Vital Strategies Communications and Media Specialist, Prevent Epidemics Jobs in Ethiopia

Vital Strategies Communications and Media Specialist, Prevent Epidemics Jobs in Ethiopia

Job Id: 223640

Category: Health Care, Media and Journalism, Civil Service and Government

Location: Addis Ababa, Addis Ababa

Career Level: Senior Level (5+ years experience)

Employment Type: Full time

Salary:

Job Description

Communications and Media Specialist, Prevent Epidemics, Ethiopia

Resolve to Save Lives

Vital Strategies, headquartered in New York City, is an international public health organization. Our programs strengthen public health systems and address the world’s leading causes of illness, injury and death.

We currently work in 73 countries, supporting data-driven decision making, advancing evidence-based public health policies and programs and mounting strategic communication campaigns. Our programs are concentrated in low- and middle-income countries and cities in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific.

Resolve to Save Lives is a global health initiative that aims to save millions of lives by reducing preventable deaths from cardiovascular disease and to prevent infectious disease epidemics.

Resolve to Save Lives (RTSL) is housed within Vital Strategies. Since September 2017, the Resolve to Save Lives Cardiovascular and Prevent Epidemics teams have been working closely with governments, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, academic and other partners in a number of countries to strengthen national capacity to prevent, detect and respond to epidemic threats and to implement a core package of interventions to reduce cardiovascular disease. More about our Prevent Epidemics work can be found at: https://preventepidemics.org/

In collaboration with the Ethiopia Public Health Institute, Resolve to Save Lives seeks to establish a six-member team to provide technical expertise and support to the Government of Ethiopia to accelerate progress towards compliance with core capacities of International Health Regulations (IHR 2005).

Working across multi-disciplinary teams and multiple government departments, this team will be composed of a Senior Project Manager, a Senior Health Advisor, ‘One Health’ Technical Advisor, a Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor, two Legal Advisors and a Communications and Media Specialist.

The team will work to accelerate the implementation of the National Action Plan for Health Security (NAPHS) and improve capacity indicators across 19 different technical areas.

Overall Role. The Communication and Media Specialist will be responsible for developing promotional materials about NAPHS, IHR core capacity and supporting media engagement to keep the public informed about national health security activities.

This position is part of a partnership between Resolve to Save Lives and the Ethiopia Public Health Institute aiming to increase efficiency, prioritization and resources for epidemic preparedness and emergency response nationally.

The Communications and Media Specialist is a full-time position based in Addis Ababa and requiring occasional travel to the field.

The Communications and Media Specialist will work within the Public Health Emergency Management section of EPHI and collaborate closely with the Resolve to Save Lives New York-based Prevent Epidemics team and communications staff.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Plan, coordinate and assist in the implementation of a robust communications strategy concerning Ethiopia’s National Action Plan for Health Security, in cooperation with EPHI public relations directorate

Prepare promotional materials such as brochures and fact sheets on the NAPHS and national and sub national Emergency Operations Center (EOC) activities

Facilitate requests for information and press conferences, ensuring up-to-date and accurate sources of information about NAPHS and national and sub national EOC achievements

Support EPHI social media activities and website updates to increase awareness and improve understanding about NAPHS and national and sub national EOC activities

Support content creation and editing for various publications / formats for internal and external audiences (eg, press releases, specialized articles, newsletters, posts, social media snippets, etc)

Draft speeches and arrange interviews for key advocacy activities concerning NAPHS/EOC

Write and produce press releases, presentations and other media communications to promote the NAPHS/EOC

Assist with planning of communications strategies and events and share information with the PR directorates of EPHI

Analyse media coverage concerning health security and emergency operations

Job Requirements

Required Qualifications:

Master’s degree or higher in journalism, health communications or related discipline

7 years’ relevant experience in public relations and communications, ideally in the field of public health

Exceptional writing skills with sample blogs, OpEds and short essays

Excellent communicator in English and Amharic; additional local languages are an asset

Demonstrated experience handling press conferences and media

Ability to think both creatively and strategically and to work on developing communications strategies as well as executing day-to-day communications tasks

Outstanding computer skills with experience in all Microsoft Office programs

Proficiency in Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign preferred

Proficiency in HTML and CSS is a plus

Self-motivated, excellent organizational skills, detail-oriented, ability to prioritize, multi-task and meet deadlines

Social media savvy and experience working with social media management platforms

Quick learner, with enthusiasm for the mission of Resolve to Save Lives and EPHI

Background in public health and / or emergencies strongly preferred

How to Apply

Please submit your CV and a cover letter and include your salary requirements to the following:

Vital Strategies Communications and Media Specialist, Prevent Epidemics Jobs in Ethiopia