Senior Communications Specialist at DAI Global, LLC

About DAI

DAI is a global development company with corporate offices in the United States, the United Kingdom, EU, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Palestine and project operations worldwide. We tackle fundamental social and economic development problems caused by inefficient markets, ineffective governance, and instability. DAI works on the frontlines of global development. Transforming ideas into action—action into impact. We are committed to shaping a more livable world. DAI and its employees are committed to confronting racism and holding ourselves accountable for positive change within the company and in the communities, cultures, and countries in which we live and work. DAI is committed to attracting and retaining the best employees from all races and backgrounds in our continued effort to become a better development partner. DAI upholds the highest ethical standards. We are committed to the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment as well as other ethical breaches. All of our positions are therefore subject to stringent vetting and reference checks.

DAI is seeking highly qualified candidates to occupy full-time Senior Сommunications Specialist position in Kyiv HOVERLA project office in Ukraine to join USAID Governance and Local Accountability (HOVERLA) Activity’s team.

Applications will be accepted until 22 May 2024. Due to a high volume of applications received, we are unable to contact each applicant individually regarding the status of their application. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted in response to this job advertisement.

Project Background

DAI Global is implementing the USAID-funded Governance and Local Accountability (HOVERLA) Activity, based in Kyiv, Ukraine. The purpose of HOVERLA Activity is to facilitate the creation of Ukrainian local governance systems and processes that are more self-reliant, accountable to citizens, inclusive and able to provide services. The Activity has three objectives:

• Objective 1: Ukraine’s system of local self-governance is increasingly institutionalized and effective
• Objective 2: More self-reliant subnational governance
• Objective 3: Citizens play an increasingly influential role in local governance processes

Position Overview

The Senior Communication Specialist will work with the HOVERLA Communication team in planning, designing, implementing, and carrying out HOVERLA’s communication activities. The Senior Communications Specialist will support HOVERLA’s activities in communication channels and events, working with local partners and key stakeholders, including local communities, government agencies, businesses, and mass media. This position requires excellent writing, communication, event organization and media skills. We are looking for a team member who is not afraid to take responsibility, take initiative and be creative. The candidate will act as a writer/editor for HOVERLA as needed and fulfil requests for information from the media and public and HOVERLA’s internal partners such as USAID. The person will cover all comms activities of HOVERLA in Kyiv and regions. He/she should be a focal point for media relations both local and regional and will handle any media requests or regional events for HOVERLA. The Communications Specialist will be based in Kyiv.

The Senior Communication Specialist will report to the Communications Director.

Responsibilities & Duties:

Senior Communications Specialist will mainly focus on the following functions:

Media Relations:

• Serve as a Point of Contact and Lead relations with media on the regional and local levels to ensure the high-level and quality visibility and reach of the HOVERLA activities.
• Develop and implement a partnership strategy with relevant media outlets for HOVERLA visibility in the regions assigned.
• Lead the planning and drafting of briefing/publicity materials including the daily bullets, news, project updates, project fact sheets, “success story” one-pagers, and sector summaries.
• Solicit information from HOVERLA staff and partners to prepare and distribute weekly reports to USAID and USAID partners on regional activities and progress.
• Lead the development of press releases, speeches, and talking points as required by the Communications Director on special projects with local governments in the regions assigned.
• Develop and organize background briefings for media on project implementation and provide media Support for the regions assigned.
• Coordinate with various partners and HOVERLA teams’ development and/or editing the news/articles/columns for the further distribution by local media.

Communication Outreach Activities:

• Serve as the lead on Communications Outreach events and management. This includes managing the setup and coordination of press conferences and field events related to HOVERLA activities.
• Lead development of communications plans and activities for a variety of stakeholder groups, create messaging and materials for community action.
• Support Communications Director in developing innovative communications products to actively engage HOVERLA stakeholders, including institutional and private sector partners.

Events Support:

• Lead the organization, coordination, and development of HOVERLA events and support Objective leads in event organization and ensure their appropriate branding and visibility.
• Plan and develop innovative ideas for HOVERLA events and partner events in the regions.
• Support in developing strategic initiatives and activities (such as ceremonies, forums, and high-visibility events), as needed in the regions.
• Lead HOVERLA’s internal and external events calendar and schedule for the regions assigned.
• Lead communications support of the event planning following DAI logistics, finance, and procurement processes.
• Coordinate closely with external contracted consultants and firms on event management (branding, visibility, outreach issues).
• Assist with field visit to Grants activities sights in the assigned regions. Ensure their media coverage.

HOVERLA Communications and Content Development:

• Lead the implementation of USAID HOVERLA branding and marking during the performance of the technical tasks. This includes ensuring staff is trained and adheres to branding and marking guidelines.
• Plan and develop HOVERLA communication materials, texts, and success stories, in various formats (i.e. written, presentations, video, etc.).
• Lead the development and production of communications, knowledge management and outreach materials (videos, infographics etc.).
• Lead the development of content (text and visual) for HOVERLA’s social media pages and other media channels being utilized by HOVERLA.
• Support the development of on-demand information/communications products requested by USAID or other stakeholders.
• Contribute to the preparation of weekly, quarterly, and annual reports.
• Contribute to the development of relevant SoWs, requests for proposals, etc.
• Coordinate closely with external contracted consultants and firms on communication activities.
• Plan and implement the creation and management of a knowledge bank (OneDrive/TAMIS knowledge repository/SharePoint) for HOVERLA and external stakeholders.
• Other tasks as assigned by Communications Director, or COP.

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in journalism, PR, languages, communications or in a related field; a master’s degree is an asset.
• At least 7 years of professional experience in communications, media relations.
• Experience in communications in the reform sphere in Ukraine is beneficial.
• Have good media relations with regional and local media.
• Experience with communications for USAID or other international donor-funded programs is a bonus.
• Experience in working with grantees is a bonus.
• Proficiency with MS Office (Word and PowerPoint); graphic arts and/or desktop publishing software is a plus.
• Native Ukrainian and excellent command of English; solid skills in writing and editing English and Ukrainian content for various channels.
• Knowledge of the Ukrainian government’s decentralization reform agenda and developments is a plus.