TERMS OF REFERENCE
Position : Communications Manager
Program : Communications
Line manager : Deputy Country Director
Key internal relations : Country Director, Program Managers, Consultans
Line Managers : Communications Team
Location : Bogor, with travel to field sites
Overview
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) works in over 60 countries to save wildlife and wild places through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. WCS has worked in Indonesia for over 20 years because it is the world’s most important country for biodiversity conservation, being ranked #1 globally for marine biodiversity and #2 globally for terrestrial biodiversity. The large and diverse WCS Indonesia program now spans several provinces and covers all aspects of conservation, from counter-wildlife trafficking, wildlife protection and law enforcement, to policy development, research, education and outreach, to large field-based operations covering both marine and terrestrial locations. WCS partners closely with the Indonesian Government, local communities, schools and universities, and the private sector. Further details of our program are available at https://indonesia.wcs.org and about WCS’s global work at https://www.wcs.org
WCS Indonesia operates a small Communications team to better promote conservation successes of its partners and raise awareness over conservation issues related to its programs and projects, as well as priority species. WCS Indonesia now seeks a dynamic individual to lead our efforts in communicating to national and international audiences the opportunities, successes and challenges of our conservation work in Indonesia. The Communications Manager will report directly to WCS Indonesia Deputy Country Director and take overall responsibility for planning and implementing internal and external communications for the program. The core part of the Communication Manager’s responsibility is to oversee the implementation of the WCS Indonesia Communication Strategy.
Specific Tasks and Outputs/Deliverables
Communications Strategy
- Oversee the successful implementation of the WCS Indonesia Communications Strategy, working closely with the Senior Management Team. This will include developing an annual work plan with agreed timetables, integration and alignment with the WCS-IP vision, mission, conservation priorities and target audiences.
- Ensure WCS communicates consistent messages to all of its different audiences - including employees, government, local communities, donors, local and international public, and the media - to increase understanding and awareness of the organization and build positive attitudes to WCS and conservation
- Protect and enhance the reputation of WCS and its national/local partners
- Coordinate the production of regular project updates and success stories, and other materials to promote the success of the program as set out in the strategy
- Work with the WCS Global Communications team (based in New York) to leverage the reputation of WCS Indonesia and its national/local partners onto the regional and global stages
- Undertake training of WCS staff in effective communication, including the use of new technologies related to internal and external communication and information management and sharing
- Provide practical support to WCS staff in preparing speeches and presentations, and briefing them on how to respond to the type of questions they are likely to face
- Take responsibility for WCS Indonesia’s Facebook, Twitter and Website accounts
- Provide support to the production of programmatic newsletters within WCS Indonesia
- Act as the point of contact for all media, issue press releases, handle inquiries from journalists, organize press conferences, and arrange interviews for journalists with WCS staff and partner staff, and build and maintain a vibrant network of journalist contacts
- Visit fields sites to promote commutation, including organizing and hosting visits by media, donors and VIPs
Program management
- Provide overall leadership for the WCS Indonesia Communications Team, including work planning, line management, reviewing budgets etc.
- Managing any outsourcing of public relations or communications content to external consultants or agencies
- Work with donor communications teams to produce a specific Communications Plan for all major grants received by WCS
- Participate in a range of team meetings, as well as other key meetings and workshops with government, donor and community partners
- Support communications officers embedded in various units in WCS Indonesia’s programs
- Support improvements to procedures for collecting, saving, and storing project information including documents, files, films, photos, and reports
Please note that the above TOR constitutes only the main responsibilities and duties of this position. As WCS Indonesia is a flexible organization, staff members are expected to undertake any other tasks that are allocated to them but which are not part of their regular TOR, but related to it.
Position Requirements and remuneration
This senior position in WCS Indonesia will be based in Bogor, with regular travel to project sites across Indonesia and the region. The ideal candidate will have:
- A passion for conservation and a willingness to change the world
- High levels of motivation and professionalism
- At least 10 years’ experience in communications for a medium to large company or organization
- A tertiary qualification in media, public relations, communication or a related field
- Proven track record in communicating clear and consistent messages in a variety of media - including press releases, social media content, newsletters, brochures and guides – and experience in developing and managing such messaging
- Analytic skills to assess the ‘take home message’ from diverse sources such as technical reports, meeting minutes, social media posts, etc.
- Good interpersonal skills to deal with a diverse group of contacts, and ability to be a team player
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in both Indonesian and English are essential
- Aptitude in the use of a range of graphic design and visual assets management tools, both on- and off-line, including Microsoft Word, InDesign, Photoshop, Lightroom, WordPress.
The position is for Indonesian nationals only. WCS encourages people to apply with communications experience in sectors other than the non-governmental and/or conservation sectors. Remuneration will be commensurate with skills and experience and the position comes with full set of employment benefits. WCS is an equally opportunities employer.
Please send a covering letter and CV in English to wcsindonesia@wcs.org by 2 December 2019 stating in the subject line “Application for Communications Manager”. Please also include a portfolio of your previous work or links to blogs or galleries online.