Advisor - Communication

Focus of the Role

We don’t just talk, we do. Lead the change with us.

At the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, we work with political leaders around the world to drive change. We help governments turn bold ideas into reality so they can deliver for their people. We do it by advising on strategy, policy and delivery, unlocking the power of technology across all three. And by sharing what we learn on the ground, so everyone can benefit. We do it to build more open, inclusive and prosperous countries for people everywhere. 

We are a global team of nearly 800 changemakers, operating in more than 30 countries, across five continents. We are political strategists, policy experts, delivery practitioners, technology specialists and more. We speak more than 45 languages. We are working on over 100 projects, tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges. We’re all here at TBI to make a difference. 

In a world of ever more complex challenges, we believe diversity of background and perspective is a strength. We pride ourselves on a culture that values and nurtures difference. We are dedicated to unlocking potential, not only for the countries we work in but also for each of our team members. No matter where you’re from or who you are, if you’re passionate about the transformative power of progressive politics, we invite you to build a better future with us.

We encourage early application as we reserve the right, if required, to close this role ahead of the date advertised.

Job Introduction

Are you excited by the prospect of designing and implementing high impact transformation programmes from the centre of government? Do you have experience advising senior political leadership, driving systemic and transformative change through strategic communication? Do you have experience of crafting and operationalizing a presidential/government communication strategy?

The Tony Blair Institute (TBI) has been working with the Government of Zambia since 2022. Working hand-in-hand with the Office of the President of the Republic of Zambia, the project is led by a Country Director, with a team currently consisting of diverse professionals supporting the government in across different ministries.

We are hiring a Communication Advisor to support the Presidential Delivery Unit (PDU) established under the Office of the President, particularly on developing a Communication Strategy complimenting the Delivery Agenda with a detailed governance framework and roll out plan.

The position is full-time, with a minimum duration of 2 years and based in Lusaka, Zambia and starts as soon as possible on the identification of a suitable candidate. 

The President of Zambia officially announced the establishment of a Presidential Delivery Unit (PDU) and his commitment on driving delivery of strategic matters through the PDU. TBI supported the establishment of the PDU and the development a Delivery Plan contributing to the seven outcome areas identified by the President – Job Creation; Increasing Household Income; Efficient Value Chains; Value Addition; Export Diversification; Enhanced Public Services; and Project Delivery. 

The Communication Advisor will lead the Communication workstream with the PDU under the guidance and supervision of the TBI Senior Delivery Advisor – who is lead of the project. The successful candidate will be responsible for crafting and delivering a Communication Strategy, with robust governance framework & tools, and rollout plan and lead the rollout of the strategy with an aim of impacting wide variety of groups, such as citizens in different parts of the country and cooperating partners. Join our team and help shape the transformation of Zambia.

The role requires understanding of the wider political economy of Zambia and working with multiple ministries, agencies and counterparts from both central and local government.

We would consider supporting applicants not currently based in or with a right to work in Zambia to relocate for this role.

Key Responsibilities

1. Communications Assessment and Stakeholder Mapping

• Design communication gap assessment, media & stakeholder mapping tools to identify critical constraints towards implementing effective communication strategies and frameworks
• Proactively engage PDU Leadership, State House Communication Team, and Ministry of Communication to assess critical communications challenges and expectations
• Map and engage various relevant central and local government actors, target beneficiaries and cooperating partners around priority interventions to assess communication gaps and expectations
• Map in-country conventional and innovative media platforms and assess terms of engagement

1. Communication Strategy Development Design & Rollout

• Develop a robust communication strategy along with detailed governance framework, stakeholder engagement plan and execution roadmap for the Presidential Delivery Agenda
• Coordinate with Centre of Government (State House, Smart Zambia, Cabinet Office), Ministerial and local government to optimise synergies, coordinate communication plans and approaches for effective delivery of information to the wider community
• Develop a crises management game plan and assessment tools for mitigating avoidable communication crises and for managing emergency situations
• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of PDU Communication Strategy using data-driven insights, generating periodic analytics reports, to inform future planning and continuous improvement

1. Content Creation & Management

• Lead the creation of high-quality content for various communication channels, including press releases, articles, interviews, talking points, social media pages, websites, presentations, and so forth
• Ensure adoption of creative direction, design, and branding to standardise and delivery high quality content aligned with the PDU Delivery Agenda
• Enhance the PDU knowledge base to develop, categorise and publicise public content in all relevant channels
• Put a framework to conduct periodic media monitor to harvest critical and relevant stories and method of delivery to PDU Leadership and Staffs attention

1. Stakeholder & Media Engagement

• Establish strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including government agencies, the private sector, development partners, and the media
• Proactively engage the media per the strategy to secure coverage on prime time and reach strategic beneficiary groups
• Assist the PDU Leadership and TBI Senior Delivery Advisor by conducting mapping of different cooperating partners and thinktanks for partnership/resource mobilization
• Plan and execute various events, such as workshops, conferences and webinars to raise awareness on PDU Deliver Agenda

1. Mentorship & Coaching

• Mentor, guide and support the PDU Communication Specialist on overall strategy setting, stakeholder engagement, and execution/delivery of the communication plan
• Mentor the PDU Leadership on their communication skills, public appearance and other relevant communication skills required for successfully executing their duties
• Mentor and coach TBI Delivery Associate(s)/ Analyst(s) to help them understand communication and stakeholder engagement fundamentals
• Role-model best practice in people management – recruiting advisor(s)/associate(s)/analyst(s), motivating them and creating a culture of high performance, leading regular team meetings, setting individual objectives, allocating tasks and monitoring progress against objectives and workplans

Person Specification

This is a role in a fast-paced team, working within complex policy areas that are highly scrutinised.  We are looking for enthusiastic and resilient individuals with a “can-do” outlook and the ability to consistently achieve results in a fast-paced environment. We are looking for an individual competencies and experience:

Key competencies:

• Relationship building and stakeholder management.
• Coaching and people management
• Strategic planning and decision-making
• Problem solving and analysis.
• Written and verbal communication

Knowledge and experience required:

• Relevant educational background, preferably a Masters’ Degree in Communications, Marketing, Public Relations or related fields
• Significant professional experience
• Experience in management consulting and/or government advisory related to strategic communication
• Experience in developing communication strategy, stakeholder mapping and engagement, media engagement strategy, public communication
• A good understanding of government systems and/or relevant sector expertise
• A highly articulate person, able to work in the face of a range of competing views and priorities, possessing highly developed communication and negotiation skills (required)
• A prior experience on working in a ‘Delivery System’ and/or implementing a ‘Delivery Mechanism’ (desirable)
• A prior experience working at the centre of government such as Presidents/Prime Minister’s Office and with Senior Government Counterparts such as Ministers/Permanent Secretaries/Directors desirable)
• A prior experience of managing/coordinating teams to deliver on specific programs/outcomes
• Strong media relations and stakeholder management skills
• Experience in event management and crisis communications
• Productive and resilient in a dynamic and challenging environment with an ability to think creatively and solve problems
• Good knowledge of Microsoft Office products Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Fluency in English is required

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