Job Summary:

The Communication and Public Affairs division of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks a Communications Specialist II. This is a two year, exempt, renewable position.  This individual will help to identify, develop, and execute separate communication strategies for two multi-partner, multi-country research programs. One program is working with a diverse group of partners to address low fruit and vegetable consumption in low- and middle-income countries. The other program uses an innovative, consumer-focused perspective to understand how to increase demand for and access to sustainable healthy diets through food systems transformation in low- and middle-income countries.   

The Communications Specialist II will work closely with multi-disciplinary research teams and cross-functional communications teams to develop and execute two communications strategies, which deliver a wide-variety of creative, informative communication products for print, web, social media, and events. The successful candidate will have a balanced blend of strategic thinking and hands-on ability to coordinate the production of products that convey research findings and recommendations to diverse audiences (funders, the academic community, policymakers and policy influencers, and other stakeholders) across the globe in an engaging manner. This is a multi-faceted position, requiring someone who is able to multi-task extremely well. The successful candidate will have excellent spoken and written communication skills, be a confident self-starter, a creative thinker, and a diligent administrator. This is a full-time position within IFPRI’s Communication and Public Affairs Division in Washington, D.C., dedicated to supporting the two research programs.

Essential Duties:

Specific duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Strategic Communications and Coordination

• Work closely with program leadership to design, lead, develop, and implement an integrated communications strategy and annual work plan for each research program and monitor progress.
• Serve as the communications point of contact for both research programs, including keeping multiple teams within each program informed.
• Identify communication opportunities, including identifying and refining key messages from research and the relevant target audiences and channels, and then leading the production of communication products, coordinating contributions from other communications staff or external consultants as needed.
• Ensure consistency of brand and messaging across communication products.
• Build and maintain an internal calendar of relevant international, regional, and national events or moments that inform policy and political dialogues related to the topics of the two programs.
• Measure the effectiveness of communications efforts, establish benchmarks and use analytics to inform and refine activities.

Communications

• Lead the production of creative content and impactful materials (e.g., blogs. webinars, slide decks, infographics, data visualizations, briefs, success stories, videos, etc.) in cooperation with cross-functional communication teams (e.g., visual designers, photographers, writers, and editors), vendors, or consultants.
• Support communication needs for conferences or workshops, which could include identifying local vendors, leading or coordinating media outreach, leading or coordinating the development and distribution of materials (banners, materials, presentations), and assisting onsite when appropriate.
• Oversee and manage two websites, including adding and updating content, collaborating with developers, troubleshooting problems, and making recommendations for improvements.
• Develop and manage content for social media channels.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree plus five years of relevant professional experience in Communications, International Development, preferably with an international organization; or Masters' degree plus three years of experience in Communications, International Development, preferably with an international organization.
• Excellent written and oral English communication skills.
• Experience producing creative content that distills complex ideas into a wide-variety of informative, accurate, well-designed communication products with cross-functional teams, including developing and managing work plans.
• Demonstrated competence in following basic principles and standards of graphic design and layout, copyediting, and print publishing, web-based communication, and social media.
• Experience and understanding of website user tracking, content personalization, and analytics reporting.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple projects and tasks simultaneously, meet deadlines, and provide quality products with a high attention to detail and accuracy.
• Knowledge of international development topics, including food systems, poverty, nutrition and health
• Familiarity with WordPress and Microsoft Office Suite, especially Word and PowerPoint.
• Excellent verbal, visual, and written communication skills
• Strong interpersonal and collaboration skills; proven ability to build relationships at all levels in a diverse organization and seek opinions while maintaining trust to provide appropriate solutions and decisions; and proven ability to be flexible in a team-oriented environment.
• Cross-cultural experience and willingness to travel internationally. 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Proficiency in a second language of the U.N. system
• Familiarity using graphic design tools such as Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, or similar tools such as Canva.
• Experience working with consultants or vendors.

 Physical Demand & Work environment:

• Employee will sit in an upright position for a long period of time.
• Employee will lift between 0-10 pounds.
• Employee is required to have close visual acuity to perform activities such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing computer terminal; extensive reading.  

At IFPRI, we prioritize the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees, families, and friends.  In response to the increased transmissibility with recent COVID-19 variants, all US-based employees must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and provide proof thereof, as a condition of employment. Accommodations due to medical or religious exemptions will be considered.

IFPRI Washington D.C has a hybrid work environment that allows staff members a minimum of two days in-office work and three days remote work.

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is an equal employment opportunity employer - F/M/Disability/Vet/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity