About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is powered by the belief that a better world is possible. To do this, we know our teams do their best work when they are diverse, and every team member feels that they belong. We welcome diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be stronger and have long term impact.

The Program / Department / Team (Program / Department Summary)

Mercy Corps has been working with vulnerable populations in Jordan since 2003. Mercy Corps Jordan (MCJ) operates with an experienced team of staff and partners who are supported and led by a country team based in Amman that ensures consistent, technical and quality-driven programming. Mercy Corps implements a range of activities aimed at supporting positive coping strategies by addressing the basic needs of vulnerable families while strengthening opportunities to generate income and increasing access to livelihoods. Mercy Corps Jordan focuses on (1) Economic Opportunity: Mercy Corps applies tailored market systems development approaches to support micro, small, and enterprises (MSEs), providing capacity strengthening to businesses, and offering demand-driven services. (2) Peace and Good Governance: Mercy Corps works to support increasing stability through co-existence and inclusive security and building the psychosocial resiliency of youth and their families, as well as to address barriers to women’s leadership and agency through social behavior change (3) Water Security and Climate Resilience: Mercy Corps implements programming to improve sustainable water management and enable climate change adaptation.

The Position (General Position Summary)

The Communications Coordinator will lead a dynamic and multi-faceted communications portfolio for the Mercy Corps Jordan office. S/he will work closely with Program teams to share Mercy Corps work with key external stakeholders while also supporting Mercy Corps Jordan in developing and disseminating internal communications products. The Communications Coordinator will design new and maintain existing communications products and deliverables. S/he will assist with high-profile visits and events. S/he will report to the Director of Programs while working closely with Program leadership. She/He will be responsible for the development of social media platforms and high-level editorial content (articles, features, news stories, blogs) and other relevant activities as required.

Essential Responsibilities

Team Management

• Supervise, provide leadership, mentor and develop the technical capacity of the communications officer, and any other new communication team members, deepen understanding of their roles and assist with coaching, performance management, mentorship, and career development.

Development of Strategy, Plans and Guidelines

• Lead the process of building, developing and designing the country-level communications strategy. Strategy should be aligned with country and regional strategies and donor strategies/new business opportunities.
• Develop Communications & Media Plan for active programs at MC in close cooperation with the concerned PMs & in compliance with donor requirements.

Media and Communications

• Collaborate with program teams to develop storytelling products, videos, press releases and

other communications deliverables to highlight program impact, innovation and influence.

• Coordinate with each project's media focal point or project manager on a monthly basis for providing potential story topics and proposed participants for holding interviews.
• Write/ Develop success stories for program activities according to MC monthly content calendar and based on coordination efforts with MC projects' focal points (3 stories per month).
• Write, edit, and distribute content, including publications, press releases, website content, speeches, and other material that communicates the Mercy Corps’ activities, products and/or services.
• Ensure content on Mercy Corps Jordan’s website is up to date and maintain a consistent stream of stories for the country office blog.
• Manage and optimize the MCJ Social Media (SM) platforms to ensure efficient and effective transmission of messages aligned with the mission and vision of Mercy Corps. Revise the country-level SM plan for improving MC-JO SM platforms regularly; develop the editorial content calendar plan for SM by aligning the SM content creation and design to MCJ country-level strategy and MC global Policy.
• Develop targeted social media campaigns for Mercy Corps Jordan’s products, events, and milestone days.
• Manage the production of the quarterly digital newsletter including writing and/or compiling content.
• Maintain program and country office factsheets targeting external stakeholders.
• Follow-up with media agencies representatives for news coverage as requested by project teams or when having key events for different projects, and produce at least one press release, news article, or other types of media material per month to be published in the mainstream media.
• Plan and organize to highlight key humanitarian days relevant to the Mercy Corps mission through the creation of articles, photo galleries, and social media packages, as well as the organizing of activities and events.
• Plan and monitor communications related support for key and VIP visits with PMs, ensure proper preparation (both before and during the visits), and assist teams in developing key messages, reviewing the press releases and inviting the media to cover the events.
• Act as a link between Mercy Corps Jordan and HQ communications team, providing assets (quotes, stories, photos, videos) as needed.
• Provide English Arabic translation and vice versa when needed, i.e., English subtitles for in-house produced project videos.    

