Strategic Communication and Public Relations Advisor
Average salary up to US$120,000/annum plus allowances based on relevant qualifications and work experiences 1. Organizational Context Ministry of Borders and Tribal Affairs (MOBTA) is a leading ministry in Afghanistan that supports and represents the needs and concern of the tribes and border communities of the country. In addition to that, the ministry works for national unity, sovereignty of our borders, delivery of social justice, and create the conditions that pave the way for balance development in the country. Similarly, the ministry is responsible for taking different measures for welfare of Afghan citizens irrespective of their ethnicity or gender for living a decent life on one hand and to build trust in the central government on the other. This trust of people in the government ultimately helps in bringing peace and stability to this war torn country of Afghanistan. The Civilian Technical Assistance Program (CTAP) is an Afghan government program that aims to create stronger government institutions with more effective structures, efficient processes and skilled personnel. It assists Afghan government organizations to implement capacity development and performance improvement programs by providing them with skilled international technical experts and capacity development advisors. On behalf of MoBTA, CTAP is now seeking to fill the position of Strategic Communication and Public Relations Advisor to work in MoBTA’s Directorate of Information and Public relation, under supervision of the Deputy Minister for Political Affairs. This position is open to international passport holders only: Afghan expatriates (with international passport) and nationals of regional countries are especially encouraged to apply. 2. Position 2.1 Nature and Scope of Assignment This assignment involves supporting a government-led capacity development program within MoBTA’s Directorate of Information and Public relation. Under the supervision of the Deputy Minister for Political Affairs, the successful candidate will provide technical advice, management support and technical inputs required to allow the Directorate, and in particular the Department of Publication, to oversee the strategic communication and public relation processes of the ministry.
The successful applicant will be expected to work with and through his/her Afghan national counterparts, and to progressively transfer skills, expertise and knowledge to them. This position does not involve management or line responsibilities under any circumstances. 2.2 Duties and Responsibilities Working in coordination with the Director of Information and Public Relation, and counterparts from the directorate and with assistance from the CTAP Capacity Development team and other relevant staff and advisors, the Strategic Communication and Public Relations Advisor will:
• Conduct a situational analysis of the department to find the institutional and human capacity gaps, and problems and suggest the necessary solutions and capacity development methodology. • Based on the situational analysis and baseline assessment, develop a work plan for the selected capacity development and change management activities reflected in the ToR • Assist relevant national counterparts on conducting a comprehensive stakeholder analysis to identify key stakeholders for strategic communication of the ministry;
• Establish a comprehensive communication system that can help and support the Directorate of Information and Public Relation, ministry leadership and senior management in strategic communication on key priorities, and high-level engagements with other government and donor agencies. • Assist and train the Communications Department staff and other relevant departments to ensure clearly defined lines of communication as well as effective outreach and dissemination of lessons learned and good practices across the ministry and with key national and international stakeholders. • Train and assist national counterparts in development of communication mechanism that will ensure high-level reporting on key priorities, notably in response to the Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) Cluster, the civil societies and other agencies. • Assist and train the relevant staff on how to develop and revise policy papers, guidelines, briefings, presentations, talking points and other key documents, and facilitate their dissemination. • Assist the line managers in the development and implementation of a cohesive public outreach strategy, in alignment with MoBTA policies, strategies and guidelines, in close consultation with the senior management, in order to realize MoBTA’s commitment and focus on implementing the constitutional right to information. • Assist the team to develop, maintain and update a comprehensive database of all civil societies and councils (shuras) to facilitate information sharing and communication on MoBTA programs, plans and activities. • Devise a mechanism which ensures that the communication and implementation of public outreach activities are carried out in a timely manner and in line with the strategic direction of MoBTA. • Develop templates that ensure timely and accurate collection of information from various MoBTA directorates, for the purpose of keeping the website updated; • Assist the team to coordinate the process of information collection with all directorates, and ensure timely communication of their programs in particular training programs, and international exposure opportunities, to all MoBTA staff at national and sub-national level. • Train and assist the relevant counterparts on how to edit the content of the website on daily base, and ensure that the website content is consistent with MoBTA’s policies and strategies. • Assist the directorate relevant staff to ensure easy access to all website content through close coordination with the ICT Directorate.
