National Communications Specialist

Role Purpose

Plan International is an independent child rights and humanitarian organisation committed to children living a life free of poverty, violence and injustice.

We actively unite children, communities and other people who share our mission to make positive lasting changes in children’s and young people’s lives. We support children to gain the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to claim their rights to a fulfilling life, today and in the future. We place a specific focus on girls and women, who are most often left behind.

We have been building powerful partnerships for children for more than 75 years, and are now active in more than 80 countries.

The communication specialist is responsible for purpose driven communication for Plan International Poland and is someone with a demonstrable commitment to gender equality, equity, diversity, and inclusion. The communication specialist is responsible for the visibility, content creation and media relations for Plan International Poland.

The communication Specialist will work closely with Plan’s partner civil society organizations and other Plan International team members, including technical experts and programme managers to ensure a appropriate visibility of the activities implemented and supported by Plan International Poland.

Background

Since March 2022, Plan International has been responding to the escalation of the war in Ukraine and the ongoing humanitarian situation in Ukraine as well as in Moldova, Poland and Romania..  Plan International Eastern and Central Europe aims to move beyond the direct refugee crisis response through adopting a localised partner-led approach, scaling-up Plan International’s presence in the new response countries in the East and Central Europe through brokering long-term strategic partnerships to roll out Plan International’s flagship gender-transformative girls and youth-centred development programmes. These will tackle diversity, equality and inclusion, contributing significantly to Plan International’s global strategy ‘All Girls Standing Strong Creating Global Change’

Accountabilities

Communication Specialist Responsibilities

• Function as the communication focal point in Poland for Plan International Eastern and Central Europe  and local partners, as well as occasionally liaising with National Organisations (NO) and Global Hub (GH) in collaboration with the   Head of Policy, Advocacy & Communnications.
• Proactively identify opportunities to promote Plan International’s partner-led programs; Plan International’s research findings; as well as its global and regional policies, strategic areas, communication messages and advocacy recommendations. Produce a range of compelling human-interest girl, child and diverse youth-focused content such as case studies, eyewitness accounts, blogs, first-person accounts, images, audio, and video in collaboration the Poland Head of Mission and the Head of Policy, Advocacy & Communications
• Engage in the development of marketing materials demonstrating Plan International’s impact areas and unique value add which can be shared with existing and potential donors, as well as other key external stakeholders. Support and/or develop content gathering as per donor request
• Ensure brand visibility of Plan International where appropriate, in accordance with Plan International’s global brand guidance
• Ensure all produced content on Poland is available for everyone in the Plan International communications network to use by uploading all content in high resolution onto the global Media Bank
• Liaise with journalists/correspondents, manage media requests and provide spokespersons with briefing and talking points. Proactively develop relationships with journalists to increase media coverage over time.
• Ensure that child protection guidelines for content are strictly adhered to, including consent that is communicated to the local partners when they produce their own content.
• Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for Child Protection (CPP) and Gender Equality and Inclusion (GEI) are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures.
• Follow local news and share with the Head of Mission and the Head of  Policy, Advocacy & Communications when there are appropriate media opportunities to promote Plan International’s messaging to support programming in-country and when activities funded by Plan International are being covered by the local media.

Administrative Coordinator/Management Support Responsibilities

• Manage planning and logistics of high-level media visits as well as NO/GH mission visits to Poland

Key relationships

• Head of Mission in Poland and Poland Programs Team
• Plan International Poland partners
• Head of Policy, Advocacy & Communications and other communications staff across Plan International East and Central EuropeOther External Stakeholders such as mainstream media, key social media account holders, and communication staff from other organisations

Technical expertise, skills and knowledge

Essential

• Experience working in  the not for profit sector or in a similar communications role or working in media
• Degree in communications or another relevant field
• Excellent verbal and writing skills in English with ability to quickly turn around complex information into strong messages and compelling content.
• Track record of writing/editing news articles, features, picture stories, op-eds and press releases and developing vlogs and visual content.
• Strong understanding of international humanitarian and development issues and rights-based work.
• Proven success at pitching stories to the media and working with journalists.
• Ability to organise media visits, set up interviews and brief spokespeople.
• Work enthusiastically as part of a team and form effective and constructive working relationships across the whole organisation and wider network within sector
• Solution focused; able to prioritise, deliver on time and cope with ambiguity.
• Fluent in Polish and working knowledge of written and spoken English.

Desirable

• Experience of, and well-developed skills in, relationship management and capacity building.
• Experience with working in an INGO at Field and/or Country Office level.

Plan International’s Values in Practice

We are open and accountable

• Promotes a culture of openness and transparency, including with sponsors and donors.
• Holds self and others accountable to achieve the highest standards of integrity.
• Consistent and fair in the treatment of people.
• Open about mistakes and keen to learn from them.
• Accountable for ensuring we are a safe organisation for all children, girls & young people

We strive for lasting impact

• Articulates a clear purpose for staff and sets high expectations.
• Creates a climate of continuous improvement, open to challenge and new ideas.
• Focuses resources to drive change and maximise long-term impact, responsive to changed priorities or crises.
• Evidence-based and evaluates effectiveness.

We work well together

• Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
• Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
• Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
• Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.

We are inclusive and empowering

• Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
• Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
• Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
• Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.

Physical Environment

Typical Office environment

Level of contact with children

Occasional interaction with children

Additional Responsibilities:

Child Protection Policy Responsibilities (mandatory for all staff)

• Adhere to the Child Protection Policy, Code of Conduct and reporting any CPP issues. 
• Responsible for the implementation of the CPP standards as they apply to area of responsibility plus the development of actions to address identified gaps and monitoring their effectiveness.
• Ensure that all Plan International partners, visitors and associates in his/her area of responsibility are provided with, are made aware off and have signed and returned a copy of the child protection policy. Inform the partners, visitors and associates that they must comply with the policy in all contacts and communications with children during their visit.

Location: Warsaw, Poland

Type of Role: Fixed Term contract TBD

Matrix Reporting to: Head of Mission with a dotted line to the Response Hub’s Head of Policy, Advocacy & CommunicationsClosing Date: 31th of July 2024

Interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis

Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the very heart of everything that Plan International stands for.

We want Plan International to reflect the diversity of the communities we work with, offering equal opportunities to everyone regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

Plan International is based on a culture of inclusivity and we strive to create a workplace environment that ensures every team, in every office, in every country, is rich in diverse people, thoughts, and ideas.

We foster an organizational culture that embraces our commitment to racial justice, gender equality, girls’ rights and inclusion.

Plan International believes that in a world where children face so many threats of harm, it is our duty to ensure that we, as an organization, do everything we can to keep children safe. This means that we have particular responsibilities to children that we come into contact with and we must not contribute in any way to harming or placing children at risk.

A range of pre-employment checks will be undertaken in conformity with Plan International's Safeguarding Children and Young People policy. Plan International also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this scheme we will request information from applicants previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures.

Please note that Plan International will never send unsolicited emails requesting payment from candidates