Field Communications Officer

Main Purpose: The Field Communications Officer (FCO) is responsible for MSF operational communication at field level. The FCO  aims at building MSF visibility, acceptance and leverage inside the country. In close collaboration with the Head(s) of Mission and the Communications Adviser(s) at HQ levels, he/she identifies communication needs and contributes to the definition of a communication strategy supporting operational objectives. He/she implements the communication strategy at field level under the supervision of the Head(s) of mission and the Communications Adviser(s).   Priorities will vary from our context to another (proportion allocated to visibility, acceptance, leverage). But whatever the context, the field communication officer will be expected to focus on the 4 tasks as follows:   Media management Media alert Content production Content diffusion   Other tasks (like internal communication, health promotion for instance, should not be considered as a priority and should not be conducted at the expense of priority tasks).   Accountabilities: a)      Needs Assessment and Communication Strategy The FCO evaluates field communication needs and contributes to defining a strategy based on her/his knowledge of the country. This strategy should aims at promoting the visibility of the organization, improving awareness of its principles and work, reinforcing information on activities among communities. If needs be, the FCO should work closely with the Head(s) of mission on defining a local public advocacy strategy to support leverage on authorities and key players (armed groups, donors, international organizations…). The FCO should build a budget for the implementation of this strategy and regularly review results and expenses under the supervision of the Comms Adviser and the Head of Mission.       b)      Media Management The FCO maps key local media and foreign correspondents contacts (journalists, bloggers, photographers, and cameraman) and maintains regular relations with them under the direction of the Head(s) of Mission.  The FCO develops contacts with communications staff from other organizations and institutions. In agreement with the Head(s) of mission, he/ she will contact local media proactively to pitch stories or ask for corrections/ clarifications. The FCO handles local media requests under the supervision of the Head(s) of Mission and international media requests under the supervision of the Comms Adviser. He/she facilitates media visit to MSF offices or MSF projects. If needs be and first agreed with Head(s) of Mission and Comms Adviser(s) he/she organizes media events (Press conference, Press briefing…). The FCO briefs spokespersons and assess media training needs for key staff.   c)       Media Alert The FCO browses local media and flags significant articles, news stories or reports of importance for MSF / context wise to Head(s) of Mission and Comms Adviser(s). He/she produces strategic local media landscapes (numbers, political affiliation, ownership, freedom of speech, use of social media) and regularly reports on new developments. He/she provides guidance on how to deal with local media at time of crisis.   d)      Content Production The FCO advises on which communications tools to choose according to objective, message and audience at local and national levels. He/she then produces or supervises the production of local comms contents (leaflets, brochures, posters, radio spots, articles, photos, videos..) according to strategy and budget in the following areas:   Sensitization: information on services and good practices among local communities, patients, local decision makers Awareness/ visibility: promotion of MSF activities and its principle locally Acceptance: promotion and improvement of MSF image Advocacy: comms support to local advocacy strategy (when it exists) The FCO helps producing international comms content by providing data, information, quotes, testimonies, pictures, videos…to the Comms Adviser or the person in charge of writing international comms contents at the time. The FCO tracks and archives communications production on the country to build institutional memory.   e)      Content Diffusion  The FCO promotes actively MSF contents diffusion in the country. Under the supervision of the Head(s) of Mission, the FCO identifies opportunities among MSF comms network production (from List_Press) or returning staff to pitch content on MSF activities in the country but as well in other countries. If judged applicable, he/ she uses social media (twitter, blogs, facebook....) to promote MSF contents.   f)        Internal Communication The FCO is in charge of promoting MSF external communications within the staff (Why does MSF communicates, what does MSF communicate about, how does MSF communicates..). He/ she promotes MSF guidelines on photography, video, blogs or social media and sensitize staff about potential external communications risks. At times and if need be he/ she can edits and supervises the production of internal communications. However, the FCO should not be seen at field level as the person in charge for internal communication related tasks.   Health promotion activities: at time, the FCO can support health promotion activities (notably by advising and implementing on media and dissemination media strategies). But in no way, the FCO should be considered as the responsible for health promotion activities.   g)      Management and Reporting The FCO produces a regular sit-rep on communications activities, results and objectives for the next period. He/she works under the supervision of the Head(s) of Mission and is supported by communications advisors in HQ.