Job details

Communications Officer

Heifer International is an equal opportunity employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, status as a protected veteran, among other things, or status as a qualified individual with disability.

About Heifer International

In 1944, Heifer International’s founder, Dan West, began outlining a simple but groundbreaking plan to tackle hunger around the world. West, a farmer from the Midwest and Church of the Brethren member, had recently returned from feeding weary refugees during volunteer service in the Spanish Civil War.

He had seen firsthand that giving people food was a short-term solution, whereas providing them with animals offered a steady supply of nutritious food for an entire family. His philosophy still inspires Heifer’s work today. Partnering with farmers across a range of different livestock and crops, we create unique solutions to local challenges.

Today, Heifer International has operations in 19 countries around the world, working alongside local farmers, business owners and their communities, as they mobilize and envision their futures. Together, we build inclusive, resilient economies, so communities can develop effective ways to end global hunger and poverty in a sustainable way.

To date, we have supported more than 42 million farming families across Africa, Asia and the Americas and in the past five years alone, we have worked alongside 2.7 million families to close the living income gap or set them on a path to doing so. Between now and 2030, we will support an additional 10 million people to reach a living income by scaling up our signature programs. To achieve this, Heifer International relies on its passionate, committed and highly skilled staff.

ROLE FUNCTION

As a member of the Global Communications team, the Communications Officer is a strong, accomplished writer who produces compelling storytelling and thematic content focused on Heifer’s rural development work with farmers and a range of other partners around the world. The content will be used on the Heifer website, in the Heifer Story Collections digital product and various other internal and external platforms, for direct and repurposed use by various Heifer departments.

Reporting to the Director of Communications, the Communications Officer also collaborates with Heifer colleagues across the organization, including the Vice President of Communications, to produce external articles, technical briefs, reports and collateral used by business development, partnerships and other departments to promote Heifer’s work and support the organization’s development.

S/he has strong writing and editing skills, familiarity with producing content for multiple platforms and demonstrated ability to collaborate on content projects with communications and technical colleagues. S/he is a self-starter and deadline-oriented, with experience in an institutional communications environment, preferably in the mission-driven sector.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Research, produce, and deliver creative and compelling program-based stories in support of Heifer’s work for Heifer-owned and external channels (40%)

Build relationships and conduct interviews and meetings with country, program, regional and departmental teams to understand Heifer’s work and identify and develop story leads connected to Heifer’s core themes.
Contribute feature-length articles to Heifer News and Stories and Heifer Collections.
Work with Global Communications team members on the development of compelling multimedia elements and strong visual content in communications deliverables.
Integrates web and social media best practices. practices.
Collaborate on the planning (editorial calendar) and organization of stories to meet organizational demands, enhance traction in the marketplace and optimize for SEO on the web.

Research, produce and deliver external-facing articles, briefs and collateral (40%)

In coordination with the public relations team and the Vice President of Communications, identify and produce op-eds and other external article types used to promote Heifer’s work through key external platforms and publications.
In coordination with business development and partnerships, programs and other departments, identify and produce content for briefs, reports and other collateral.

Produce content for flagship Heifer reports (20%)

In coordination with the Vice President of Communications and the Director of Communications, lead content generation for flagship reports such as the Heifer Annual Report and ENDS report.
Contribute content to other key reports as and when they are developed.
May perform other job -related duties, as assigned

Minimum Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field or equivalent experience
At least 7 years' experience developing and producing content in an institutional setting and/or in a relevant media setting.
Strong Communication (writing, oral, impersonation) skills in the English language.
Ability to create reports, presentations, and board reports in collaboration with stakeholders.
Excellent interpersonal and collaboration/networking skills.
Self-motivated, agile, and detail-oriented professional with exceptional skills.

Preferred Requirements

Experience working with a mission-driven organization, ideally one with a global presence.
Demonstrated grasp of traditional and digital media landscapes.
Experience conducting interviews and research.
Visual literacy and experience working with foreign language translators and/or directing freelance photographers.
Proficiency in a foreign language, preferably Spanish.

Most Critical Proficiencies

Strong writing skills with the ability to produce a diversity of content types (storytelling, marketing collateral, technical, etc.)
Motivated work approach, including excellent organizational skills and strong attention to detail.
Demonstrated editing skills – the ability to review others’ content and provide value-added input.
Ability to readily identify and distill compelling story ideas from program and technical work.
Ability to keep abreast of broader sector trends and relate our content to them.
Strong collaboration and partnership skills
Knowledge of the non-profit sector and the context to which non-profit organizations operate.
Self-motivation to meet critical deadlines.
Excellent English language skills.
Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite and other content-generation platforms.

Essential Job Functions and Physical Demands:

May require constant sitting, working at a computer for extended periods of time.
Uphold journalistic excellence and credibility in all assignments.
Ability to interact with diverse individuals and groups tactfully and assertively with the ability to listen attentively and creatively, leaving only a positive impression.
Ability to produce accurate documents in a well-designed and attractive format appropriate for Heifer’s worldwide audience with impeccable attention to detail.
Ability to handle multiple tasks with inflexible deadlines and constant interruptions.
Proven ability to consistently meet deadlines.
Willingness and ability to travel internationally and domestically, as needed.
Frequent face-to-face, telephone and electronic communication with internal and external colleagues at all levels and ethnicities.
Ability to work with sensitive information and maintain confidentiality.

Salary Information:

The expected base salary range for this position is $65,000 to $75,000 annually. Placement within the range will be based on the experience and competency level of the candidate. Please submit a cover letter detailing your interest in the role with your application.

What We Offer:

Heifer International offers a variety of benefits for U.S. based employees working 30 or more hours per week.
Health and wellness benefits including Flexible Spending Account and/or Health Saving Account
Employee assistance program
403(b) retirement plan (match 1% employee to 2% employer up to a maximum of 4% match +3% employer discretionary contribution regardless of employee contribution)
22 vacation days in addition to 12 statutory and discretionary holidays, and 10 sick days per year
Employer-paid life insurance and accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D)
Professional development and annual merit increase opportunities
Optional critical illness insurance, legal assistance plan and pet protection
And more!

Heifer International is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, status as a protected veteran, among other things, or status as a qualified individual with some form of disability.

Heifer International Glassdoor Company Review

3.5