The Advancing Capacity for the Environment (ACE) program facilitates the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)’s work to combat climate change, conserve biodiversity and manage natural resources, improve land governance, and expand access to secure, modern energy and resilient infrastructure. ACE strengthens capacities for technical leadership and effective programming through integrated support in four areas: communications, knowledge management, training, and facilitation/organizational development. ACE’s primary clients include the Center for Climate-Positive Development (CPD), Center for Energy, Infrastructure and Cities (CEIC), and Center for Natural Environment (CNE), and their associated divisional offices, within the agency’s Bureau for Resilience, Environment and Food Security (REFS). The program objective is to enhance USAID’s effectiveness, leading to positive and sustainable development outcomes globally in the above sectors.
Position Description
The Communications Director / Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP) leads ACE’s Communications task area to deliver a suite of communications products and services designed to enhance the effectiveness of USAID programming, partnerships, and brand awareness. They will lead ACE’s Communications team which includes six Communications Specialists and broader pool of specialty consultants, including videographers, editors, and graphic designers. The Communications Director / DCOP will serve as a key client interface with USAID staff to understand USAID’s communications objectives and audiences, and coordinate ACE’s communications strategies, related work plans and products. They will collaborate closely with ACE’s Finance and Operations team to develop and oversee ACE activity budgets. They will ensure that product workflows and quality assurance / quality control (QA/QC) processes are in place, using project management tools such as Asana. They will collaborate closely with ACE’s other task area teams (e.g., knowledge management, training, and facilitation/organizational development) to coordinate messaging, lessons learned and best practices across technical areas both internally and with external audiences. The Communications Director / DCOP fosters a culture of innovation, ideas and lessons learned to contribute to the state of the art in Communications where practical. As DCOP, they will work closely with the COP and program leadership to guide and help execute organizational development and team-building initiatives. They will serve as Acting Chief of Party as needed. The Communications Director will be supervised by the Chief of Party.
Key Duties And Responsibilities
In coordination with the ACE Team, the Communications Director will:
Lead the conceptualization, development, and dissemination of knowledge and information regarding USAID programming to a diverse array of internal and external audiences. This includes leading the planning and coordination tasks under the ACE Statement of Work.
Provide expert guidance to USAID on the planning and execution of communication strategies and activities, including effective communication events, high-quality materials, social media content, and content for Agency outreach campaigns by translating materials into visually rich and interactive formats that retain technical accuracy while presenting information from more diverse voices in an accessible way.
Lead and mentor a communications team to plan, develop, manage, and evaluate communications strategies, editorial calendars and content as further detailed in the ACE Statement of Work.
Ensure appropriate resource allocation to support ACE’s Communications activities, including recruitment efforts for Communications staff and consultants.
Develop, track and manage Communications activity budgets to ensure that they meet cost control objectives in coordination with ACE’s Finance and Operations team. Provide ongoing guidance and strategic input on ACE operational and financial matters in close coordination with the COP and program leaders.
Coordinate closely with Knowledge Management and webpage management staff to support communications content for the ACE managed USAID links websites – Land-links.org, Urban-links.org, BiodiversityLinks.org, and ClimateLinks.org – as further detailed in the ACE Statement of Work.
Leads and contributes to program-wide activities, including program retreats, external outreach (e.g., represents ACE at conferences), and offer creative solutions for programmatic issues.
Stay abreast of program-wide management issues. In the absence of the COP, represents the ACE Program to USAID, partners, and other key stakeholders and expected to be the direct link to the ACE Contracting Officer’s Representative in all project management matters.
Qualifications
B . A . /B . S . in communications or related field.
Minimum 10 years of experience in strategic communications, outreach, engagement with USAID and high-visibility campaigns and issues.
Demonstrated experience engaging and managing high profile stakeholders including USAID.
Experience leveraging creative and innovative storytelling on major environmental issues.
Exceptional writing and editing skills, experience with data visualization, and digital storytelling.
Excellent written and spoken English.
Authorized to work in the United States - Applicants must specify their preferred work country in their application.
*Based in one of the following U.S. locations where DAI is registered: District of Columbia, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.
Compensation & Benefits
For employees working the United States, the full-time equivalent annual base salary for this position is expected to be between $160,000 to $185,000 . Salary for part-time employees will be prorated based on actual hours worked. Actual offers will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, qualifications, relevant education, experience, skills, seniority, performance, and business or organizational needs.
Eligible U.S. based employees, will be able to enroll in medical, dental and vision insurance, plus a 401(k)-retirement plan with a company match. Additionally, employees will be eligible for company-paid annual leave (vacation & holidays), sick leave, parental leave; as well as short- and long-term disability coverage. Detailed information will be provided at the time a formal offer is extended.
For employees working outside of the United States, compensation and benefits will vary based on location.
Equal Employment Opportunity
DAI and its employees are committed to confronting racism and holding ourselves accountable for positive change within the company and in the communities, cultures, and countries in which we live and work. DAI is committed to attracting and retaining the best employees from all races and backgrounds in our continued e f fort to become a better development partne r . DAI upholds the highest ethical standards. W e are committed to the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment as well as other ethical breaches.All of our positions are therefore subject to stringent vetting and reference checks. DAI is an equal opportunity/a f firmative action employer with a commitment to diversit y .All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colo r , religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identit y , national origin, disabilit y , or status as a protected veteran. DAI requires COVID-19 vaccinations subject to accommodation required by la w .
Seniority level
Executive
Employment type
Contract
Job function
Other
Industries
International Trade and Development
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