PRINCIPAL FUNCTIONS
Working in the media and public information team, the Public Information Officer, under the direct supervision 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;
- 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);
- Ensure consistent public diplomacy messaging across OPCW communication platforms and activities that is subject-relevant, substantial and tailored to specific stakeholder communities;
- 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;
- 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 seven 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 five 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 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.
