Policy Communications Officer

Stichting BirdLife Europe

Brussels, Belgium

1. INTRODUCTION

BirdLife Europe is the European Division of BirdLife International, and is one of the six BirdLife regional offices around the world. It is composed of an international team of permanent staff working on conservation, capacity building, policy, management, finance, fundraising, advocacy, science, communication, marketing and administration. Stichting BirdLife Europe supports the European and Central Asia Partnership of BirdLife International, which consists of 45 independent, grassroots Civil Society Organisations, governed by a democratic programme.

BirdLife International is a global Partnership of autonomous, national non-governmental conservation organisations, with a large grassroots membership, in 117 countries and territories. BirdLife works together as a Partnership to conserve wild birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, by working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources. BirdLife is the global authority on the status of bird species, has unparalleled technical expertise in bird and biodiversity assessment, and provides a global outreach through its national Partners and decentralised Secretariat.

2. OVERALL PURPOSE OF THE JOB

The purpose of the Policy Communications Officer is to ensure visibility and increased impact of the BirdLife Europe’s Policy work with the EU institutions and key EU policy audiences and stakeholders.

Key external audiences: Decision-makers, on-line and off-line media, NGO coalitions.
Key internal audiences: BirdLife partners.

3. DUTIES

Strategic

1. Maintain relationships with journalists, in particular EU correspondents in Brussels.

2. Develop media ‘narratives’ for BirdLife Europe Policy work and get coverage in traditional and social media.

3. Contribute to the definition of new communications tools.

4. Contribute to the definition of communication needs and solutions around BirdLife Europe’s policy events.

5. Support BirdLife Europe national partners in shaping their advocacy campaigns and policy communication around common BirdLife messages and campaigns.

Operational

1. Support BirdLife Europe in conveying to media, policy-makers and other external stakeholders its position on the key policy areas affecting birds and biodiversity.

2. Design and lead policy campaigns involving BirdLife EU partners.

3. Create, maintain, update and plan policy content for the BirdLife Europe website, intranet, extranet and other relevant online platforms including social media.

4. Produce policy publications, including content, distribution and promotion.

5. Writing and editing fact sheets, newsletters, position papers, website articles and other communications material.

6. Monitor news that are relevant to the policy work of BirdLife Europe.

7. Give verbal and written presentations to influence key audiences to BirdLife Europe point of view.

8. Support BirdLife Partners in policy communications at national level.

9. Participate and sometimes lead communications activities in relation to NGO coalitions, in particular the Green 10.

10. Contribute to the annual Achievement Report of BirdLife Europe and other relevant publications.

4. QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED

PLEASE, READ THIS CAREFULLY:

Before submitting your application take time to score your qualifications for this job. Remember to be honest, this is the best way to increase your chances to get the job. You need to score each required qualification from 0 to 3: 0 = I do not have this qualification, 1 = basic, 2 = good, 3 = very good).  Then sum up the scores to obtain the total.

Before submitting your application, please answer to the following questions and you will know whether you are qualified enough to apply to this job:

Question	Answer
Do you score only 2 or 3 in qualifications from 1 to 16 (one 1 score is acceptable)?	NO: you are not qualified enough to apply to this job YES: please pass to the following question
Is your total score more than 50?	NO: you are not qualified enough to apply to this job YES: you can apply for this job

If you are qualified to submit your application, please attach the next table with your scores to the cover letter. Please consider that any application sent without individual and total scores or with any 0 or 1 in qualifications from 1 to 16 or with a total score of less than 50 will be automatically discarded.

Essential Qualifications   (Score: 0 = I do not have this qualification, 1 = basic, 2 = good, 3 = very good)		Score
1	Good general education – University Degree or equivalent in journalism or marketing, with particular focus on on-line media
Experience & Knowledge
2	Minimum of 4 year experience in policy communications with demonstrated success, preferably in the not-for-profit sector
3	Proven ability to write and deliver effective, audience-focused communications and campaigns that deliver policy change
4	Strong capacity to write and edit a wide range of materials including press releases, reactive statements, speeches, leaflets, briefing papers, web pages, web feeds, blogs and in-depth reports
5	Strong knowledge of social media and web-based communications tools
6	Good policy understanding and commitment to Nature conservation
7	Knowledge about BirdLife Partnership work and Programmes
Skills & Abilities
8	Very good written and oral communication and presentation skills required to build relationships with journalists, partners and stakeholders
9	Ability to understand complex policy issues and to articulate these in a simple, catchy way including using story-telling, case studies, illustrations, infographics, videos and social media
10	Good interpersonal, networking and team working skills
11	High standard of computer literacy
12	Fluent in English (additional languages are an asset)
Approach to work
13	Demonstrable ability to create and follow work plan and prioritize own workload with minimum supervision
14	Demonstrable ability to react quickly to unforeseen/unplanned communications opportunities
15	Flexibility and adaptability (multiple assignments, working under pressure, responsiveness to requests, follow-up of decisions)
16	Openness and creativity: capacity to propose and integrate new ideas and approaches
17	Ability and willing to work occasional evenings and weekends and to be contacted out of office hours in particular policy occasions
Personal disposition
18	Ability to influence others with your point of view
19	Strong self-motivation and curiosity
20	Problem solving attitude and capacity to resolve potential conflicts
21	Assertiveness and confidence
	TOTAL

5. SALARY

The gross salary is between 3000 and 3400 EUR per month according to personal experience (holiday bonus, 13th month, pension scheme, luncheon vouchers) under Belgian employment contract.

6. HOW TO APPLY

Please submit the qualification scorecard, a full CV, a comprehensive cover letter (all in English) setting out your reasons for applying for the post and outlining the qualifications experience knowledge and skills that you feel you can bring to the role to: recruitment.europe@birdlife.org.

Closing date: 26th March 2014 at midnight CET. Please consider that applications received after the closing date will be automatically discarded.

7. SHORTLISTING AND INTERVIEWS

Shortlisting is based on CV and cover letter. Successful candidates will be asked to attend face to face interviews and perform an additional test. Travel support or possibility of remote interview may be offered to candidates from abroad.

Please note that due to the large number of expected applications only successful candidates will be contacted.

Interview days: 3rd-4th April or 10th-11th April in Brussels

Start day: 5th May 2014