Internews Europe

Project Director in Haiti

Communications and Reconstruction

Job Title: Project director

Project: ESPAS KOM (Evaliasyon Swivi ak Pataj Aksion Sansibilizasion ak Kominikasion)

Location: Port au Prince et provinces, Haïti

Reports to:   Internews Europe Director of Programmes

Starting Date:   March 2012

Duration: 4 months

Internews Europe is an international media development organisation whose mission is to empower local media worldwide to give people the news and information they need, the ability to connect, and the means to make their voices heard.

Background on communication and reconstruction in Haiti

The dramatic consequences of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti revealed a serious lack of awareness of and precautionary measures in urban planning and basic anti-seismic building norms that could have mitigated at least the worst of the earthquake’s consequences. As much as a natural catastrophe it was a man-made disaster.

As Haiti’s buildings and settlements will continue to face earthquakes and hydro-meteorological hazards, there is, consequently, a need for behaviour change in construction practices to reduce future risks for Haitian families. As the population is currently rebuilding and for the most part, repeating the same unsafe construction practices that led to the consequences following the January 12th earthquake, providing various stakeholders with accurate information is urgently needed. The construction sector in Haiti is largely informal. This is especially the case in housing, and poses a major challenge in terms of securing improvements. Repair and reconstruction of damaged houses and new construction in future needs to improve upon previous practices. This depends largely on a new community sensibility about construction practices and be owner-driven. Communication on (re)construction is a particularly acute need and a specific challenge for the informal housing sector, which has the least amount of prior access to information, support and regulation. All these information gaps must be confronted with solid communication analysis based on a two-way communication flow model, in which media must play an active role, and respond to the population’s current knowledge, believes, perceptions and practices related to construction.

Internews-Haiti with its expertise and operational capacity in communication M&E , its experience in providing communication coordination among humanitarian, development and the Haitian media will support the pluralist effort, led by the Haitian government, in communicating broadly and sustainably with the Haitian population on safer construction.

General job description

The project director will have a primary role in providing communications advice and orientation for the design of an inter-agency, government-led, campaign on safer construction and provide coordination  support to state, humanitarian, development and civil society actors (media among others), to achieve campaign’s objectives. In charge of the overall results of the project, the project director will ensure the roll-out of all project activities. S/he will manage project staff in close collaboration with Internews-Haiti’s senior management. S/he will also be responsible for reporting to UN habitat, the MTPTC and other state authorities in accordance with the project’s partnership agreements. The project director will also have to advocate for and seek additional funding to expand this project beyond this initial four month phase and support the development of a broader project agenda.

Key deliverables

• Coordinate the establishment of an inter-agency communication platform and oversee the implementation of a national public information campaign.
• Design and draft  a communication strategy and implementation plan on safer construction with partners
• Advocate for and provide advice on mainstreaming two-way communication within the national construction strategic plan.
• Interact with government and international agencies’ high-level authorities and participate in all necessary fora in order to :

-mobilise more partners from higher management levels as well as those at the operational coordination level,

-establish synergies among governmental institutions and International organisations

-enhance the institutional visibility of the MTPTC-led communication campaign among partners and various international donors.

-Advocate for and mobilise resources for the communication campaign with various donors and agencies.

• Ensure the visibility of the communication campaign on safer construction among other state authorities and their civil society and international partners.
• Advocate for respect of institutional commitments among partners and ongoing adaptation of the communication strategy and campaign,
• Ensure coordination of diverse communication platform  sub- groups such that they provide each other with the necessary outputs in a timely manner.
• Provide support for the development of feedback mechanisms
• Coordinate the design, development and supervision of the implementation of communications M&E in collaboration with the Internews-Haiti research team.
• Official Correspondence: prepare or oversee the production of all official communications, briefings and reports to donors and partners as required
• Monitor budget and project expenses
• Write all reporting documents according to the donor’s requirements
• Liaise with Internews Headquarters and back office staffs on all programmatic, financial and administrative issues
• Participate to the weekly management call with the Internews Headquarters
• Closely communicate and interact with Internews Haiti based staff and in-country and regional management.

Report to Headquarters based Internews Director of Programmes and locally to the Internews HT Country Director

QUALIFICATIONS:

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. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential task.

• Experience in developing national-level strategic communication projects; ability to plan, set goals, monitor progress and evaluate results;
• Experience managing institutional  partnerships and a small team of professionals;
• Experience in designing communication strategies, developing and/or supervising public information messages and interactive communication activities;
• Knowledge of various communication channels for use of state public information including but not limited to the media (TV, Radio, Internet and newspaper) and civil society organisations;
• Experience in coordinating communication among humanitarian, development, state and civil society actors for a large scale public information campaign;
• Experience in providing communication capacity-building for state institutions.
• Strong critical thinking and writing skills; excellent communication skills;
• Experience in creating and managing budgets;
• Proven interpersonal and networking skills with international organisations and donors; proven ability to raise substantial funds with important donors.
• Language skills: Fluent in French and English. Ability to read and understand Haitian Creole.

TO APPLY:

• Interested candidates meeting the qualifications should forward a cover letter and resume (not longer than 3 pages) together with 3 references, in French and English. to jobs@internews.eu
• Reference to mention: “PD HT ESPASK” and name in the subject line
• Deadline for applications: March 8, 2012

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The above noted job description is not intended to describe, in detail, the multitude of tasks that may be assigned but rather to give the candidate a general sense of the responsibilities and expectations of his/her position. As the nature of business demands change so, too, may the essential functions of this position.

Ville

Port-au-Prince&provinces

Langues parlées du candidat

Fluent in French and English. Ability to read and understand Haitian Creole.

Durée du contrat

4 months

Documents à envoyer

TO APPLY:

• Interested candidates meeting the qualifications should forward a cover letter and resume (not longer than 3 pages) together with 3 references, in French and English. to jobs@internews.eu
• Reference to mention: “PD HT ESPASK” and name in the subject line
• Deadline for applications: March 8, 2012