Mercy Corps Visibility and Brand Standards

• In coordination with the Operations Department, ensure that MC Jordan branding and visibility are in compliance with all MC and donor requirements.
• Ensure that all publications including pamphlets, leaflets, posters, flyers and all other MC Jordan related ‎printable material are unified and correct branding is applied.
• Ensure digital content aligns with MC brand's identity and message and assist with campaigns as needed.
• Ensure that all employees are adhering to the MC Jordan visibility SOPs and update them as needed.
• Support program teams in preparation of program briefs, developing and disseminating stories to effectively communicate field success stories.

Design, Photography and Videography

• Design printing materials for Mercy Corps Jordan's various projects, such as promotional posters, flyers, brochures, roll-ups, and banners.
• Plan, organize, shoot, and edit footage necessary for video productions of all types.
• Provide photography support for various projects as needed.

Supervisory Responsibility

Communications Officer

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Director of Programs

Works Directly With: Senior Management Team (SMT), Program Pillar Directors, Project Managers & project teams, Program Quality and Performance Director, as well as Mercy Corps regional and headquarters team.

Accountability to Participants and Stakeholders

Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically to our program participants, community partners, other stakeholders, and to international standards guiding international relief and development work. We are committed to actively engaging communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Minimum Qualification & Transferable Skills

• Bachelor’s degree required. A masters or equivalent in a field related to Communications, Marketing, Journalism, International Development or relevant fields is preferred.
• 3+ years of experience working in communications, with prior experience in the humanitarian/development sector preferred but not required.
• Excellent English and Arabic writing and communications and storytelling skills are required.
• Proficiency in Google Suite and Microsoft Office
• Willingness and ability to travel frequently to Mercy Corps project sites and field locations.
• Fluency in English and Arabic is required.

Success Factors

The ideal candidate will be dynamic and proactive, capable of identifying compelling stories and successfully communicating with a diverse range of team members and community stakeholders. He/she will have strong interpersonal communication skills, innovative problem-solving abilities, a personal commitment to quality and learning, and the ability to learn quickly, take initiative, and be responsible for outcomes and deadlines. A proven ability to organize and prioritize competing priorities, as well as multitasking, is a plus. He/she will be also capable of maintaining a sense of humor in stressful situations, as well as operate under pressure, independently, and with minimum supervision.

Competencies

1. Outstanding translation and writing skills in both English and Arabic.
2. Proficient skills using design software platforms.
3. Proven skills in communication and interpersonal relations, delegation, problem-solving and team-building.
4. The ability to work under pressure.
5. Conducting activities in a manner that assures consistent high-quality results, on-target performance, and meeting donors' deadlines.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

The position is based in Amman, Jordan and it requires up to 85% travel to support country programs, which includes travel to all governorates as well as Syrian refugee camps; Azraq and Zaatari, and may require overnight in certain cases!

Ongoing Learning

In support of our belief that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities we serve, we empower all team members to dedicate 5% of their time to learning activities that further their personal and/or professional growth and development.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Achieving our mission begins with how we build our team and work together. Through our commitment to enriching our organization with people of different origins, beliefs, backgrounds, and ways of thinking, we are better able to leverage the collective power of our teams and solve the world’s most complex challenges. We strive for a culture of trust and respect, where everyone contributes their perspectives and authentic selves, reaches their potential as individuals and teams, and collaborates to do the best work of their lives.

We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a journey, and we are committed to learning, listening and evolving to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive than we are today.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Mercy Corps is an equal opportunity employer that does not tolerate discrimination on any basis. We actively seek out diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and skills so that we can be collectively stronger and have sustained global impact.

We are committed to providing an environment of respect and psychological safety where equal employment opportunities are available to all. We do not engage in or tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability (including HIV/AIDS status), marital status, military veteran status or any other protected group in the locations where we work.

Safeguarding & Ethics

Mercy Corps is committed to ensuring that all individuals we come into contact with through our work, whether team members, community members, program participants or others, are treated with respect and dignity. We are committed to the core principles regarding prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse laid out by the UN Secretary General and IASC. We will not tolerate child abuse, sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment by or of our team members. As part of our commitment to a safe and inclusive work environment, team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner, respect local laws and customs, and to adhere to Mercy Corps Code of Conduct Policies and values at all times. Team members are required to complete mandatory Code of Conduct eLearning courses upon hire and on an annual basis.