Research Communications and Dissemination Manager

International Centre for Tax and Development

Cape Town

The Institute for Development Studies (IDS) based at Sussex University in the UK is seeking to recruit a Research Communications and Dissemination Manager to lead the research uptake strategy and activity of the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) consortium. This is being done in partnership with the Institute for Security Studies (ISS)

The ICTD consortium is being led by IDS - a leading global institution for research, teaching and communications on international development based at the University of Sussex, UK - in partnership with the ISS, which is a pan-African applied policy research institute; together with other key international taxation and development organisational partners.

The ICTD consortium is a five year programme to look in depth at the links between better systems of taxation and better governance and is funded by DFID and NORAID. ICTD is a global policy research network dealing with the political economy of taxation policies and practices in relation to the poorer parts of the world. The ultimate objective is to contribute to development by mobilising knowledge that will help make taxation policies more conducive to pro-poor economic growth and good governance. The key objective of ICTD is to generate and disseminate relevant knowledge to policymakers and to mobilise knowledge in ways that will widen and deepen public debate about taxation issues within poorer countries.

The Research Communications and Dissemination Manager postholder will be based in the ISS office in Cape Town, and will report to the ICTD management based at IDS, and to a designated manager within the ISS.

This is an interesting and challenging position that requires a high degree of autonomy and initiative, the need to make decisions on a daily basis, and the ability to interact effectively with a wide range of people, located in different countries. The postholder will lead the Research Uptake stream of work for the consortium, managing the English language communication outputs and liaising with the communication team which includes a Research Uptake Advisor and a Francophone Research Communications and Dissemination Coordinator based in West Africa. The postholder will need to combine strong interpersonal, writing and online skills with the vision, networking skills and editorial and new media ability help implement and further refine the ICTD research uptake strategy.

The postholder must be able to travel and will co-ordinate the cross-country ICTD Research Uptake activity, manage the communications budget and liaise with the management team. Experience in working with international partners is highly desirable. Specialist interest in international development and taxation issues and experience of working with stakeholder groups involved in African taxation debates would be a particular advantage.

Detailed Skills and experience requirements:

This role is part of the new Communication Team that is being developed. The post holder will work remotely in a team, with two colleagues abroad and will be in regular contact with a range of internal and external stakeholders throughout Africa and Europe.

Essential skills and experience

• Significant demonstrable experience of producing high quality communications outputs for organisations involved in international development
• Excellent writing and verbal communication skills in English
• Knowledge of new media and of online editorial strategy development and technical supervision; experience of content management systems and writing for the web
• At least three years professional experience working in international development or research in Africa
• Knowledge and experience in research uptake / research communication, particularly from the perspective of supporting policy impact
• High level computer competence - particularly Microsoft Office suite
• A post graduate degree in a relevant field; particularly economics, communications or international development

Desirable skills and experience

• Considerable familiarity with the issue of taxation and development, including knowledge of the key organisations of researchers and practitioners in the field
• Experience of working with an international consortium
• Experience of managing or contributing to an online database
• Media production experience – including editorial and production management; multimedia production (audio visual)
• Knowledge of another language an advantage, particularly French and/or Portuguese

Core competencies

• Highly developed networking skills; and ability to liaise with a wide range of people
• Ability to work in a team as well as alone
• Self motivated with good time management
• Ability to write clearly in plain, understandable English
• Excellent administration and management skills, including financial management, reporting and systems

This is two-year contract subject to renewal. The position is located at the ISS Cape Town office, South Africa. The position is scheduled to begin as soon as possible, ideally June, 2012.

Applicants should provide a covering letter, detailing how s/he meets the requirements of the job. In addition, applicants must provide a detailed CV including the names and contact details of three referees, as well as electronic copies of two single-authored publications. Applications should be e-mailed to: jackie.davies@ids.ac.uk

Closing date for applications: April 27th, 2012

The ICTD is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to achieving employment equity in the workplace.