The Membership and Commission Support IUCN encompasses support for IUCN membership and IUCN Commissions, and in collaboration with the IUCN Regional Offices, is responsible for the global coordination and administration of IUCN’s more than 1,400 Members, more than 60 National and Regional Committees (Committees), and the seven IUCN Commissions with over 15,000 Commission members.
The Communications Assistant is responsible for supporting the broad communication of the seven Commissions and for IUCN Members, which includes developing newsletters, updating webpages and content creation, producing the bi-weekly IUCN Digest and the bi-monthly leaders update, and developing communication and knowledge products (reports, presentations, publications, brochures, web stories) among other tasks.
Job Description:
Membership and Commissions Communication:
Prepare communications for distribution to IUCN Members and Commissions as necessary.
Support the unit with developing, reviewing and updating guidelines and onboarding materials as needed.
Manage e-mail distribution lists, including follow up on post-mailing reports, collecting data for analytics.
Support the unit with any issues and questions regarding the use of the Union Portal and Members Digital Zone, including training and providing technical Support as required.
Support the unit in ensuring that IUCN constituents are kept up-to-date with relevant/important news and developments.
Keeping Members and Commission leaders up to date on changes of relevant IUCN systems, policies and processes.
Coordinate the selection process for Awards, liaising with awardees and ensuring smooth procedures.
Website and General Support:
Manage and update relevant webpages, including sourcing and publication of news articles (writing, editing and adding content).
Manage logo use questions and branding issues for Members and Commissions.
Support the implementation of communications strategies and facilitate effective internal communications.
Offer support to the Unit teams in designing and editing materials for a range of audiences and contexts, including presentations, reports, briefs, toolkits, etc.
Support with the preparation of Council papers and other documentation as necessary.
Training internal users.
Engage with translators and check quality and consistency of translations.
Coordinate the planning and agenda of the regular (virtual and in person) meetings.
Ensure follow up when necessary during absences of colleagues within the unit.
The Communications Assistant shall assume responsibility for other activities and projects that the Head of the Membership, Commissions and Support Unit (MCSU), or other colleagues in the unit may assign from time to time including support for events.
The above TORs contain the main responsibilities and duties of this position. However, in an ever-evolving organisation such as IUCN staff members are expected to show flexibility in their approach to work and be willing to undertake other tasks that are reasonably allocated to them but which are not part of their regular TORs. Where any task becomes a regular part of staff member’s responsibilities, the TORs should be changed in consultation between the manager, the staff member and the HR Unit. Any one of the three may initiate the consultation.
Requirements:
Bachelor's degree or equivalent in Communications or a related field.
At least three years of experience in a similar role with hands-on experience regarding website management.
At least three years’ experience in conceiving and developing communication and knowledge products in a range of formats such as reports, presentations, publications, brochures, web stories, etc.
Excellent writing skills - able to write clear, concise sentences.
Strong communication and interpersonal skills - able to articulate clearly
verbally and in writing to a variety of people at all levels.
Strong attention to detail.
Excellent organization and time management skills, including ability to juggle multiple tasks and respond rapidly to new events and competing priorities.
Fluency in spoken and written English (comparable to mother tongue) is essential. French and Spanish are desirable but not essential.
Thorough knowledge of modern office procedures, proven ability to work in the Windows environment (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Microsoft Outlook) and to use the internet.
Ability to manage systems (including CRM, Union portal) and train others on the use of these systems to support Commission and membership related work.
Experience working with website content management systems (Drupal experience desirable).
Ability to interact with IUCN staff from other programmes in Gland and from Regional and Country Offices as well as people from different cultures.
Applicants are required to have the automatic right to work and live in the location in which they wish to work.
