View Vacancy - Digital Consultant (41/19 PTA) AU

The British Government is an inclusive and diversity-friendly employer.  We value difference, promote equality and challenge discrimination, enhancing our organisational capability. We welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, colour, ethnicity, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status or other category protected by law. We promote family-friendly flexible working opportunities, where operational and security needs allow.
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Policy & Political roles)
Communications, Press and Media

Main purpose of job:

In Cape Town last summer, the British Prime Minister made a new and distinctive offer for the UK to work alongside, invest in and partner with African nations to deliver more opportunities, more jobs and greater stability – both in the UK and across Sub-Saharan Africa.

To deliver these new partnerships, HMG is rebooting its ability to deliver creative communication campaigns across the continent, with the launch of the Africa Campaigns Hub – and we are looking for a confident, energetic and creative digital communications professional, with knowledge of social media and digital production to join this new team in Pretoria.

The Africa Campaigns Hub will be a team of 14 communications specialists split between London, Pretoria, Nairobi and Abuja, designing and delivering creative communications campaigns.

This role will be based in the British High Commission in Pretoria, working closely with and complementing the existing HMG communicators network across Sub-Saharan Africa. The core team in Pretoria – with regional campaign support in Abuja and Nairobi – will bring specialist skills in campaign delivery, strategic communication, digital, insight, monitoring and evaluation to the network.  

Working directly to the Head of Digital, you will be responsible for developing and producing high-quality, engaging digital content for pan-African, regional and local communication campaigns. The successful candidate will also provide input into campaign planning to ensure content is planned, designed and developed in a strategic manner taking into account platforms, target audiences and objectives.

You will be enthusiastic and proactive; confident in digital and creative content production; and an effective communicator with experience in delivering high-quality work to deadlines.

You should also expect to travel, across the region and to the UK.

Roles and responsibilities:

  • Develop and create high-quality original digital content including video, graphics, photography, tweets and other short form content, in support of key strategic objectives, tailored to different local needs across Sub-Saharan Africa.
  • Work closely with Africa Campaigns Hub colleagues in London, regional campaign heads in Abuja and Nairobi, and the team in Pretoria, providing support to ensure communications campaigns make strategic use of digital communications techniques and platforms. Ensure digital communications are fully effective, make use of audience insight, and are properly targeted and evaluated
  • Support the upskilling of communicators across HMG’s Africa Network in line with the latest Government Communication Service learning and development programmes, including in digital campaign planning, digital audience insight and production. This includes championing the improvement of visual content across HMG’s Africa Network, and working with local teams to adopt a story-telling approach to digital content. This includes using evaluation and data insight to inform campaign planning and understand the impact of our digital communications.
  • Build trusted relationships with local, national and international partners, developing and maintaining an active directory of third party stakeholder contacts – from academia, NGOs, think tanks, campaigners and social media influencers – for supportive digital engagement opportunities. Use this network to ensure the HMG Africa Network is fully plugged-in to the latest thinking and movements in the digital sphere.
  • Translate business and policy objectives into digital communications objectives, generating ideas and plans to meet them and being confident in providing strategic digital communications advice.  This includes working closely with policy colleagues in London and across the HMG Africa Network to identify excellent digital stories that will advance our communications objectives, whilst also identifying and managing risks.
  • Working with a Campaign Planning and Support Officer, input into a grid of digital communications activity to help plan future campaigning and media stories.
  • Monitor digital output from across the HMG Africa Network, capturing and sharing examples of best practice across the network and identifying teams who would benefit from further training or support.
  • Work closely with the FCO’s digital network – including the hub in New Delhi, and the digital network manager in Madrid – and engage collaboratively with other British government department digital teams.

  • Minimum 3 years’ experience producing high quality visual content for impactful communications campaigns.
  • Graphic design and production skills, including experience of Photoshop or equivalent.
  • Video production and editing skills, including experience using iMovie, Adobe Premiere Elements, Final Cut Pro or equivalent.
  • Experience taking briefs and ability to establish a clear and nuanced understanding of client needs whilst at the same time able to shape and guide those with lesser experience on the best way to develop digital content
  • Experience of dealing with and managing corporate brands
  • Knowledge of the social media landscape across Sub-Saharan Africa and how different social media channels are being used across the continent
  • An effective communicator with strong customer service skills, and comfortable presenting to and persuading senior staff
  • Driven and able to deliver against challenging timelines
  • The ability to learn quickly and work with a high degree of autonomy;
  • A positive “can-do” attitude that can see way through challenges. 
  • Excellent organisational and self-management skills to respond effectively to tight – and changing – deadlines and priorities

Language requirements:

Language: English

Level of language required: Fluent 

  • Experience delivering training and/or designing training to be delivered by others
  • Experience of working in a crisis situation or delivering under high pressure would be highly regarded
  • Experience of working with Government departments and/or public-sector agencies
7 June 2019
Executive Officer (EO)
Fixed Term
24 months
Africa
South Africa
Pretoria
British High Commission
R22,600.62
1 August 2019

Learning and development opportunities:

Various courses and programmes are available across a huge range of professions from communications to project management and policy. More details can be provided.

  • The British High Commission pays in full for the Key Care Plus option on Discovery Health for staff including spouses/partners and dependants.
  • Once you have successfully completed your probation the British High Commission will contribute 9% of your monthly salary to a Provident Fund.
  • Annual leave entitlement of 25 days.
  • Working hours per week of 36.5
  • Employees recruited locally by the British High Commission in Pretoria are subject to the Terms and Conditions of Service according to local employment law in South Africa.
  • All applicants must be legally able to work in the country of application with the correct visa/status or work permit.
  • Employees who are not eligible to pay local income tax: e.g. certain third-country nationals and spouses/partners of UK diplomats will have their salaries abated by an equivalent amount.
  • Reference and security clearances checks will be conducted.
  • If you don’t already hold a valid SA Police Clearance Certificate, we recommend that you apply for the certificate at the time of your application.
  • Any questions you may have about this position will be answered during the interview, should you be invited.
  • Information about the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Competency Framework can be found on this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-competency-framework
  • Complete the application form in full as the information provided will be used for screening purposes.
  • Check your application before you submit, as you will not be able to make any changes once submitted.
  • The British High Commission will never ask you to pay a fee or money to apply for a position
Please be aware that you will only be able to apply to vacancies for Country Based Staff roles with the British Government through this official tal.net site (operated by Oleeo). Jobs may be advertised on third party websites, however our adverts will always link back to the official tal.net site. If you complete and send an application through any other site, we will not receive it.

This opportunity is closed to applications.