Médecins Sans Frontières is an international independent medical-humanitarian organization, which offers assistance to populations in distress, to victims of natural or man-made disasters and to victims of armed conflict, without discrimination and irrespective of race, religion, creed or political affiliation.
MSF is a civil society initiative that brings together individuals committed to the assistance of other human beings in crisis. As such MSF is by choice an association.
Each individual working with MSF does it out of conviction and is ready to uphold the values and principles of MSF.
The MSF movement is built around five operational directorates supported by MSF’s 21 sections, 24 associations and other offices together worldwide. MSF OCBA is one of those directorates. The operations are implemented by field teams and the mission coordination teams; together with the organizational units based in Barcelona, Athens and decentralised in Nairobi, Dakar and Amman. The field operations are guided and supported by 5 Operational Cells, the Emergency Unit and other departments supporting operations.
MSF in West and Central Africa – background information
MSF currently runs medical and humanitarian activities in 13 countries in the West and Central Africa region, with the volume of operations changing according to need, in particular with emergency response. Current activities includes projects related to conflicts in Nigeria, CAR and Mali and resulting displacement and refugee crises; high instability in the Sahel region, including complex arrays of armed groups; epidemic responses (e.g. Ebola, measles, cholera) as well as long-standing structural health issues (e.g. malaria, malnutrition). The Dakar office is today a decentralised operational office characterised by a dynamic innovative environment and growing unique regional expertise.
MAIN PURPOSE OF THE ROLE
The RCM position strategically supports Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Operational Centres as a regional communications specialist. The RCM position was created six years ago. S/he is the MSF regional focal point for media, responsible for generating a better understanding of MSF’s operations and raising awareness about humanitarian crises in the region. In case of an emergency, the RCM can act as a ‘first responder’ providing support to field communications teams in the region. S/he will leverage regional and international media to support the field communications managers and officers present in the region and undertake gap fills whenever required.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
24/7 Media management in West and Central Africa (including digital):
Strengthen our capacity by providing support through café presse, press conference, digital engagement, 24/7 and week-end back-up system
Profile MSF’s work, projects, and concerns on humanitarian crises in the region among regional and international media and audiences.
Advise on media opportunities and effective dissemination strategies to ensure targeted MSF communications that are well covered.
Monitoring and reporting on operations context especially during crises, in conjunction with actor mapping, identifying influencers, and activating social media listening tools (Talkwalker) to support field communications.
Facilitate journalists’ field visits to MSF projects and pitch key issues/projects to journalists.
Act as a spokesperson for MSF communication, as needed.
Provide periodic qualitative reporting about the media landscape in the region (including clippings), and ensure a level of expertise on media in the region (international media and correspondents, audiences, etc.) and for the region.
Operational communications support as needed and emergency response:
MSF communication efforts in the region:
Oversight and management of MSF West Africa digital communications:
Team Management:
The RCM manages and supervises the Regional Field Digital Officer as a direct report.
Place within the organisation/set-up:
The RCM is an intersectional position responsible for facilitating public communication for all MSF sections. S/he will report to one of the Communications Coordinators on behalf of MSF’s Communications Coordinators group. The RCM is hosted in MSF’s regional office in Dakar. The RCM is responsible for the management of the annual regional c**ommunications budget and a regional field digital officer position.**
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Essential
Desirable
CONDITIONS
This vacancy is archived.