View Vacancy - Press and Public Affairs Officer (CHEG554)
The UK Mission to the United Nations in Geneva is part of a world-wide network, representing British interests overseas and is looking for a Press and Public Affairs Officer.
Geneva is a hub of multilateral diplomacy, home to leading international agencies, think-tanks and non-governmental organisations, offering substantive opportunities to engage, influence and shape foreign policy.
Main purpose of job:
This is an exciting, intellectually stimulating and challenging role at the UK Mission, offering an opportunity to work across a range of policy issues, working directly with the Ambassadors, including: human rights, global health, refugees and migration, trade, digital policy, disarmament, and UN reform.
The successful candidate will need to manage the communication side of these policy campaigns, both in terms of digital communications and organising events in close partnership with the Ambassadors and policy teams. You will act as the principal point of contact for all press enquiries.
You may also be asked to represent and speak on behalf of the UK government at international organisations, conferences and other forums.
Main Duties / Responsibilities
- Public diplomacy and campaigns: improve public understanding of UK policies and objectives in key campaigns. You will lead, and work closely with other teams in the Mission, on high-profile events and projects throughout the year linked to the campaigns. You will seek to expand our profile beyond the traditional diplomatic network, reaching new audiences;
Digital diplomacy: promoting UK policy and strengthening engagement across the Mission’s social media platforms: currently Twitter and Facebook. You will help create innovative new content and look to evaluate our impact, ensuring that we have the best social media profile of all Diplomatic Missions in Geneva;
Press work: reactive and proactive press work. You will liaise direct with journalists and brief them on UK Government priorities. You will look to place articles in the media by UK Ministers, the UK Ambassadors and senior officials. You will help devise press lines, draft speeches for the Ambassador/senior officials and assist with major visits.
- Line Management of a Press and Public Affairs Intern: effective recruitment and line management of an intern (on a 6 month rotation), with a strong focus on development opportunities.
- Knowledge – You already have an existing knowledge of how to deliver effective communication campaigns and how to evaluate our impact, using a variety of tools. You have a good understanding of how to use social media to deliver key messages and drive engagement, particularly Twitter and Facebook. You will also need to demonstrate knowledge of event management to support our wider communications efforts. Ideally you will also have some understanding of the UN and/or one of the main policy areas covered in the UK Mission;
- Experience – You will have proven experience of working with the press/media and on organising seminars and events designed to attract press and digital media coverage. You will be able to pick up new themes/issues and to interact confidently with a range of senior press and UK contacts, including the Ambassadors. You will be ready to expand your existing professional network;
- Skills – You will have strong communication skills, both written and oral. Good public speaking and presentation skills are essential, as you will be representing the UK Government. You will also need to demonstrate political awareness; you need to exercise good judgement in order to take decisions quickly, while being alive to risks (e.g. when developing press lines or responding to media enquiries). In addition, you have strong written skills and are able to draft interesting tweets, speeches and blogs, sourced from a wide range of material.
- Fluency in English is essential;
- The successful candidate will be imaginative, proactive, and have a positive and can-do attitude. No two days at the Mission are the same, therefore you need to be able to multitask and be comfortable handling ambiguity. Above all else, you need to be a team player, able to remain calm under pressure and build good relationships with a diverse workforce.
- Good command of French is desirable, so that you can read the Francophone/local press, influence French speaking press contacts and produce French language content for our social media from time to time.
This is a full-time two year fixed-term contract, for 5 working days (40 hours) per week, at B3 level.
The successful candidate will be subject to professional background check, security clearance and 3 months probation period.
Staff recruited locally by the UK Mission for the United Nations in Geneva are subject to Terms and Conditions of Service according to local Swiss employment law.
We kindly advise you to allow enough time to complete and submit your full application before the deadline.
Only applications submitted until 28th November 2017 at 23:55 (local time) will be considered.
Please be advised that the British Diplomatic Missions will not be able to meet the travel costs incurred when travelling to the interview, nor the costs connected with relocation if offered a job.
This opportunity is closed to applications.