Head – Communication and External Engagement, IWWAGE

Type: Full-time
Employer: Institute for What Works to Advance Gender Equality (IWWAGE) 
Location: New Delhi
Reporting to: Executive Director
Salary: Commensurate with qualifications and experience

About IWWAGE:

Institute for What Works to Advance Gender Equality (IWWAGE) is an initiative of LEAD, an action-oriented research centre of IFMR Society (a not-for-profit society registered under the Societies Act). LEAD has strategic oversight and brand support from Krea University (sponsored by IFMR Society) to enable synergies between academia and the research centre. IWWAGE aims to build and deepen evidence around the low participation of women in the economy – caused by low asset base, poor access to public services, restrictive gender norms, and the burden of unpaid work – to find solutions to inform gender transformative changes and policy reforms.

About the Position:

IWWAGE is actively seeking a qualified, motivated, self-driven professional with long years of standing in communication and external engagement. Directly reporting to the Executive Director, he/she will take the lead in IWWAGE’s external engagements with donors, governments, media, and other relevant stakeholders, including grassroots organisations. He/she will also take the lead in dissemination and showcasing IWWAGE’s work, and support in creating IWWAGE as a credible brand on Gender Equality. The Head will ensure the implementation of the IWWAGE communications strategy. He/she shall build and manage the communications team and vendors. The Head will provide technical support on the campaigns, online and in-person events, resource mobilisation, and donor relations.

He/she will manage public content including the development of publications, policy briefs, concise and sharp summaries, high-quality press releases, research briefs, speeches, and social media posts to support the Executive Director and Leadership Team. He/she will build portfolio briefs by working closely with the Director (Research and Policy), Director (Partnership and Outreach) and the Implementation Action Team. Ensure public events are managed well, and outcomes are captured well in the work of IWWAGE. The Head will also ensure timely reporting on the impact of communications work to the external stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities:

• The candidate should have excellent verbal and written communication skills and be able to independently create briefs and collaterals as required for external communications;
• The candidate should be able to understand and articulate/present IWWAGE’s ongoing and past work, including evidence creation, policy engagement, and implementation action;
• The individual should be up to date and abreast of the external communication landscape of other organisations & influencers in the area of women’s economic empowerment and gender equality, and provide clear insights to the Leadership Team;
• The person should be able to synthesise, develop, and communicate the work and concepts to external audiences and stakeholders through various targeted online and offline content;
• The person should be able to build relations with media and other consultancy agencies to develop and disseminate the communication materials to various channels and ensure publication, in English, Hindi and select Regional languages;
• The person should maintain and keep updated the IWWAGE website, branding guidelines and other external facing materials in coordination with the central LEAD communications team;
• The candidate should also manage the social media content and flagship publications such as newsletters and other annual series. He/she should maintain a calendar of events for the year;
• The candidate should maintain and update a roster of partners and stakeholders for ongoing communication through a newsletter and other consultations and events as required. He/she should also ensure that IWWAGE and its work are well represented in major gender-related events in India and Internationally;
• The candidate will be responsible for the recruiting, management and mentorship of team members as per their ToR;
• The person will support other verticals in promoting events through appropriate channels, producing high-quality publications, and conceptualizing content in all possible formats for high-level events;
• The candidate should be able to deal with vendors especially designers, copy editors and so on and be able to guide them to produce high quality visually appealing and interesting outputs;
• Should be a leader, and also be a team member, as required, ready to work in short deadlines, and at times adjusting to the slow pace of external stakeholders;
• Any other tasks as assigned by the Line Manager.

Qualifications and Key Requirements:

• Master’s degree in Mass Communication with at least 12 years of proven experience. Having previous experience in gender equality and women empowerment would be an added advantage;
• Solid understanding of Gender Equality in India and South Asia;
• Experience in video and graphic production, journalism, media relations, or creative writing and editorial management is required. Mixed/diverse experiences are preferred;
• Experience in stakeholder engagement and network building is preferred;
• Self-motivated, and has a keen interest in research, policy and implementation action;
• Ability to learn quickly from multiple subject areas and be a team player with excellent managerial and people skills to mentor and motivate other team members;
• Willingness to travel as required and to remote places;
• Strong interpersonal skills and willingness to work in a team;
• Fluency in verbal and written English and Hindi.

Application Instructions: 

Deadline: Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Please combine your resume, cover letter stating your suitability for the position, and writing sample into one PDF and apply in the form here.

Note: Due to the large volume of applications we receive, we are unable to contact each candidate individually regarding the status of their application. Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for interview purposes.