The successful applicant will be expected to work with and through his/her Afghan national counterparts, and to progressively transfer skills, expertise and knowledge to them. This position does not involve management or line responsibilities under any circumstances. 2.2 Duties and Responsibilities Working in coordination with the Director of Information and Public Relation, and counterparts from the directorate and with assistance from the CTAP Capacity Development team and other relevant staff and advisors, the Strategic Communication and Public Relations Advisor will:
• Conduct a situational analysis of the department to find the institutional and human capacity gaps, and problems and suggest the necessary solutions and capacity development methodology. • Based on the situational analysis and baseline assessment, develop a work plan for the selected capacity development and change management activities reflected in the ToR • Assist relevant national counterparts on conducting a comprehensive stakeholder analysis to identify key stakeholders for strategic communication of the ministry;
• Establish a comprehensive communication system that can help and support the Directorate of Information and Public Relation, ministry leadership and senior management in strategic communication on key priorities, and high-level engagements with other government and donor agencies. • Assist and train the Communications Department staff and other relevant departments to ensure clearly defined lines of communication as well as effective outreach and dissemination of lessons learned and good practices across the ministry and with key national and international stakeholders. • Train and assist national counterparts in development of communication mechanism that will ensure high-level reporting on key priorities, notably in response to the Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) Cluster, the civil societies and other agencies. • Assist and train the relevant staff on how to develop and revise policy papers, guidelines, briefings, presentations, talking points and other key documents, and facilitate their dissemination. • Assist the line managers in the development and implementation of a cohesive public outreach strategy, in alignment with MoBTA policies, strategies and guidelines, in close consultation with the senior management, in order to realize MoBTA’s commitment and focus on implementing the constitutional right to information. • Assist the team to develop, maintain and update a comprehensive database of all civil societies and councils (shuras) to facilitate information sharing and communication on MoBTA programs, plans and activities. • Devise a mechanism which ensures that the communication and implementation of public outreach activities are carried out in a timely manner and in line with the strategic direction of MoBTA. • Develop templates that ensure timely and accurate collection of information from various MoBTA directorates, for the purpose of keeping the website updated; • Assist the team to coordinate the process of information collection with all directorates, and ensure timely communication of their programs in particular training programs, and international exposure opportunities, to all MoBTA staff at national and sub-national level. • Train and assist the relevant counterparts on how to edit the content of the website on daily base, and ensure that the website content is consistent with MoBTA’s policies and strategies. • Assist the directorate relevant staff to ensure easy access to all website content through close coordination with the ICT Directorate.
2.3 Deliverables The deliverables of Strategic Communication and Public Relation Advisor are: • Inception Report indicating capacity gaps, baseline, work plan and capacity development methodology developed; • System for strategic partnership with key development partners developed • Information collection templates Developed • A comprehensive stakeholder analysis conducted • A functioning strategic communication system established • A working communication mechanism in place; • A cohesive public outreach strategy, in alignment with MoBTA’s policies, strategies and guidelines developed • Data collection and analysis system in place • Report writing system in place • Effective communication and coordination mechanism in place • Effective public relation mechanism in place • Public awareness system in place • National staff fully trained on abovementioned areas;
2.4 Skills, Experience and Qualifications Required The candidate should have the following skills, experience and qualifications: • Master degree in Public Administration, Public Policy, Communication, strategic planning, organizational/institutional development, human resource development, business administration, or other related field is required • At least 8 years of work experience communications in public outreach • Experience in coaching/mentoring with government, non-government organizations (NGOs) or donor agencies, having work experience directly with/for relevant donor agencies (WB, DFID, USAID, EU, etc.) is an advantage • Knowledge of Afghan government development strategies, budget and planning processes and institutions a plus • Excellent command of written and spoken English, knowledge of local languages (Dari and Pashto) is an advantage • Excellent command of common Microsoft Office programs • Previous experience in under-developed, insecure or post-conflict environments is a plus
How to apply:
Submission Guideline: Application should be completed online via www.ctapafghanistan.org Only short listed candidates whose background and experiences corresponds to the above criteria will be contacted for further consideration. CTAP is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Females are highly encouraged to apply for CTAP’s positions.
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