Communications and Reporting Officer

Position Location:      Ramallah, Palestine  

Background: Creative Associates International is a dynamic social-impact company that specializes in education, economic growth, governance and transitioning communities from conflict to peace. Based in Washington, D.C., Creative has a field presence in more than 25 countries with a strong client portfolio that includes the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department, among others. Since its founding in 1977, Creative has earned a solid reputation among its clients and is well-regarded by competitors and partners alike.    

Position summary: Creative Associates seeks a Communications and Reporting Officer for the USAID-funded West Bank and Gaza (WBG) Basic Education Activity, which will strengthen education services for Palestinian children of KG 1 through Grade 6 that enable them to thrive and reach their full developmental potential. The Communications and Reporting Officer is a very demanding position that has three core responsibilities – content, report writing/management and branding – that are explained in greater detail below. She/he works across all departments to understand and translate individual activities and overall programmatic direction into easy-to-understand outputs that are disseminated among internal and external audiences. A successful Communications and Reporting Officer is best described as being flexible, is curious about our program activities and is attentive to detail, among other attributes. This is a hands-on position in which she/he will be expected to also contribute to the program’s success in the field.  

Program summary: Under the Basic Education Activity, USAID seeks to work with the private sector, non-formal, non-governmental, community-based, U.N., and civil society partners to strengthen early childhood and primary educational opportunities through high quality early childhood education services and supplemental support structures to strengthen foundational pre-primary and primary education for children in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. Specific areas of focus include strengthening foundational skills in literacy, numeracy, social emotional learning (SEL)/soft skills, building teacher and student resilience capabilities and assets, and strengthening pathways between non-formal to formal education. 

**Please note this is a local recruitment and only citizens from Palestine will be considered** 

REPORTING & SUPERVISION  

 This position reports to the MEL Manager and coordinates closely with other departments and the Chief of Party.   

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES  

Based on the programmatic objectives of this education program, and consistent with USAID’s overall strategy and goals, the Communications and Reporting Officer is expected to perform the following duties:  

Communications plan 

• Develop and manage a 12-month communications plan that includes external events, success stories, and more. The communications plan must be approved by the MEL Specialist, Chief of Party and USAID. 

Content  

• Develop and manage an editorial calendar covering six- to 12-month periods, which would be updated monthly and approved by the MEL Specialist and Chief of Party.  

• Oversee and manage the planning, development and on-time delivery of quality content related to the editorial calendar.   

• Write an average of four success stories and four feature stories a year that demonstrate the program’s advancements. Note: Writing will be in English and Arabic.   

• Train and coach technical staff to identify and support the reporting of success stories, development of communications-related content for reports and other products.  

• Edit and pass along for approval communications-related content from the staff and contributing consultants.  

• Ensure that all original content adheres to a style that reflects the scope and results of the program’s work.  

• Take basic photographs of selected activities for social media, reports and other products.  

• Plan and supervise professional photographers and/or videographers who will be contracted to produce higher quality content.  
• Organize and lead the pre-production, production and post-production meetings, as well as alert the team members of updates and changes.  

Branding & Marking  

• Ensure that the USAID-approved Branding and Marking Plan is correctly applied for all communication products, activities, and events in accordance with all USAID Branding and style regulations, Creative style guides, and other guidance.  

• Review and, if needed, update the program’s Branding and Marking Plan to ensure consistency with USAID’s policies and changes to the program’s deliverables. 
• Ensure that program staff understand the basic requirements of ADS 320.3.3 Branding and Marking Requirements.  

Reports  

• Oversee, write and edit reports from compiled information for weekly, monthly, quarterly, and semi-annual reports following USAID guidelines, and ensure that the reports are edited for writing consistency and are submitted by deadlines set forth by USAID.   
• Provide overall quality control on all CARI Honduras documents including review and editing of all press releases, event materials (such as banners and signage), communications content, materials, messaging, success stories, publications and communications documents produced by programs team.   

Other areas  

• Respond to requests from USAID, such as materials for official visits, events, etc.  

• Organize and manage public events, such as launch events.  

• Serves as a liaison with media, communications, and public relations staff members in other organizations that have a direct relation with the project, based on guidelines and policies established by USAID and Creative.  

• Please note that the Communications and Reporting Officer is not the spokesperson for the program, Creative, and/or USAID. All on-the-record interviews are to be pre-approved by USAID. 

• Work with the Chief of Party and Programs team to ensure that best practices, lessons learned, and project results are disseminated in appropriate internal and external mechanisms.     

• Collaborate closely with program colleagues in the region and HQ in the United States.  

• Supervise consultants and freelancers, including videographers, video editors and copy editors.   

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REQUIRED SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS:   

• At least three (3) years of professional experience in journalism, communications or public relations with a significant portfolio of published material.  

• Proven writing and editing skills in Arabic and English.  

• Ability to identify content ideas, find interesting angles and tell stories in a compelling, accurate, authentic and respectful way.   

• Demonstrated ability to develop engaging stories and lessons from results of technical activities, as well as analysis and reporting on program impact and implementation.  

• Understand how to effectively interview people.   

• Experience planning, coordinating and implementing outreach/media events and communications materials.  

• Basic understanding of the latest electronic publishing and graphic methods.  

• Basic understanding of photography and videography.  

• Strong interpersonal and diplomatic skills (including cultural sensitivity and political awareness) ability to build relationships and establish rapport with colleagues, both in person and virtually.   

• Eager to work with a diverse group of colleagues from many countries and backgrounds.   

• Proven initiative, creativity and self-direction.  

• Ability to work independently and contribute to larger team projects.   
• Availability to travel to program activity locations in support of communications efforts.  

REQUIRED EDUCATION AND LANGUAGES:   

• University degree in communications, journalism, or related field required. Advanced degree preferred.  

• Fluent oral and written communication skills in Arabic is required.  

• Working proficiency in spoken and written English is required; advanced knowledge of spoken and written English highly desired.   

  DESIRED SKILLS:   

• Previous experience working with international development donors, including USAID, on programs in communications and outreach activities.  

• Familiarity with technical or government reports and how to extract stories from them.  

• Basic video editing, videography and photography skills are a plus.   

• Experience in Abode Creative Suite.   

Apply at: Communications and Reporting Officer 

Deadline to Apply: 31 January 2024

Only finalists will be contacted.  No phone calls, please. 

Creative Associates International Inc. is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer (gender/race/disability/veteran) and provides equal opportunity to all individuals regardless of their race, color, creed, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by state, federal, or local law. Please view Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Posters provided by OFCCP here.