Senior Communications Officer, British Embassy

British Embassy Vacancy

Position: Senior Communications Officer HEO

Job Time: Full-Time

Job Type: Contract

Place of Work: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Salary: USD 1,087.40

Application Deadline: June, 15/2022

The main purpose of the job:

The job holder will oversee and coordinate all of the British Embassy’s communications. The job holder will be responsible for leading communications planning, and devising ways to reach audiences in Ethiopia through the press and digital media. The job holder will use initiative, creativity, and great relationships with the media sector to strengthen the UK’s image in Ethiopia, land our messages, and achieve policy objectives. The job holder will manage and mentor two Communications Officers.

Roles and responsibilities:

• The UK’s Embassy in Addis Ababa is one of our largest in Africa, and the development program run from within it is our biggest on the continent. We are proud of our longstanding bilateral relationship with Ethiopia.
• The successful candidate’s primary role will be to lead the Embassy’s communications planning, implementation, and evaluation, and supervise the work of two junior Communications Officers. The successful candidate will lead the Embassy’s relationship with the Ethiopian media.
• The job holder will lead the communications team to craft high-quality content which showcases the UK’s work in Ethiopia and helps achieve the UK’s strategic objectives. The job holder will be expected to oversee media monitoring.
• The job holder must be comfortable working directly with senior British diplomats and officials and with colleagues right across the Embassy. Someone who is creative, able to take initiative and confident in leading projects independently will thrive in this role. Excellent English and Amharic language skills are essential and knowledge of other Ethiopian languages would be advantageous.
• The successful candidate will either already have or will quickly develop a network of contacts in the media industry and provide regular reporting on the state of the media and updates on the media’s view on the political changes taking place in Ethiopia. The officer will help support the delivery of the Embassy’s media freedom work.
• The jobholder will also help lead the wider communications and soft power team, particularly on producing engaging social media content. This will include the opportunity to learn new digital skills and attend events and travel on field trips to gather content with different teams within the Embassy.
• This is a wide-ranging job covering the full range of communications work. The position offers an excellent opportunity for enthusiastic professional to refine their communication and media skills in an international context and development their management skills.  

Resources managed (staff and expenditure):

• Responsibility for line managing 2 B3 Communications Officers.

Essential qualifications, skills, and experience  

• 3 years of experience in a media or communications role.
• Experience working with senior stakeholders.
• Experience working in an international or multicultural setting.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Amharic.
• Experience managing staff or leading a team.

Desirable qualifications, skills, and experience  

• Experience working as a journalist.
• Existing media contacts.

Required behaviors  

• Seeing the Big Picture, Making Effective Decisions, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together

Application deadline: 15 June 2022

Grade: Higher Executive Officer (HEO)

Type of Position: Fixed Term

Working hours per week: 36 hours

Duration of Post: 12 months

Region: Africa

Country/Territory: Ethiopia

Location (City): Addis Ababa

Type of Post: British Embassy

Number of vacancies: 1

Salary: USD 1,087.40 (gross monthly)

Start Date: 1 August 2022

Other benefits and conditions of employment  

• Learning and development opportunities (and any specific training courses to be completed):

The successful candidate will get access to a range of learning and development opportunities, including on-the-job training and workshops. They will also be able to benefit from the wide range of training run by the British Embassy including management and leadership, cross-cultural communication, and understanding of the UK. There may be occasional opportunities to travel to regional conferences and training courses in South Africa or London.  

Working patterns:

The standard working hours of the British Embassy for office staff are 0800-1645 Monday-Thursday and 0800-1300 on Fridays.

Whilst this will not be frequent, there may occasionally be a need to work evenings or weekends or to travel within Ethiopia for Chevening promotional events. Time off in lieu will be granted where this does occur.

Additional information  

• Please complete the application form in full as the information provided is used during screening.
• Please check your application carefully before you submit, as no changes can be made once submitted.
• The British Embassy will never request any payment or fees to apply for a position.
• Employees recruited locally by the British Embassy in Addis Ababa are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law in Ethiopia.
• All candidates must be legally able to work and reside in the country of the vacancy with the correct visa/work permit status or demonstrate eligibility to obtain the relevant permit. 
• The responsibility lies on the successful candidate to;
• Obtain the relevant permit
• Pay the fees for the permit
• Make arrangements to relocate
• Meet the costs to relocation
• Employees who are not liable to pay local income tax on their Mission salary may have their salaries reduced by the equivalent local income tax amount.  
• Information about the Civil Service Success Profiles can be found on this link:
• https://ift.tt/BKaCvRn
• Reference checking and security clearances will be conducted on successful candidates.