Head of advocacy and communication, PACS, India

Poverty is an outrage against humanity. It robs people of dignity, freedom and hope, of power over their own lives. Christian Aid has a vision – an end to poverty -and we believe that vision can become a reality. Our overarching aim is both very practical and very ambitious: to change the lives of some of the poorest people in the world. We want to see change happen and we want to know that it is tangible. We campaign against the inequalities that keep people poor and we work with local organisations to give people strength to find their own solutions to the problems they face, irrespective of religion or any other consideration.

The Poorest Areas Civil Society Programme (PACS) is an initiative of the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID), to work with civil society in India, to help socially excluded groups claim their rights and entitlements more effectively. PACS covers 90 districts in seven states- Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

The seven year programme (2009-2016) supports civil society organisations (CSOs) promoting inclusive policies, programmes and institutions at local, district and state levels. PACS targets socially excluded groups: scheduled castes (SCs), scheduled tribes (STs), Muslim minorities, women, girls and people with disability (PwD). For more details please visit www.pacsindia.org

We are looking for a Head of Advocacy and Communication to lead and deliver effective advocacy and communications aligned to the objectives of the PACS programme. The role will develop and deliver strategic advocacy and communications initiatives and campaigns that champion inclusion and challenge discrimination. You will play a key role in identifying and engaging with stakeholders from civil society, media, government and academia. The role will oversee support for partners to strengthen their advocacy and communications capacity and ensure that lessons learnt from the PACS programme are shared widely. You will manage a team and any external agencies or consultants to deliver ambitious and creative communications and advocacy initiatives.

Specific responsibilities of the role include:
· Designing and implementing advocacy and communications campaigns and initiatives
· Ensuring high quality messaging, content, design and production is delivered through PACS or with external consultants, and is consistent with the PACS brand
· Engaging with civil society networks, alliances, private sector, government, other institutions and stakeholders at the national level to work in partnership on advocacy issues
· Fostering innovation and learning opportunities internally within the team and externally by building the advocacy and communications capacity of partners
· Promoting the PACS programme and ensuring the dissemination of case studies and lessons learnt across the programme’s communication channels and beyond
· Overseeing PACS communications channels and materials including website and social media channels, as well as status papers, policy briefs and other advocacy communication requirements
· Media relations management and ensuring that crisis communication issues are effectively managed
· Monitoring, evaluating and reporting on all advocacy and communications initiatives

The post holder will be a post-graduate or equivalent and have knowledge of development issues and current affairs in the region - social exclusion and poverty, with a minimum ten years relevant experience in the field of advocacy and communication, experience of directly building/ engaging in advocacy campaigns at senior level, conceptualizing and designing communication and advocacy strategies, be well versed with communication and social media tools and have experience of writing news, articles, papers, policy briefs etc. Advanced negotiating and influencing skills, ability to analyze critically and take sound decisions, ability to synthesise information/data from appropriate sources and analyse to prepare meaningful, jargon-free and concise reports and messaging and strong language skills in English and Hindi, both written and verbal, would be essential.

Please show your suitability for this post by giving answers to the following questions: Using the guidance notes may help you formulate your answers.

Build partnerships

Give us an example of a time when you had to influence other people and persuade them to work in a collaborative way when there were different personal or organisational agendas.

Communicate effectively

Tell us about a time when you had to communicate a complex issue to an audience that challenged the content of your presentation and asked difficult questions.

Deliver results

Please tell us about a time when you took a decision or made recommendations when the situation was difficult or ambiguous.

We value the contribution each person makes to the success of our organisation, so you can expect a range of rewards and benefits that will ensure you enjoy a good work/life balance.

Download the role profile (48 KB pdf)

To apply for this post, please download an application form and email your completed International application form to: delhirecruitment@christian-aid.org (quoting the reference number). Alternatively, your completed application form can be printed out and posted to us at:

Christian Aid
D-25-D, South Extension Part II
New Delhi
India 110 049

Please note that CVs will not be accepted and that only short-listed candidates will be contacted. If you have not been contacted by 22 June 2012, please assume your application was unsuccessful. Preference will be given to applicants who are Indian nationals or who are eligible to work in India.

Job reference: India/2012/0503

Closing date: Tuesday 19 June 2012

Interview date: Week commencing 25 June 2012

Christian Aid values diversity and aspires to reflect this in our workforce. We welcome applications from people from all sections of the community, irrespective of caste, race, colour, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief. We encourage applications from socially excluded communities, ie Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, religious minorities, people living with disabilities and especially encourage women candidates to apply.