Public Information Officer

COMPLETE OUTLINE PRINCIPAL FUNCTIONS

Working in the media and public information team, the Public Information Officer, under the direct supervision and guidance of the Head, Public Affairs Branch, will:

• Assist in the day-to-day co-ordination of public diplomacy activities involving key stakeholders such as the media, civil society, States Parties, chemical industry, and the public;
• Co-organise major outreach events (e.g., International Open Days) and serve as the day-to-day coordinator who facilitates the participation of relevant stakeholders, including the media and civil society for key OPCW events (e.g., Conference of the States Parties);
• Work with the Head of PAB and Senior Public Affairs Officer to ensure consistent public diplomacy messaging across OPCW communication platforms and activities that is subject-relevant, substantial and tailored to specific stakeholder communities;
• Based on existing guidelines, draft and edit OPCW communications to the media and States Parties (through media and press releases) in coordination with colleagues across the Technical Secretariat, States Parties and others as appropriate;
• Seek approval from the Head of PAB or Director of External Relations Division before publication or dissemination of communications;
• With oversight from the Head of PAB and in coordination with the Senior Public Affairs Officer, vet, coordinate and respond to queries from the media and other relevant stakeholders in accordance with publicly available information or lines approved by the Director-General;
• Expand and maintain the Organisation's contact database of media representatives and external stakeholders for sustained informational engagement;
• Collaborate with other PAB team members to ensure appropriate information and messaging for producing high-quality and accurate external communications (e.g., public diplomacy materials, social media posts, press releases, etc.);
• Prepare the daily Media Digest for Management and provide, as required, media trend analysis through Situation Reports and other means;
• Coordinate Branch submissions for periodic and annual reporting on Branch activities;
• Perform other duties, as required.

RECRUITING PROFILE

Education (Qualifications):

• Essential: Advanced university degree in international relations, political or social science, security studies, journalism, mass communications or related fields. A first-level university degree in abovementioned fields with minimum four years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• Desirable: Experience using media monitoring tools (e.g., Brandwatch) and familiarity with social media platforms.

Required Certification (if applicable):

not applicable

Experience:

• Essential: A minimum of two years of professional-level experience in communications, public relations and/or public diplomacy with international and private sector organisations, policy institutes or NGOs, preferably in the sphere of arms control and international peace and security.
• Desirable: Experience with drafting and editing processes.

Skills and Abilities (key competencies):

• Good knowledge of international security, weapons of mass destruction disarmament and non-proliferation issues as well as of multilateral treaties and organisations would be an advantage;
• Excellent inter-personal communication skills and ability to present accurate public information in an engaging way to external stakeholders;
• Professional-level writing skills with ability to produce user-friendly materials for a variety of audiences;
• Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of media monitoring communication strategies and technologies;
• Ability to conceptualise and organise programmatic initiatives to achieve public diplomacy objectives;
• Experience co-organising events; experience coordinating accreditation processes with the media and civil society an advantage;
• Demonstrated sensitivity to topical issues and capability to apply analytical thinking;
• Computer and social media literacy (MS Office applications).

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English is essential and good working knowledge of one or more other official OPCW languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish) is desirable.