REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS ADVISOR - EAST AND SOUTHERN AFRICA

Reporting to the Executive Director, Global Communications and Media, this role is responsible for managing all communications work on behalf of CARE US in the East/Southern Africa Region - helping to maximize global media coverage and communication opportunities and support accountability to key stakeholders by communicating the humanitarian situation and CARE's emergency operations in the region. The person will work closely with the global communications team to ensure a solid pipeline of updates, content, media messages, and increased media exposure to CARE in ECSA - effectively being both a reporter and editor covering the region for CARE, and feeding the content pipeline for fundraising, brand-building, and social media.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Regional Media Relations

• Generate and disseminate press releases/quotes/ statements for emerging and ongoing crises across the region.
• External Liaison and Communications Representative for the CARE US Marketing and Comms Function in their Respective Region.
• Manage and coordinate the flow of information, strategies, editorial planning, and expert/voice identification and mobilization between the CARE US and Regional Country Offices.
• US Media Engagement Support: Act as key coordinator in the region for incoming media requests from US/Global-based outlets.
• Support the establishment and maintenance of CARE US relationships with key US regional-based media.
• Regional Media Engagement: Develop and execute a region-wide plan aimed at elevating CARE’s Share of Voice among key regional media, including pan-regional broadcasts and alternate media platforms.
• Support COs on media engagement.
• Generate talking points for spokespersons’ media engagements, and ensure they are in line with advocacy asks and CARE’s core key message.
• Coordinate media requests, ensuring CARE’s visibility on national, regional, and global media.
• Work with CARE USA and CARE International on global media pitches and press releases.
• Monitor media in Country Offices we operate in for proactive/reactive media engagement

Crisis Communications

• Support Global Crisis Management (Organizational/Humanitarian) Rapid Response.
• Act as part of the CARE US integrated crisis response process as key coordinator for Media Team with relevant Country Offices, including press management, and talking points.
• Working with the Regional Management Team to ensure the Crisis Management Strategy is current and in place, and be available for any communications as needed.
• Support Country Offices in the generation of reactive quotes in case of a crisis event.

Content Gathering and Story Telling

• Work regularly with each Country Office in the ECSA region to understand their programmatic work, compelling stories, uniqueness, and context.
• Identify core activities that tell the story of CARE's work in each country.
• Serve as an interviewer, photographer, videographer, and writer when documenting CARE's work, including with CARE staff, community leaders, government officials, and program participants.
• Work with Country Office to provide locally sourced general interest story collections per country per year, complete with photos, videos, and narratives that Members and other CARE offices can use to form compelling stories to be used in fundraising, brand-building, and social media.
• Serve as an advisor/liaison between Lead Members and Country Office staff when organizing Member-led content trips and/or commissions.
• Review, edit photos and videos along CARE Guidelines and copy edit stories and reports from Country Offices.

Country Office Support

• Capacity Building and Training: Support the development and execution of a unified approach to capability and society building among CARE Communication Focal points in the Region.
• Work with the COs to ensure good communications capacity and provide communications training, coaching, and mentoring as needed to CO focal points, and as needed to staff and management.
• Reviews any standard reporting and communications documents being used in each office and the Region to ensure compliance and standardization in each context.
• Be prepared and have a plan for each Country's Office to act quickly in the event of a humanitarian crisis. Know who to call upon in each CO to quickly secure the things that CARE will need to respond from a Communications and Fundraising standpoint, including spokespersons, images, video, and photo captioning.
• Serves as a point of contact and initial escalation point for questions about policy, procedure, and requirements for CARE communications for the focal points and in each office and the Region.