Overview

The Local, Faith, and Transformative Partnerships Hub, located within USAID's Bureau for Development, Democracy, and Innovation (DDI/LFT), is seeking a Senior Strategic Communications Specialist to support the DDI/LFT Locally Led Development Initiatives (LLDI) programs.

The Locally Led Development Initiatives in DDI/LFT include multiple programs that work to empower local actors to lead and sustain their own development. Through funding and technical leadership, these initiatives provide USAID Missions and staff with the knowledge, skills, tools, and resources to ensure that development assistance is locally led. These initiatives include the Local Works program, the Small Project Assistance Program and Global Agreement with Peace Corps, a number of co-created research and development initiatives under the Broad Agency Announcement for Locally Led Development Innovation, and the Locally Led Development Annual Program Statement. Also supported under the Local Works program is the sub-program entitled Unsolicited Solutions for Locally Led Development (US4LLD), a funding opportunity for meritorious, unsolicited applications that advance locally led development.

In this role, the Senior Strategic Communications Specialist will provide technical leadership and strategic direction to the LLDI Communications Pod, serving as the Pod Lead for that team. This will include engagement across the Agency and USAID Missions to amplify LLD best practices, learning, and achievements, along with ensuring the production and updating of internal and external communications products, overseeing and shaping LLDI communications strategies, and providing direct support to USAID Missions focused on locally led development. The incumbent will be responsible for carrying out this work in close collaboration with DDI/LFT/LLDI leadership, LFT Hub staff, points of contact with Agency localization efforts, and other Agency stakeholders. The incumbent will also provide direction, oversight, and mentoring to team members.

Responsibilities

Technical Leadership-Communications

• Act as a Communications subject matter expert to design and implement the LLDI communications strategy in support of Local Works and other programmatic objectives.
• Ensure consistent, accurate, engaging communications across multiple internal and external channels to strengthen familiarity with Local Works, locally led development, and related programs and messages among key internal and external audiences.
• Track and leverage new policy and programming developments as well as Agency resources to enhance LLDI's work and positioning as a contributor to Agency localization priorities.
• Provide occasional support to the LFT Hub's communications activities, work with other LFT Hub and Agency communicators.
• Provide leadership to integrate Communications efforts with other LLDI Pods, including Mission Support; Unsolicited Solutions for LLD (US4LLD); Knowledge Management, Policy, Training, and Events; and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL).
• Contribute to the development/strengthening of tools, processes, and strategy to facilitate identifying communication support needs coming from Local Works Missions, sharing of key resources and materials, creation of new communications products, and "connecting the dots" with other Agency communications colleagues.
• Coordinate and assist in the prioritization of direct Mission surge support/technical assistance for communications.
• Produce and update communications collateral for DDI/LFT/LLDI programming, using Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, Google Docs, or Google Slides.
• Identify and solicit communications opportunities and draft products to share on external and internal platforms, fostering greater integration of LLDI communications into other Agency platforms.
• Provide management support for communications contractors.
• Travel to USAID Missions to work with field staff and grantees, which may include providing technical support.

Communications Pod Management and Coordination

• Provide official supervision, mentorship, and technical support to the team of three Communications Pod members.
• Meet regularly with LLDI leadership to flag critical issues requiring their involvement.
• Meet regularly with other Pod leads to identify and coordinate on communications and other cross-cutting needs.
• Track the work status of Pod Members' portfolio to understand progress, identify challenges, and prioritize needs.
• Tailor the design and implementation of a systematic onboarding process for new Communications Pod members.
• Support internal learning and priority setting across the Communications Pod.

Qualifications

• U.S. citizen or resident eligible to obtain a facilities level security clearance (active security clearance preferred).
• Bachelors degree from an accredited college or university in a relevant field with at least ten years of experience relevant to international development, particularly in communications, content management, and/or journalism;
• 10+ years professional experience
• At least two (2) years of Senior-level Communications experience;
• Experience in supporting and managing diverse teams and communities of practice, either formally or informally;
• Desire and ability to work effectively with people of diverse backgrounds and support the success of the Communications team members in the Pod, partner Missions, the broader LLDI team;
• Exceptional written, analytic, and oral communication skills;
• Experience working with electronic newsletter platforms;
• Proficient in the Adobe Creative Cloud, particularly Adobe InDesign (work samples required);
• Some knowledge of and experience with managing websites and databases;
• Impeccable customer service, attention to detail, and organizational skills;
• Ability to multitask, prioritize as necessary, meet short deadlines, and approach work with a sense of urgency, follow-through, and flexibility;
• Experience living and/or working in developing countries and resource poor settings;
• Demonstrated cross-cultural, interpersonal, customer-service, and problem-solving skills.
• Proficiency in Google G Suite.

Preferred Experience:

• Passion for and understanding of locally led development: local actors leading their own development;
• Experience working directly with community-level organizations, whether domestic or international;
• Experience managing social media accounts, including drafting and posting content, tracking metrics, and more, particularly for X (formerly Twitter) and/or Facebook;
• Ability to support a geographically and culturally diverse range of stakeholders;
• Proficiency using one or more video editing platforms;
• USAID experience preferred, especially working as part of a Mission Development Outreach and Communications (DOC) team;
• Some international travel may be required (~10%).

About Highlight

For over ten years, Highlight has provided Development and Modernization, Secure IT, and Mission Solution services to our federal government customers. Our team knows the technology; we understand how our customers and their stakeholders work; and we know how to implement industry best practices to deliver high-quality, end-to-end solutions that minimize risk and maximize results.

Since our inception, Highlight has had an employee-first mindset. Our mission is to provide employees with rewarding and impactful career opportunities. In 2021, Highlight's founder, Rebecca Andino, implemented an Employee Stock Ownership Plan to embody and expand our culture of transparency, teamwork and rewarding the work of our employees. By becoming an ESOP, our employee-owners share in the success of the company through their ownership stake. To learn more about ESOPS, check out: www.esopinfo.org.

We're an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) that empowers our people to fearlessly drive change - regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, veteran status, or other characteristics. Our team is dedicated to foster diversity within our teams to promote creativity, innovation, and teamwork to deliver the best solutions for our customers.

To receive compensation and benefits information for this role, contact us or email us at [email protected] Please include the Req ID (this is at the top of the posting under the position title) in the subject line of the email.

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