ThaiNGO

Thailand

Job Description

Technical Program Specialist (Communications)

Education Development Center
Founded in 1958, EDC is an international non-governmental organization that works to build bridges between educational research, policy and practice. EDC’s headquarters is located in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA, with additional offices in New York City, Washington, DC, Nairobi, and Bangkok. EDC manages 250 projects in 35 countries with more than 1,350 employees worldwide.

EDC is committed to diversity in the workplace.

The USAID-funded Connecting the Mekong through Education and Training (USAID COMET) project will help universities and vocational centers to increase the number of skilled workers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, Accounting and Tourism (STEM+AT) fields in the Lower Mekong countries: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.  USAID COMET seeks to bridge the gap between the private sector, universities and vocational centers in order to ensure the supply of skilled workers meets the demands from local businesses.  The project will rely on mobile technology, online learning, and traditional in-person workshops to promote regional networking in ASEAN and to help people from rural and marginalized areas access educational services.

Over the course of the five-year project, vocational centers and universities will be strengthened so that they can help future leaders develop the skills needed to catalyze job growth in high demand industries in the sub-region. This project will ultimately empower the Lower Mekong countries with a workforce that can bridge the development gap within ASEAN and take advantage of the benefits under the ASEAN Economic Community. 

Title: Technical Program Specialist (Communications)

Report to: Deputy Chief of Party (DCOP), Operations

Summary:  Reporting to DCOP, Operations, Technical Program Specialist (Communications) will work with the Communications Team to coordinate the day-to-day communications activities of the project, including external project communications such as internet-based messaging, social media and print and non-print (video/audio) materials. S/he will work with substantive guidance of the Chief of Party, especially on matters related to USAID and industry communications. In addition, s/he is expected to work closely with the project’s Technical Specialist, Communications to communicate and collaborate effectively with partners, donor and stakeholders in the Lower Mekong partner countries on all matters related to the communications, messaging, and information outreach activities of the project.

Job Responsibilities:

• Assist in developing creative communication content for USAID COMET including:
• Provide ideas for content creation and editorial support for web portal, promotional materials, and social media channels;
• Assist with the creation of field-based success stories with the Country Managers;
• Promote project presence on social media and engage in with target audience online.
• Work as part of the Communications team to design and develop branded materials for high-level, high visibility program events as well as ensuring that all materials are branded according to USAID branding guidelines;

• Support the Communications team to develop content outreach strategies, including:
• Assist with the development of online digital strategies to engage youth;
• Help drive engagement in the MekongSkills2Work network portal;
• Assist in developing graphics for USAID COMET promotional materials;
• Utilize analytics in coordination with the Monitoring & Evaluation team to propose improvements in the project communication strategies;

• Other tasks as assigned.

Essential Functions

Technical Program Specialist (Communications) is expected to possess good communications knowledge and ability to work with minimal supervision. S/he must have interest, skills or experience in developing messaging for social media, designing and developing branded materials, writing success stories and providing input for the design and layout of websites. S/he must be able to communicate clearly and courteously (verbally and in writing); to develop and maintain positive relationships with clients, consultants, collaborators, co-workers, field sites, and funders; and to work respectfully with EDC colleagues. The job requires adherence to EDC policies and procedures.

Skills and Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications, Liberal Arts or other relevant field, or secondary education with 4 to 5 years of directly relevant experience required;
• Ability to provide input for communications strategy development of the project;
• Ability to coordinate, develop, update and monitor internal and external communications contents including those to be posted on web portals, mass media, press releases, and other print and non-print (video/audio) materials;

• Ability to effectively work under tight deadlines and manage activities independently;
• Knowledge of style checking and proofreading;
• Experience using Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign or other graphic imaging software preferred;

• Interest or possession of social media and social media analytics knowledge (Facebook, Twitter and YouTube);
• Strong attention to detail;
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team;
• Fluency in English, with excellent verbal and communication skills; Proficiency in other relevant languages a plus.

This is a local hire position and is open to Thai citizens and non-citizens with valid work authorization. A competitive benefits package and salary will be provided in local currency. This is a full-time position for 12 months with the possibility of extension based on availability of funding.

Interested qualified candidates are requested to submit their CV and cover letter to COMET_Jobs@edc.org by January 31, 2017. To ensure the timely review of your credentials, please insert “Communications Specialists” in the subject line of the email.  Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.