Communications Specialist

A. Position Identification

Employment Type: Full Time

B. Summary Statement:

The Public Health Institute (PHI) is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting health, well-being, and quality of life for people throughout California, across the nation and around the world. As one of the largest and most comprehensive public health organizations in the nation, we are at the forefront of research and innovations to improve the efficacy of public health statewide, nationally, and internationally.

The Global Health Training, Advisory and Support Contract (GHTASC) delivers effective global health programming to advance the mission of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Bureau for Global Health (GH) through institutional support and workforce development services from junior, mid-level, senior and expert advisory and administrative professionals.

Position Summary:

The Bureau for Global Health is the Agency’s focal point and primary source in providing worldwide leadership, donor coordination, and technical expertise for the global health sector including in child and maternal health and nutrition, HIV/AIDS, infectious disease, global health security, family planning and reproductive health, as well as health systems strengthening. The Bureau aligns resources with identified public health and development needs and influences the global health priorities of other donor organizations, host country governments, and host country civil society organizations, multilateral organizations, as well as the U.S. private sector and U.S.-based foundations. It also serves as the primary source of global health technical expertise and intellectual capital to the Agency and other U.S. foreign affairs agencies. The Bureau is the Agency repository for state-of-the-art thinking in biomedical, social science, and operations research and works to produce technical advances and innovations that can be disseminated and replicated at USAID Missions throughout the world. Through its staff, programs, and country teams, GH provides critical support to USAID Missions and field programs in more than 70 countries.

The Office of the Assistant Administrator provides oversight of all global health programs, support to the field, research, legislative relations, and external affairs. The Office also houses the Center for Innovation and Impact, which supports breakthrough innovations, applies market-based approaches, and advances efforts in digital health, private sector engagement, and human-centered design in order to maximize the impact of its global health work.

The Strategic Communications and Outreach team in GH coordinates all aspects of strategic communications and outreach for the GH/AA and other senior leaders who sit in the Office of the Assistant Administrator. The team works in close coordination with the Communication leads within each of the Bureau’s offices as well as USAID Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs.

The Communications Advisor will be an integral part of the Strategic Communications and Outreach Team, working directly with the Director of Communications and Outreach and the senior leadership team. The work of this position is essential to ensure consistent, strategic communications coming from the Office of the Assistant Administrator and the entire Global Health Bureau. The Communications Advisor will be responsible for supporting and implementing the Bureau’s communication objectives and will receive day-to-day guidance from the Director of Communications and Outreach. The Communications Advisor must possess strong oral and written communications skills and the ability to read, analyze, and interpret general Bureau and technical documents, and the ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from groups of managers, technical staff, leadership, and implementing partners is required.

Full salary range for this position is $76,700 to $120,900 per year, with the starting salary determined based on candidate’s knowledge, skills, experience, as well as budget availability.

C. Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Support the implementation of a comprehensive Strategic Communications and Outreach strategy to ensure GH meets its annual goals and objectives;
• Work with the Strategic Communications and Outreach Director and staff to develop effective messages and materials that are aligned to the goals and objectives of the Bureau;
• Assist in coordinating with Missions and implementing partners on a number of internal communications projects;
• Support Missions and implementing partners in public-facing communications requests;
• Support in identifying strategic, focused external engagement opportunities;
• Execute communications and outreach requests and activities undertaken by the team;
• Draft original content and copy for social media, website, and other public-facing communications assets;
• Accompany the Assistant Administrator and/or members of the senior leadership team at events and meetings for the purpose of taking photos or managing supportive communications and outreach needs; and
• Work alongside Bureau leadership and team members to support strategic problem solving and proactive engagement with target audiences.

D. Qualification Requirements:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in public health or related social science field with 4 years of relevant experience, bachelor’s degree with 6 years of relevant experience, Associate’s degree and 8 years of relevant experience, OR High School graduate and 10 years of relevant experience.

Other Qualifications:

• Relevant experience in international health, strategic communications or public affairs, international development, or social science preferred;
• Experience in public policy and communication, preferably working in a global health arena, with or without experience in an international or resource challenged setting preferred.
• Exceptional oral and written communication skills, including editing. Graphic design skills are a plus.
• General knowledge and interest in global health and development issues, as well as interest in working in the public sector. Demonstrated ability in communications program implementation and execution.
• Ability to handle several tasks simultaneously, work quickly to meet competing deadlines, develop a solid understanding of Agency policy and guidelines, incorporate practices and procedures and develop a thorough understanding of the Bureau’s goals and initiatives.
• Proven record of excellent organizational, management and interpersonal skills. Ability and willingness to navigate within a large, complex federal agency to meet goals.
• Strong writing and editing skills.
• US citizenship or US permanent residency with the ability to obtain and maintain facility access required.

E. Competencies:

• Innovation: Employee takes initiative to propose new ideas/approaches and demonstrates ability to find new and better ways to accomplish work.
• Customer Service: Handles customer questions and complaints, communicates with customers, handles service problems politely and efficiently, always available for customers, follows procedure to solve customer problems, understands company products and services, maintains pleasant and professional image.
• Accountability: Takes ownership of work responsibilities and holds high standards. Keeps commitments and takes appropriate actions to ensure obligations are met. Pursues efficiency and effectiveness and adheres to Organization policies and procedures.
• Interpersonal Skills: Employee demonstrates ability to work in cooperation with others and communicate effectively with co-workers, supervisors, subordinates, clients, and other outside contacts.
• Continual Learning: Assesses and recognizes own strengths and weaknesses; pursues professional development that is aligned with organizational role, contribution, and goals. Proactively shares knowledge with others to foster learning across the Organization.

F. APPLICATION INFORMATION:

Prior to submitting your application your resume must include relevant paid and non-paid experience showing dates held with month, year and hours worked per week for each position. Please ensure that all relevant experience and education is documented on your resume. There is no limitation to resume length; updates to resumes will not be accepted during the interview and selection process.

FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT (FLSA) STATUS

This position is classified as exempt based on the job duties. However, based on the FTE, salary level of the employee, or federal/state/local laws, the employee may be classified as nonexempt.

PHI WORKFORCE MANDATORY COVID-19 VACCINATION POLICY

Per the PHI Workforce Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy, it is a condition of employment for all domestic based employees to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, unless they are granted a reasonable accommodation under applicable law.

New hires need to provide proof of full vaccination prior to their start date or apply for an exemption/accommodation within three business days after their start date. Depending on the circumstances, new hires who do not comply with this Policy, or who cannot be reasonably accommodated, will either have their employment suspended or terminated. Candidates who are non-compliant will have their offers rescinded.

This position described in this announcement falls under a contract with the Federal Government, and therefore is subject to the provisions put forward in OMB Circular A-76 which prohibit contractors from performing inherently governmental functions. Specifically, employees placed in agency positions will not perform inherently governmental functions, nor supervise any personnel other than the contractor’s own staff, nor make final decisions or sign documents that commit the U.S. Government

EEO STATEMENT

The Public Health Institute is committed to a policy that provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, pregnancy, medical condition including genetic characteristics, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identification and expression, sexual orientation, and to make all employment decisions so as to further this principle of equal employment opportunity. To this end, the PHI will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, pregnancy, medical condition including genetic characteristics, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identification and expression, sexual orientation, and will take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are offered employment and employees are treated during employment without regard to these characteristics.

For further information regarding Equal Employment Opportunity, copy and paste the following URL into your web browser: http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/pdf/eeopost.pdf

ADA STATEMENT