CONTENT DEVELOPMENT ADVISOR – Office Region West, Central an North Africa (f/m)

SOS Children’s Villages International is the world’s largest organisation focused on ensuring that children and young people without parental care or at risk of losing it grow up with the care, bonds and support they need to develop and become their strongest selves.

Organized as a federation, and locally led by National Associations, SOS Children’s Villages works in more than135 countries and territories around the world with the ambition to act so that to strengthen families who are under pressure so they can stay together. When this is not in a child or young person’s best interests, we provide quality care according to their unique needs. In West, Central and North Africa specifically, we are active in 21 countries supporting children and families, together with partners, donors, communities, children, young people and families.

To support us with this important responsibility we are now looking for a committed:

CONTENT DEVELOPMENT ADVISOR – Office Region West, Central an North Africa

(f/m)

Location: Dakar (with between 30 or 50% field travel)

Tasks and Responsibilities

The Content Development Advisor rmission is to strengthen the position of SOS Children’s Villages through communication, focusing on making WCNA National Associations (NA) and the International Office Region (IOR) more visible and attractive for donors and advocacy stakeholders

The purpose of this position is to be responsible for providing editorial support and contributing to the development of high-quality content (multimedia content and stories) in the region by covering programmes, current events and topics of interest, and by strengthening National Associations’ capacity to develop their own content.

Working mainly in the West Central and North African region, but also supporting global efforts, the Content Development Advisor will produce and coordinate external communications content with National Associations applying journalistic skills, turning this information into stories that are used by External Communications and fundraising parts of the organization/federation.The ultimate aim being to ensure that fundraising and communications colleagues (at national and international levels) produce and receive persuasive, relevant and timeous material about the work of SOS Children’s Villages, demonstrating its impact..

Under the leadership of the Regional Team Leader Communications and Brand, the Content Development Advisor is responsible for:

• Write stories and produce multimedia content driven by positioning, fundraising and advocacy needs
• Ensuring efficiency of response to various stakeholders’ requests, and timely submission of written, photo and video material to our global database for communication materials
• Provide and facilitate capacity-building and training for National Associations communications coordinator on storytelling and content production, branding, social media engagement, consent and privacy matters relating to child rights
• Lead the social media efforts (Twitter, LinkedIn) in English and French for the IOR
• Contribute to the shaping of the SOS Children’s Villages editorial plan and lead in the development of theme-related packages in line with the organization’s strategic initiatives
• Provide regular updates on important news, emergencies and events within the region
• Manage pool of freelancers: commissioning, briefing and managing freelance journalists and photographers, where necessary, to generate content from the field
• Build and maintain a network of useful external contacts (local journalists, NGOs, other external audiences) in the region in order to gain a better understanding of regional/country issues and to be informed of regional/country developments and be able to provide relevant guidance and advice on such issues.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism, multimedia or related field
• At least 5 years’ work experience in communications (non-profit or international development are preferred) and/or journalism, and producing communications content (writing and multimedia)
• Experience working in developing countries (particularly in North, West & Central Africa), preferably in a media environment
• Knowledge of social development issues, such as child protection, education, community/programme development, community health, child and youth development or related field
• Ability to travel internationally within the region at short notice
• Good communication and diplomacy skills
• Fluent in French and English (spoken and written) is necessary (knowledge in Portuguese and/or Spanish a plus)
• Demonstrable experience and capability to manage projects autonomously.
• Ability to work virtually in a multicultural environment and to handle change

We offer

• Diverse, creative and challenging opportunities in an international working environment
• Possibility to make significant contribution towards the development of National Associations in the Region
• Competitive compensation package and excellent development opportunities in accordance with the organization’s child protection policy, all employment is subject to applicable background checks, including criminal record checks

What We Stand For:**

SOS Children’s Villages is committed to creating and maintaining a caring and protective environment, which promotes its core values, and prevents and addresses child abuse and exploitation. We strongly condemn all forms of child abuse and exploitation, be it within or outside of our organization, and always respond to any case of proven, alleged or attempted abuse within our sphere of influence according to its nature. Eff orts ensure that mechanisms are in place to raise awareness, aid prevention, encourage reporting and ease response. They range from human resource development actions such as training and counselling to measures such as suspension, dismissal, and legal action