Communications Officer

Right To Play is a global organisation that protects, educates and empowers children to rise above adversity using play. By harnessing play, one of the most powerful and fundamental forces in a child’s life, we helped 2.3 million children last year to stay in school and out of work, to prevent life-threatening diseases like HIV and malaria and to stay safe from exploitation and abuse. We are the only global development organization focused exclusively on using play to transform the lives of children and youth impacted by poverty, war, disease and inequality.

Established in 2000, Right To Play is headquartered in Toronto, Canada and has operations in 15 countries across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

 

With a shared passion for our mission, our Culture Code guides how we act and interact based on five core pillars:

 

• Accept Everyone – Be intentional about inclusion
• Make Things Happen – Seek opportunities to lead and innovate
• Display Courage – Act with integrity
• Demonstrate Care – Look after yourself and one another
• Be Playful – Have fun at work

 

Please visit our website to learn more about who we are and what we do, and watch this video to find out about the five pillars of our Culture Code.

 

 

 The Communications Officer reports directly to the Country Director (CD) or Head of Office (HOO) in the respective country and technically to the Communications Manager, Country Programs (HQ). The incumbent also works closely with and receives guidance from the Marketing and Communications Team at Right To Play’s Headquarters.

 

The Communications Officer is responsible for leading the Country Office’s communications activities, and for contributing to the organization's marketing and communications objectives.

 

The Communications Officer contributes to building and enhancing Right To Play's overall public image and brand awareness in the country through public outreach, media relations, and social media management. The incumbent supports local advocacy and fundraising efforts and project success by creating effective advocacy and communications materials and supports with coordination and communication for events and visits from key stakeholders.

 

The Communications Officer is an important part of the Global Communications Team. The incumbent contributes to Right To Play’s global fundraising and awareness efforts by collecting and developing multimedia content that communicates the impact of our programs on the lives of children and youth.

 

The incumbent works closely with the Country Office’s Program Manager, and Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Specialist.

 

 

Job Responsibility #1 Planning and Compliance: (35% of Time):

• Develops and implements an annual communications plan, in line with the Country Office’s strategy plan and the needs of program funders and Right To Play's global communications objectives and plan.
• Ensures that all communications materials and messages are in-line with project grant agreements and donor requirements.
• Conducts field visits to project sites and ensures proper dissemination of information for events and success stories.
• Ensures proper documentation of communications materials.
• Conducts ongoing review of the communications plan and communications components of country action and strategic plans to ensure compliance; identifies gap areas and recommends solutions.
• Ensures RTP promotion of various International “Days” such as Child Day, Diabetes Day are in-line with national strategy and behavioural and social goals.
• Facilitates field visits by VIPs including donors, partners, board members, Athlete Ambassadors, media, global staff and international consultants working for Right To Play in the respective country. This includes planning events, developing itineraries, etc.
• Plays a key role in the development and dissemination of behaviour change communication messages and social mobilization campaigns.
• Ensures compliance with Right To Play brand and messaging guidelines, Right To Play Policies (including in particular, Right To Play’s Child Safeguarding policy), and other policies as needed, and any relevant government legislation.
• Contributes to the Global Communications Team by attending quarterly meetings and supporting on special projects

 Job Responsibility #2: Communication: (35% of Time):

• Develops systems for effective and efficient communications and best practice sharing within the country office.
• Creates compelling photo, video, and written collateral and content that communicates Right To Play’s work and impact.
• Collaborates with the HQ Communications and Marketing Team to fulfill communications requests
• Oversees photo, video and message archiving in the Country Office
• Develops a system to produce personal stories, quotes and photographs of Coaches and children in our programs; oversees photo archiving.
• Develops informational and promotional material on RTP projects.
• Trains country team on the value and usage of the brand.
• Liaises with printing and design companies, edits design when required.
• Oversees and approves all print proofs in the country before being printed including T-shirts and documents.
• Creates and edits designs for communications materials and brand merchandise and liaises with printing and design companies to see them realised.
• Manages the Country Offices social media and communication platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Facebook Workplace, Sharepoint and Playspace. As part of their social media management role, the incumbent ensures that the Country Office’s social media accounts are on brand and on message.
• Acts as a focal point on the “play-space” intranet, where applicable.

Job Responsibility #3: Media and public relations:: (25%):

• Develops and maintains relationships with country, and locally based media.
• Closely monitors and tracks media coverage for RTP and sport for development in country.
• Establishes contacts with media and writes media releases and success stories.
• Conducts media development activities in country to build capacity of local media to advocate for the role of sport for development and the role sport can do in meeting development goals.
• Accompanies and supports visitors to the country when delegated.
• Works with the Country Office team to develop and implement media relations strategy for any high-profile visit to the country/region including preparing background materials and relevant packages.

Performs other duties as assigned (5% of Time)

 

Bachelor’s degree in communications, public relations, journalism or a related field

• 5 years’ experience with I/NGOs in the country of operation in a communications role.
• Experience creating high-quality written, photographic, and video content
• Experience collecting success stories
• Experience media relations and managing social media accounts
• Experience with graphic design
• Experience working with global colleagues
• Experience providing communications and brand training
• Experience managing building relationships with and managing external communications vendors
• Experience in working according to child protection and child safeguarding best practices, especially with regards to photography and videography involving minors.

• Excellent interpersonal and confidence using these in a cross cultural environment
• Excellent communication skills both written and verbal
• Ability to proofread and ensure consistency and the highest quality of professional presentation in all communication products.
• A solid team player with respect for others
• Ability to understand and motivate others
• Proven ability in transferring knowledge and experience
• Adaptable with the ability to deal with stress and competing priorities
• Demonstrated professionalism and positive attitude
• Effective organization skills

• Strong Office 365 skills, especially Word, PowerPoint, and Sharepoint
• Experience with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms
• Experience with Canva

 

Fluency in spoken and written English and Arabic.

• Experience in photography and videography (filming and editing)
• Fluent with standard photo and video editing software like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro
• Understanding of human rights and social change issues
• French is an advantage for English-speaking countries

Employment Start Date:

 

 

Compensation: 

If you are interested in applying for this position, please apply by submitting your documents Here

 

 

While we thank all applicants for their interest, only those selected for video interviews will be contacted. Right To Play provides equal employment opportunities to employees regardless of their gender, race, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation or marital status. We offer a family-friendly environment that allows for flexible work arrangements in order to support staff diversity and ensure a healthy work-life balance.

 

We are a child-centered organization. Our recruitment and selection procedures reflect our commitment to the safety and protection of children in our programs. The successful candidate will be required to provide a satisfactory police record check as a condition of employment.

 

To learn more about who we are and what we do, please visit our website at www.righttoplay.com