Communications Manager, Financial Inclusion Program, Toronto, Canada

Communications Manager, Financial Inclusion Program POSITION:

Communications Manager, Financial Inclusion Program

LOCATION: Toronto, Ontario

The MasterCard Foundation is a global foundation based in Toronto, Canada, with approximately $9 billion in assets. It was established through the generosity of MasterCard Worldwide at the time of the company's initial public offering in 2006. As an independent entity, its policies, operations and funding decisions are determined by its own Board of Directors and President and CEO.

The Foundation believes that every person has the potential to transform their lives and improve the lives of their families and communities. The Foundation collaborates with partners to advance sustainable and scalable solutions in financial inclusion and youth learning, focusing on countries – particularly Sub-Saharan Africa – that face high rates of poverty, limited access to financial services and growing numbers of out-of-school youth.

The Foundation values innovative and fresh thinking as it strives to become a global thought-leader. Its work is achieved by a strategic, nimble and highly entrepreneurial team with a proactive and results-oriented approach to its philanthropic activities. The organization's culture is shaped by people who are driven and passionate about the Foundation's mission.

The Foundation is on an exciting growth trajectory. To date, it has committed $1 billion in major initiatives, which align with its financial inclusion and youth learning strategies. Over the next few years, the Foundation expects to commit $100 million annually to broaden economic participation of the poor and to enable young people to realize their potential.

PROGRAM AREA

Since 2008, the Foundation has committed $278 million to 33 organizations across multi-year financial inclusion projects. Although we are a relatively new funder, our partners and projects are having a profound impact on the lives of the poor. Collectively, our projects serve approximately five million people and are anticipated to benefit 15 million people by 2018. The Foundation has been a pioneer in shaping access to financial services to young people in Africa. We are also advancing scalable models to extend financial services to rural, hard-to-reach populations. Our work is contributing important learning about the role of financial services in improving lives of poor people at a time when the entire field has shifted to the concept of Financial Inclusion. In short, our Financial Inclusion program will contribute significantly to the Foundation's 2020 vision of catalyzing prosperity in Africa.

Communications Manager, Financial Inclusion Program

To date, our Financial Inclusion program has focused on three strategies:

1. Scaling access in Africa, primarily by helping microfinance institutions expand their product offerings and expand to new geographies.

2. Pioneering financial services for youth by catalyzing financial service providers to

invest in a combination of market research, experimentation, roll-out and evaluation of financial services for young people.

3. Promoting responsible finance by supporting partners at the global level to

develop and align reporting standards, best practices and client protection and transparency.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop and implement the communications strategy for the Financial Inclusion program area. Work with the Financial Inclusion team to ensure communications activities are appropriately aligned and complementary to the overall Financial Inclusion program's objectives and goals.
• Develop and implement the program's media/social media strategy across all media channels including print, broadcast, online and trade publications.
• Conduct media outreach, when appropriate and respond to media inquiries within a timely manner.
• Write and edit speaking remarks and talking points for program team members. Write, edit and produce relevant materials and publications (i.e. news releases, key messages and Q&A documents, fact sheets, etc.).
• Work with Communications team to coordinate relevant convenings, conferences, speaking engagements, etc.
• Respond to and manage other general communications and media activities, as required.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• An undergraduate degree in journalism, business, marketing or communications is required.
• 10-12 years experience in communications from non-profit, public or private sectors.
• Experience in working closely with a CEO and Board.
• Demonstrated strategic thinking with an ability to translate ideas into practical implementation plans.
• Results-oriented with ability to ensure communications activities appropriately resourced and executed on time and within budget.
• Sound business sense and professional judgment.
• Excellent written and verbal skills. Interpersonal skills to operate effectively in a cross-functional team setting. are

Communications Manager, Financial Inclusion Program

• Leadership and management abilities to provide active direction to global PR agency and other vendors to ensure delivery to plans.
• Strong organizational skills with excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to prioritize and coordinate multiple tasks while remaining adaptable and flexible.
• Ability to develop effective recommendations to address problems/issues, and to present complex issues with a high level of clarity and impact.
• Experience in brand and reputation management including metric measurement across various platforms.
• Demonstrated media relations experience including ability to conduct media outreach at a local and international level, develop and implement media strategies and prepare relevant press materials.
• Proven experience working with social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.
• Web content development and management skills.
• Experience in the developing world or working in a large corporate or global organization.
• Ability to represent the Foundation externally at partner convenings and other relevant Program events.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with an openness to new and different ideas/approaches.
• Proficiency in Microsoft office products (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint).

LOCATION

This position is located in the Foundation's office in Toronto, Canada.

APPLICATIONS

Interested candidates may apply with a cover letter along with a resume to Toni Tiemens at ttiemens@mastercardfdn.org. Please include Communications Manager, Financial Inclusion Program in the subject line. All applications are appreciated, however, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

The MasterCard Foundation is an open, collegial organizat ion w hich honours principles of equality of opportunity for all.