Communications Officer

Vacancy Announcement

Organization Background

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a US non-profit, tax-exempt, private organization established in 1895 that saves wildlife and wild places by understanding critical issues, crafting science-based solutions, and taking conservation actions that benefit nature and humanity. With more than a century of experience, long-term commitments in dozens of landscapes, presence in more than 60 countries, and experience helping to establish over 150 protected areas across the globe, WCS has amassed the biological knowledge, cultural understanding and partnerships to ensure that vibrant, wild places and wildlife thrive alongside local communities.

WCS Viet Nam Program Overview

WCS has been working in Viet Nam since 2006, focusing on strengthening the commitment, capacity and actions of the government of Vietnam to combat wildlife trafficking. Through support and cooperation to executive and judiciary sectors, including Ministry of Public Security, Supreme People’s Court, Supreme People’s Procuracy, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the National Assembly, it has provided and shared intelligence on criminal wildlife networks which help generate well-informed decisions in enforcement operations. WCS Viet Nam have generated a wide range of reliable data on a number of related issues on illegal wildlife trade, trained and briefed about 4,000 law enforcement officers, policy makers, journalists, researchers and managers nation-wide and distributed a number of technical handbooks and guides. It has assisted central agencies to review and propose necessary changes to national legislation, criminal intelligence analysis systems, inter-agency cooperation. WCS has also facilitated Government to Government dialogue through multilateral and bi-lateral collaboration efforts, between Viet Nam and Asian, African and Latin American countries, to detect and response to illegal wildlife trade networks. Its wildlife health expertise has been leveraged to address unregulated wildlife trade and mitigation of pandemic threats, through collaborative research, training, and policy development. Recently, WCS Viet Nam has also expanded to species conservation, with focus on finding and protecting Rafetus Swinhoei in the wild.

Job Summary

The Communications Officer will support the WCS program by building and sustaining partnership with various local, national and international partners in and for the implementation of communications that aim at achieving our conservation objectives. At the same time, the Communications Officer will join other team members of WCS’ Communications team to establish and maintain well-functioning internal communications systems and guidelines for all staff.

Responsibilities

A.      External communications

• Contributes to building networking and partnership with partners from government, academic institutions, NGOs and business sector,  international community to ensure that all activities properly meet the objective set in project documents;
• Identifies and engages local, national and international media and sustains relationships with reporters, editors, bloggers and other media professionals to publicize and communicate issues related to CWT;
• Establishes appropriate and effective information-sharing relationships with responsible persons in other NGOs, government agencies, businesses and academic institutions in Viet Nam and internationally;
• Participates in external workshops, international and national working groups and other meetings relevant to the communication sector;

B.      Internal communications 

• Supports to design, implement and evaluate results to provide suggestion to improve WCS Viet Nam Program’s communication strategy, includes media outreach and social media content creation, short and long-term communication action plans;
• Initiates the development of media and creative campaigns, together with production and dissemination of relevant communications materials;
• Research and write press releases, and content for WCS Viet Nam Program website, infographics, blogs, briefs, and other communication products;
• Establishes and maintains a detailed knowledge of WCS Viet Nam Program’s communication policies, principles, and keep up-to-date an effective system for the management of knowledge (knowledge management plan);
• Adhere to WCS Viet Nam Program’s branding and marking, ensuring the high-quality and error-free copies/products;
• Arrange and coordinate press conferences, and plan assigned events including donor visits, study tours, regional meetings, and internal staff events;
• Ensure that all WCS staff are updated on all relevant WCS and WCS partner’s activities;

C.       Fundraising

• Participates or provides inputs in proposal development including technicality and finance indicators;

D.      Others

• Oversees the work of consultants and sub-grantees, if any;
• Acts as WCS’s representative at provincial and national level meetings/workshops as required;
• Performs other tasks as assigned by the direct supervisor.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor/college degree in communications, journalism, public relations, or a related field (essential);
• Minimum 3 years of communications experience in an NGO/INGO/international organization;
• Proven experience in project implementation and project management;
• Content writing experience for all communication platforms (print-outs and electronic);
• Proven social media and networking expertise and/or to communicate social/development issues  is a strong advantage;
• Works well under pressure and meets tight deadlines;
• Strategic and creative mindset; and attention to detail;
• Proficient in written and verbal communication skills in Vietnamese and English;
• Computer skills mandatory, proficient in Microsoft Office Applications and related communication tools;
• Concern for wildlife conservation & environmental issues is an asset.

Application Process

Interested candidates, who meet the above qualifications should apply via link https://forms.gle/ZWdHu6PkYLPUmt1v7 latest by 23:59 of 7 February 2022.

WCS is an equal opportunity employer and the organization complies with all employment and labor laws and regulations that prohibit discrimination in hiring and ensures that candidates from all backgrounds are fairly and consistently considered during the recruitment process. We are dedicated to hiring and supporting a diverse workforce. We are committed to cultivating an inclusive work environment and look for future team members who share that same value. The organization provides equal employment opportunities for all qualified candidates. The organization does not discriminate for employment based on age, color, disability, gender identify, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by laws and regulations.