Communications Officer

The Embassy of Switzerland is the official representation of Switzerland and covers all matters concerning diplomatic relations and development cooperation between the two countries. It represents Swiss interests in the areas of political, economic, financial and legal affairs, as well as science, education and culture. In Pakistan, the focus of the development cooperation program is on ‘Water’ and ‘Local State Building’ with a budget of about 18 Mio Swiss francs per year.

In order to strengthen our team we are currently looking for a Pakistani national for the position as

Communications Officer 

Job tasks and responsibilities include the following:

External Communication

• Ensure full coherence and alignment with the Swiss Federal Department for Foreign Affairs’ visual communication tools and guidelines on use of different logos.
• Ensure proper and sensible visibility of SDC in online and print media.
• Produce communication material including reports, briefing notes, success stories, press releases, web resources, news summaries, blogs, photographs and videos.
• Identify appropriate communication activities and channels for disseminating best practices, project experiences and lessons learned to a wide range of target audience.
• Ensure timely and quality production of branded materials such as brochures, factsheets, banners, posters, plaques etc.
• Monitor local media news/reports in relevance to SDC and Switzerland

Digital Communications/Social media

• Maintain the official website and Facebook page for the Embassy of Switzerland/Swiss Cooperation Office in Pakistan
• Develop contents, posts and news for online communication.
• Oversee the design and contents of the website, intranet and social media site for regular updates, quality checks and control.
• Maintain close interaction with communication, web and social media teams of the HQ for updates and other relevant information.

Small Project Portfolio

• Scrutinize and administer communication related proposals submitted for small action funds as per set guidelines (e.g. events on specific thematic UN days or more).
• Prepare, implement and monitor Small Action project of relevant interest/theme.
• Analyze, evaluate and administer responses to the funding proposals received from the HQ, the Embassy, and the management in accordance with the guidelines.

Coordination with Stakeholders in the field of communication

• Coordinate with the management and the project teams for updates on accomplished projects’ activities for potential success stories/case studies.
• Promote actively the knowledge sharing and management within Swiss Cooperation office.
• Facilitate and guide the project implementing partners in correct use of logos; quality check and approval of their project communication materials with SDC logo.

Operational proceedings and documentations

• Participate and provide input in operational proceedings including staff and program meetings, context monitoring (MERV), Local Operation Committees, workshops, events, seminars, annual planning etc.
• Provide strategic input in operational and other technical documents, reports, notes and correspondence as per management’s instructions.
• Proof read and cross check the operational documents for quality, the correct use of templates and logos as per management’s instructions.

Requirements

Education

• Masters in Journalism, Mass Communication, English, International Relations or other relevant subject

Experience

• Min. 3 years professional experience in communication, information and knowledge management with international organisations
• Experience in public relations and experience in writing article and press releases
• Knowledge of the national media
• Excellent spoken and written language skills in English; good knowledge of Urdu and / or other national languages is an advantage

Other skills

• Excellent IT skills (Excel, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint)
• Strong analytical skills
• Able to work independently and proactively with strong personal and social competences
• Able to meet deadlines while remaining organized and accurate