Strategic Communications Manager

PACT Overview

Pact is an international nonprofit that works in nearly 40 countries building solutions for human development that are evidence-based, data-driven and owned by the communities we serve. Founded in 1971, Pact works with partners to build resilience, improve accountability, and strengthen knowledge and skills for sustainable social impact.

Department

Programs - Pact strives for a world where all people are heard, capable, and vibrant. The Programs Team helps realize this objective by bridging program management, technical support, and business development, enabling Pact to achieve its global strategy. We ensure program excellence through continuous learning, monitoring and evaluation and provide organizational and industry-wide thought leadership by leveraging a complementary set of cross-functional, multi-disciplinary skills, expertise, and experiences. The Programs team: influences progressive change through the development and implementation of global and regional strategies and business plans; supports advancement of innovative solutions; pursues new business opportunities; and drives effective internal and external engagement to maximize Pact’s impact across the globe. Across all aspects of its role, the Programs Department adheres to and promotes a culture of inclusion, accountability, and respect.

Position Overview

Pact seeks a Strategic Communications Manager to ensure use of cutting-edge analysis, research methods, and strategic communication for the USAID CSM-STAND Sri Lanka Bolstering Civil Society (BCS) Activity.

Supervised by the Chief of Party (COP) and working closely with other technical project staff, this position will develop the BCS communication strategy and leads its implementation. The position will contribute to the design, coordination, and implementation of social and behavioral change communication (SBCC) strategies. The position will also support the BCS Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Manager in measuring and evaluating SBCC interventions. The Strategic Communications Manager will lead the generation of ideas and data-driven solutions based on rigorous analyses, producing technical communications documents and studies. The position will have oversight of external communications of Pact’s approach, strategies, and key results in the country, including stakeholder engagement and coordination with local partners and grantees.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop the project’s overall communication strategy that is contextually appropriate in a dynamic and highly sensitive operating environment.
• Create internal and external materials on state-of-the-art methods for supporting the development of civil society and produce related communications products in coordination with BCS technical teams.
• Collaborate with the COP and USAID communications counterparts to develop a dissemination approach for sharing regular project updates to interested stakeholders, both internal and external, including drafting success stories, snapshots, before and after pieces, and other communications materials.
• Contribute to the design of research products to understand and measure perceptions of the role of civil society actors within broader Sri Lankan civil society in partnership with BCS technical resource partners and Pact technical staff.
• Manage relationships with technical resource partners responsible for research, communications, and SBCC activities, in collaboration with the COP.
• Participate in weekly meetings with COP, DCOP, and technical leads to ensure integrated communications management across activities, grants management, field implementation, and finance and procurement.
• Supervise the Communications and Outreach Officer.
• Oversee consultants as needed for specific assignments.
• All other duties as assigned.

Basic Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees in relevant field
• At least 7 years of related experience in a strategic communications role
• Knowledge of civil society, governance, and political dynamics in Sri Lanka
• Knowledge of quantitative research and analysis methods in the market research and/or communications fields
• Excellent writing and research skills
• Experience in supervisor role with demonstrated ability to solve problems
• Experience with international donor-funded programs, particularly USAID-funded contracts
• Fluent in English and local language(s)

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience working on programs in relevant areas.
• Experience with data-driven audience segmentation and targeting practices, and familiarity with sentiment analysis and/or content analysis
• Sri Lankan nationals highly encouraged to apply.