mobilization as well as a journalism and/or media background.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Conduct one-to-one meetings with Cluster leads and partner NGOs to assess current CWC strategies needs and gaps to strengthen their overarching CWC strategies;
- Support Cluster leads and senior managers to have a better understanding of the communications tools and strategies they can deploy for improved community awareness, engagement, mobilization and accountability by delivering presentations, training sessions and designing workshops;
- Build on existing training modules developed and design materials and “how to” manuals for field workers;
- Support partners to operate in a more strategic and coordinated way to identify critical issues to pool together CWC and accountability resources for greater program impact;
- Support partners to explore new ways of engaging with communities and channeling their feedback to humanitarian service providers including supporting Internews Humanitarian Information Service, Humanitarian Information Officers, and the demonstration community spaces Internews is developing in sites that people have been displaced to;
- Provide capacity building support to senior managers, team leaders and community mobilization teams to strengthen their knowledge of CWC techniques and tools;
- Identify multiple communications channels agencies could potentially employ to strengthen community engagement – outside of or alongside the Internews Humanitarian Information Service e.g., text messaging, posters, outreach workers, art installations, community dramas or songs - developing more space for agencies to have ‘conversations with communities’ and to respond better;
- Attend cluster meetings as needed;
- Ensure all deliverables are met on time to a high standard;
- Support research activities (including surveys, focus group discussions etc.) to learn and build the program;
- Deliver regular (e.g., weekly M&E) program reports and newsletters and liaise with donors as needed;
- Produce multimedia materials (blog posts, photos, tweets etc.) from the project for external audiences; liaise with communications sections within Internews to promote the project;
- Work closely with Humanitarian Director on project planning.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Relevant university degree in media, communication, international development, or humanitarian sector;
- Experience in Communication with Communities (CwC) projects, and community accountability, with a strong focus on the community feedback loop into the humanitarian system;
- A thorough understanding of the work of humanitarian and development agencies, including working within the UN cluster system;
- A solid background in journalism and/or communication for development;
- Strong communication and diplomatic skills;
- Proven ability to develop and monitor work plans and training plans;
- Practical experience in establishing and operating training programs;
- Experience in designing manuals, training materials, campaigns, promotional items etc;
- Experience living and working in Africa and/or conflict/post-conflict environments;
- Ability to adjust to shifting political circumstances and create programming accordingly;
- Sensitivity to cross-cultural dynamics in the work place and experience supervising staff;
- Must be self-reliant, resourceful, good problem-solver, good humored, and flexible;
- Ability to travel within and spend extended time in the field, with limited facilities, often under harsh conditions;
- Fluency in English required.
HOW TO APPLY:
HOW TO APPLY:
