The Senior Communications Specialist for Cities will play a pivotal role in advancing WRI Indonesia’s Cities program mission by developing and implementing comprehensive communication strategies that enhance the organization’s thought leadership, influence key stakeholders, and improve its positioning in fundraising efforts. This position is expected to identify and address key topics in sustainable cities, supporting the Cities program assert its position with the ultimate goal of enhancing the organization’s branding in this sector. This role goes beyond traditional communications support, requiring a deep understanding of the cities sector, strategic thinking, and the ability to craft narratives that resonate with diverse audiences.
The Senior Communications Specialist is expected to understand one of the the key context and programmatic challenges of Indonesia’s cities transition journey, including but not limited to the field of sustainable mobility, inclusive urban space, housing, and clean air. The position holder will report directly to the Senior Manager for Resilience Cities and Transport with a dotted line reporting to the Communications Manager to develop communications strategies for addressing challenges, such as influencing key stakeholder segments, identifying the right channels and platforms for communication, and determining the appropriate thought leadership strategies for the program. The Senior Communications Strategist is an integral, analytical, and contributing member of the program team, and is expected to proactively engage in programmatic discussions and lead communications planning and initiatives for the program.
This position will be based in Jakarta, with office-flex working arrangement. In support of WRI's DEI commitment, you are responsible for actively participating in these collaborative efforts by integrating equity into your work, our workplace, and the organizational culture.
Develop, support, and manage advanced communications strategies that go beyond traditional support functions to influence key stakeholders and enhance organizational positioning.
Conduct in-depth communication analyses to identify the “right” segments of stakeholders and craft strategies to engage and influence them effectively.
Lead efforts to position WRI Indonesia’s Cities Portfolio as a thought leader in the cities transition topic, crafting narratives and strategies that challenge opposition and align with organizational goals.
Collaborate with program teams to integrate communication strategies that directly contribute to programmatic goals, including fundraising and advocacy, while at the same time work together with the Communications Manager to ensure that the strategies and narratives are in line with WRI Indonesia’s institutional strategy and narratives.
Develop and implement strategies that enhance WRI Indonesia’s visibility and credibility among donors, partners, and the public.
ANALYTICS AND INSIGHTS
Provide regular insights on the evolving national and global sustainable cities landscape, including but not limited to the sub-topic of transportation, housing, public space, and air quality.
Assess WRI Indonesia’s Cities portfolio communication and branding baseline and develop the strategy to increase the outreach and brand improvement.
Produce communication analytics and reports that provide insights into stakeholder engagement, message effectiveness, and strategic opportunities.
Use data-driven insights to refine communication strategies and ensure they are aligned with WRI Indonesia’s Cities Portfolio goals.
Develop metrics to assess the impact of communication activities on the Cities Portfolio goals of decarbonizing cities sector through research, tools, platform creation and policy advocacy & provide regular reports to senior leadership.
Collaborate with WRI Indonesia’s Cities key stakeholders to develop their capacity on advancing their communication product that is aligned with WRI Indonesia organization visions.
Establish a network with media and CSOs that have a strong alignment on WRI Indonesia’s Cities vision
Represent WRI Indonesia in the public-facing event, relevant to the topic of cities transition
Together with the program team, build a relationship with WRI Indonesia’s cities key stakeholders including local authorities, communities, industry players to keep inform and actively in touch with the current trends of sustainable cities issues.
What You Will Need:
Bachelors’ degree in fields such as communications, marketing, business, engineering, social, environmental or urban studies, journalism, or English language or literature. Masters’ degree is preferred.
Proven professional experience of a minimum of 5 years in strategic communications, with a strong emphasis on analytics, stakeholder engagement, and urban environmental issues.
Exceptional communication skills, with a strong emphasis on writing, editing, and messaging for diverse audiences, enabling the creation of professional-quality communication products from complex technical and research material.
Strong background in strategic thinking, with the ability to craft and implement sophisticated communication strategies that align with organizational goals.
Demonstrated experience in developing and implementing communications strategies that influence key stakeholders and enhance organizational positioning.
Ability to identify communications related reputational risks and devise strategies to manage them under supervision of manager.
Ability to simultaneously oversee multiple communications projects involving multi-unit teams, setting the broad direction and incentivizing and guiding staff to deliver.
Ability to stays current with communications trends or latest issue, and to effectively manage communication product pipeline.
International experience or prior work in a global organization preferred.
Proven ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment, both independently and as part of a global team.
Strong interest and experience in sustainable transportation issues, with a deep understanding of the Indonesian context.
Curiosity, creativity, strong listening skills, and wide-ranging reading habits across a variety of fields and media are highly desirable.
Fluency in both Bahasa Indonesia and English, with a strong emphasis on written and spoken communications.
