Location: Washington, D.C.
The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) is a fund within the Inter-American Development Bank supported by 39 donors with a mandate of promoting growth and poverty reduction through private sector development targeting poor and low-income populations--their businesses, their farms, and their households. The MIF implements this mandate through its Access Framework, which provides its clients with the tools to raise their incomes: access to finance, markets and skills, and basic services. As a laboratory for development, the MIF uses a combination of grants (about 70% of operations), equity investment (20%), and lending (10%) to pioneer innovative solutions, leverage private finance, share risk, fill skill gaps, address market failures, and provide knowledge, all in order to unlock private activity at the base of the pyramid. The MIF is the largest technical assistance provider to the private sector in Latin America and the Caribbean. The MIF finances about 90-100 projects per year, with a total annual finance volume of about US$100 million.
Strategic communications is central to the MIF's overarching business strategy, which requires effective, engaging communication of the results and analysis of MIF experiments with innovative development interventions. MIF audiences are diverse, encompassing development practitioners, donors, corporate and foundation partners, banks and other financial institutions, development researchers, social entrepreneurs, impact investors, and civil society.
The MIF is seeking to hire a versatile and dynamic Communications Chief who will lead the MIF communications team. The selected person will manage and integrate all aspects of the MIF communications strategy, including engagement with media and social media, the recently redesigned website, publications editing and production, multimedia and video presentations of initiatives and projects, marketing, and assessment of communications impact. The MIF is working actively to expand and strengthen communications and outreach efforts to reach multiple audiences and stakeholders and promote systemic impact.
The selected candidate will position the MIF at the forefront of the evolving communications environment, incorporating new developments and seizing new strategic opportunities, while ensuring quality control and clear messaging in MIF's publications, website, multimedia products, and media/social media presence.
Main Responsibilities Will Include:
1. Strategic communications and outreach
• Lead the development of a strengthened, expanded, and integrated communications and outreach strategy.
• Identify new opportunities and channels for advancing support for MIF work, engaging new audiences, forming communities, and building partnerships.
• Ensure that MIF Management and senior staff are effectively deployed to communicate key messages and participate in key events.
• Promote innovative communication techniques and media technologies.
• Lead the communication team's work to define and design specific organizational communications campaigns.
• Develop effective relationships with partner organizations for improved outreach and impact, look for opportunities and gaps in communication activities, and work to improve those areas.
2. Media and social media
• Manage overall MIF engagement with local, regional, and global media, in close cooperation with External Relations of the IDB.
• Oversee the MIF's growing social media outreach, ensuring effectiveness, creativity, and application of best social media practice.
• Manage press outreach, in close cooperation with External Relations of the IDB, by overseeing the team's work on project announcements and news articles, monitoring coverage, and coordinating media interviews, training, and press briefings.
• Manage the team's work on multimedia presentations of MIF initiatives and projects.
• Manage the selection of particular projects or initiatives for video presentation and ensure that videos produced both communicate effectively and are visually compelling.
3. Website management
• Oversee the MIF website team and ensure that the Web is well-designed and structured, and the information and analysis are timely, relevant and accurate. Maintain strategic Web content.
• Maintain lively blog activity.
• Stay on top of developments in Web-based communications trends and make use of innovative techniques and technologies.
• Provide guidance to staff in the MIF for improving and expanding their Web presence and blogging.
4. Publications management
• Coordinate the editorial committee, which sets priorities and standards for MIF knowledge sharing and communications products.
• Lead and strengthen the publications committee, which handles editing and proof-reading of corporate products for style, accuracy and conformity with the industry standard.
• Ensure that MIF publications meet the standards and procedures as outlined by the editorial committee.
• Maintain the MIF publications calendar and coordinate with MIF units and others as necessary.
• Oversee production of MIF Management presentations at major events (Power Point presentations, speeches etc.) to ensure that they are of high quality and well-targeted to audiences.
5. Team effectiveness and communications impact
• Manage team of communication professionals, providing support, coaching, effective feedback, and actively promoting professional development.
• Develop planning tools for internal use within the communications team.
• Measure and track the impact of specific communications and outreach activities as part of MIF's overall communications impact measurement.
REQUIREMENTS:
Education:
- Languages: Fluent in English and Spanish.
COMPETENCIES:
Communication skills: Able to concisely and accurately convey information, both written and verbal, tailored appropriately to audiences and to all levels of seniority. Able to distill complex, technical information into clear, accessible language for print and web and to research and draft articles, syntheses and news items. Use good judgment, tact and discretion in his/her communications.
Strategic Thinking: Able to develop a vision, formulate objectives, set priorities, allocate resources, and implement plans consistent with the long-term interests of the institution - while also being able to adjust plans to capitalize on opportunities and manage risks. Results Orientation: Acts independently and resourcefully in response to work demands. Able to meet organizational goals and client expectations by producing high-quality results, involving creative problem-solving. Demonstrates motivation to produce quality, and acts with a sense of urgency to meet the objectives of the Bank/MIF and its member countries.
Management and Teamwork skills: Demonstrated ability to lead and motivate the team, taking initiative to assist others and share information, knowledge and best practices. Committed to individual professional development and empowering specialists.Building Bonds: Demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships and networks within and outside an organization. This person should be able to anticipate and meet the needs of internal and external stakeholders, delivering high-quality performance, products and services and showing a commitment to continuous improvement.
Adaptability: Demonstrated ability and willingness to quickly adapt to different topics with little prior information and knowledge.
The IDB offers a competitive benefits and compensation package, including relocation expenses.
The IDB is committed to gender equality and encourages women to apply.
We seek diversity also in terms of nationality, ethnicity, race and educational background.
Persons living with disability or HIV/AIDS are equally encouraged to apply.Deadline: August 24th, 2012.
How To Apply: Please apply through www.iadb.org/careers MENTION GORKANA WHEN APPLYING!
• Master's degree in journalism or communication, or a related field such as marketing.
• A minimum of ten (10) years of experience in a communications role with similar responsibilities, preferably in an international organization.
• Exceptional communication skills and strong writing skills. Proven ability to think strategically and synthesize information from varied sources.
• Demonstrated experience in managing communications professionals. Strong interpersonal skills.
• Ability to juggle multiple functions, including web pages, publications, social media, blogging, marketing, media relations, and multimedia presentations and videos.
• Demonstrated editorial skills.
• Experience using new media for interactions with stakeholders. Comfort with and continuous curiosity for latest technologies.
• Thorough knowledge of and practical experience in the full range of communications approaches, tools and methodologies essential to planning, executing, and monitoring communications strategies. Proven ability to plan and successfully implement a comprehensive communications program in support of defined objectives.
• Background in Web marketing and leveraging social networks is desirable.
• Familiarity with, and interest in, economic development issues, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean.