Senior Communications Officer Mangroves

Wetlands International is the only NGO dedicated to the safeguarding and restoration of wetlands. At the heart of our vision is a plan to demonstrate whole landscape recovery in large wetland landscapes across mangroves, peatlands and freshwater wetlands across the world. These are landscapes which are among the top global biodiversity treasures, but which are also sources of much of the world’s land-based climate emissions and where people are most poor and vulnerable.  

We are seeking a Senior Communications Officer, Mangroves, to help accelerate this work, raising the profile of the organisation and our mangrove conservation work on the global stage.

About the mangroves programme

Wetlands International’s work on coasts and deltas comprises a rapidly growing portfolio of projects and programmes, working for the conservation of biodiversity, to achieve food and water security and to reduce climate risks. Programmes focus on the conservation of diverse wetlands such as mangroves, mudflats and seagrass meadows and the promotion of nature-based solutions.

In recent years we have significantly expanded our portfolio of mangrove conservation work. This includes a ten-year continental scale mangrove programme in Africa, a global initiative on mangrove restoration and Mangrove Watch, a cutting edge programme that communicates remote sensing data on mangrove to boost mangrove conservation policy and practice. We are implementing this work as part of the Global Mangrove Alliance, a network of over 25 partners that work towards the shared goal of increasing mangrove cover by 20% by 2030.

Purpose of the role

The Senior Communications Officer will lead communications on mangrove conservation and restoration, supporting implementation and further expansion of our project portfolio. Working with communications and technical staff across the network you will lead communications that boost global attention for mangroves and build capacities for mangrove management among policy makers and practitioners.

This includes producing, packaging and placing our stories, track record and expertise and enabling widespread use of decision-making products such as the Global Mangrove Watch Platform and mangrove restoration guidelines. You will further strengthen the position Wetlands International as an authority in the field of mangrove conservation amongst diverse audiences, and support representation in major networks, including the Global Mangrove Alliance, Mangrove Watch and Save our Mangroves Now! partnerships.  

The successful candidate will also guide the organisation’s media approach by developing the tools and processes to foster relationships with journalists, ensure content coherence and brand visibility.

Responsibilities and tasks

• Lead development and implementation of a communications strategy for our mangroves work, based on future programme ambitions and targets set in current initiatives;
• Develop visibility and online presence by documenting and disseminating cases, experiences and knowledge through publications, blogs, videos and social media outreach;
• Document and disseminate our track record on mangroves, supporting our position towards partners and donors;
• Guide communications staff across the Wetlands International network in the implementation of our communications strategy for mangroves at organisation and programme levels;
• Represent Wetlands International in communications teams of global partnership initiatives such as the Global Mangrove Alliance and participate in global events, identifying and following up on opportunities for visibility and joint outreach;
• Develop tools and process to support greater collaboration on media across our network, e.g. overall media/editorial calendar and framework to guide content curation across our channels;
• Manage media monitoring at the global level and guide and collaborate with our regional offices on media plans and pushes;
• Other tasks as required.

Working relations

INSIDE Wetlands International: The role within the Communications and Advocacy team, working closely with Head of Communications and Advocacy, Programme Head Deltas and Coasts;  communications advocacy and technical staff across the office network; Heads of Offices, Associate Experts and where appropriate, the CEO and Management Team.

OUTSIDE Wetlands International: Civil society, private sector and government partners, including representatives of the Global Mangrove Alliance and the Global Mangrove Watch partnership, journalists, press agencies, as well as contractors including designers, writers, editors, printers.

Profile

The Senior Communications Officer is a seasoned communications professional, international in outlook and at home working in alliances in the not-for-profit sector. The ideal candidate will be strategic, pro-active, creative and collaborative, able to work in emerging and quick-changing contexts.

Coming from a public relations or journalism background, you will be adept at developing the narratives and identifying the opportunities that ensure our work is visible and influential across globally significant issues.

Education and experience

• Minimum six to seven years of relevant work experience across the not-for-profit sector, ideally in conservation, climate change or sustainable development;
• Relevant degree e.g. international development, international relations, environmental science,  communications;
• A skilled writer with a track record of high quality articles, stories and cases, website content, reports and news items;
• Ability to communicate science-based information;
• Journalistic/PR background highly desirable;
• Experience in developing and implementing communications and media strategies;
• International experience and outlook, with cultural sensitivity and ability to work as part of remote, multi-disciplinary teams;
• A self-starter, highly proactive, strategic yet willing to be hands-on;
• Must be a fluent English speaker. Proficiency in additional languages, especially French, Spanish and Dutch advantageous;
• Must be eligible to work in the Netherlands.

Core competencies

• Sets up procedures to ensure high quality of work; monitors the quality of work; verifies information.
• Applies broad analysis
• Fosters a client-focused culture
• Communicates strategically
• Nurtures creativity
• Builds coalitions, strategic relationships and networks
• Seeks out significant challenges
• Capitalizes on teamwork opportunities
• Empowers the team

How to apply

To apply for this vacancy, please send us a resume and an application letter indicating your motivation to Jozefa van der Veen, HR Officer hr@wetlands.org. Please mark in the subject: “Application – Senior Communications Officer, Mangroves. Questions about the vacancy and/or procedure can also be sent to this email address.

Deadline for the application is Sunday 9 May 2021.

Interviews will take place in the week commencing 24 May 2021.

“Due to the high amount of applications, we can only contact short listed candidates.”