HEAD OF COMMUNICATION

Médecins Sans Frontières, founded in 1971, is an international medical humanitarian organization that provides emergency medical assistance to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters or exclusion from health care. Our teams are made up of tens of thousands of medical professionals, logistics, administrative and various other professions, all guided by our medical ethics and our principles of impartiality, independence and neutrality.

MSF WaCA, created in 2019, is the first MSF headquarters in Africa, and responds to the desire to reinvent the MSF movement after 50 years of humanitarian actions in the world, for more access to care, more reactivity and proactivity for greater medical coverage of affected populations in the world.

Why join us?

You are preparing to become a member of the MSF family, with over 50 years of emergency medical action that earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999.

We are an inclusive organization that considers social and professional well-being a right for all and provides an environment that considers the diversity of each member.

MSF WaCA claims an African anchorage that considers the local expertise with which it contributes to the implementation of its activities and makes each member, a key actor of the new dynamics of the humanitarian action in the world.

We Are Looking for: HEAD OF COMMUNICATION

Department: COMMUNICATION

Direct Manager: GENERAL DIRECTOR

Functional Manager: GENERAL DIRECTOR

Title(s) of position(s) reporting to the holder:

§  Operational Communication Advisor

§  Communication Officer

§  Digital Manager

§  Inclusion COMs Officer

§  Press & Media Manager

§ AV & Graphic Designer

Working %: 100%

Position Based in: Abidjan, HQ

Mobility: All WaCA’s Interventions Zones

Type of Contract: Fixed-Term Contract under Ivorian law; Renewable

Position to be filled: As Soon As Possible

Objectives

As the Head of Communication, you participate in the strategic plan building and its implementation. You define and manage the institutional communication strategy in close collaboration with the Management team and technically support the operational communication while relying on the WaCA’s communication set up.
You organize the articulation of communication actions with the fundraising team, support their efforts within the framework of MSF communication policies. You identify with the executive the positioning issues for MSF, animate the stakeholders around their definition and defend MSF WaCA positions within the movement.

Main responsibilities

1.        Design MSF WaCA’s Communication Objective, Strategic plan & Com set up in line with MSF WaCA strategic plan.

! Expecting a bottom-up approach with Civil society to define WaCA com objective & strategy.

·       Define action plans aimed at meeting operational communication needs, seizing public communication opportunities vis-à-vis MSF's prescribing audiences and promoting the adaptation of MSF communication formats and channels to the evolution of uses,

·       Arrange and animate the communication department to guarantee its responsiveness and the complementarity of actions between the development of messages, the production of content and dissemination,

·       Ensure the integration of the contributions of the speakers in the elaboration of the MSF speeches (other departments, movement)

·       Organize reporting on MSF communication actions with WaCA and the rest of the movement,

·       Manage certain projects on your own (campaigns, events, etc.)

2.        Define and animate the communication policies of MSF WaCA and the internal mechanisms necessary for their implementation:

·       Formalize the framing of MSF communication actions considering internal and external developments,

·       Implement specific actions intended to support MSF's orientations in terms of public communication (organization and work culture; training),

·       Clarify, in collaboration with the operations management, the roles and responsibilities of internal actors in the development of messages and in the identification of speaking opportunities,

·       Facilitate discussions on public communication within WaCA and the movement and defend the point of view of MSF WaCA,

·       Contribute to the structuring of the means dedicated to communication within the movement.

3.        External relations and fundraising support:

the fundraising component will be developed later with the arrival of the person in charge of fundraising.

·       Identify fundraising opportunities based on MSF operational news,

·       Co-organize communication actions for MSF donors,

·       In collaboration with the fundraising management, adapt the processes and work organization between the fundraising and communication department to get the most out of MSF's communication actions,

·       Regularly organize physical or virtual media events for management (information sessions, press conferences, etc.) in line with MSF WaCA's and management's fundraising objectives.

·       Represent MSF WaCA within MSF platform as the MSF Core DirCOM and the Full DirCOM.

4.        Lead & Supervise the HQ COMs teams:

·       Recruit, supervise, lead, and support its teams and contribute to the development of the skills of its employees,

·       Set guidelines, define objectives, evaluate their work,

·       Make sure of the good contribution to the projects/transversal works/inter departments.

5.        Be responsible for the budget of the COMs department:

·       Develop, manage, and monitor the budget.

Education

·       Hold a diploma in one of the following fields: communication, public relations, international relations, journalism, marketing or equivalent.

Competencies

·       Leadership skills

·       Excellent Team & project management skills

·       Strong in empowering team members by delegating appropriate works

·       Strong communication and interpersonal skills based upon excellent skills in active listening, assertive communication, and negotiation.

·       Analytical capacity & Identification of strategic priorities

·       Agility and ability to use technology.

·       Proven Result oriented.

·       Strong creativity and “Out-of-the-box” thinking

Professional experience required

·       Minimum 5 years’ experience in one of those fields: public relations, media, communication, or marketing.

·       Experience in the Humanitarian field is preferable

·       In-depth knowledge of the media and political landscape of West & Central Africa

·       Experience with MSF is preferable

Languages Skills

·       Working proficiency in English and French

Computer Skills

·       MS Office suite (mainly MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint)

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MSF offers equal recruitment and development opportunities without any form of discrimination based on gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, geographical origin, physical disability or any other discriminatory ground.

Female candidates who meet the requirements are strongly encouraged to apply.

N.B.: This job description provides a framework for the main responsibilities and primary activities of the position. It is not exhaustive. Therefore, the responsibilities and activities of the position may differ from those described in this job description due to organizational and operational needs.

 Deadline: 13th June 2025 18:00 GMT
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.