Stanford University is seeking a WLGHI Communications Lead (Public Relations Officer 3) to lead planning, coordinating, and implementing a communication programs for the Women Leaders in Global Health Initiative. This position will oversee external written and digital communications and media relations. The Communications Lead will participate in the development of the WLGHI strategy, its long-range planning and its engagement with critical partners.

This recruitment is for 1 full-time (100% FTE) position.

Background:

The Women Leaders for Global Health Initiative (WLGHI) is housed in the Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health, in the School of Medicine. Supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, WLGHI’s mission is a world where diverse, accomplished leaders collectively transform global health outcomes. WLGHI will achieve this through elevating and unleashing talented mid-career women to advance as global health leaders. WLGHI has an ambitious strategy to build scalable platforms to deliver interventions supporting women’s leadership in health. Its goal is reach and empower thousands of diverse women spanning countries, sectors and disciplines and to catalyze not only individual behavior change but also influence change in the organizations and society in which they live and work.

The strategy for transformative change includes:

• Empower, train and cultivate the next generation of mid-career women leaders in health.
• Accelerate and learn from gender-friendly organizational change with a portfolio of institutional partners.
• Support global, regional and local convenings of women and men to share challenges and opportunities.
• Support global, regional and national champions committed to advancing women’s leadership.
• Amplify stories and evidence as well as provide access to e-learning through a scaled digital platform.
• The Communications Lead will work closely with the Executive Director and other members of the small and nimble WLGHI team to create and lead the communications and brand management strategy.

Duties include:

• Develop short- and long-term public relations, communications and engagement strategies at national and international scale to support the larger strategy of Women Leaders in Global Health Initiative (WLGHI). WLGHI is supporting advancing women’s leadership in global health through empowering women and influencing the environments in which they live and work. WLGHI will target communications at the global health community with in-depth engagement in 5 countries (U.S., India and East Africa) in the first four years and eventually over 12 countries.
• Design and lead efforts to increase visibility of WLGHI, its objectives and strategy and its partners internally and globally.
• Design, develop, edit and oversee WLGHI written communications and messaging including on the digital platform, through the creation and maintenance of a WLGHI newsletter, and articles.
• Support the Executive Director and high level influential national and global health “leaders from around the world who are willing to be WLGHI Champions, using their voice and platforms to support women’s leadership in global health. Support will include messaging, presentations materials, speeches and positioning
• Lead efforts to design and establish the WLGHI brand that is more distinctive and appealing including renaming the initiative, determining the look and feel of the digital platform, and communication materials.
• Lead communication risk mitigation in support of WLGHI and its partners’ reputations, overseeing the work of communication partners, monitoring global and national press and other communications and protecting the reputation of the initiative, its donors and its partners.
• Develop and implement a communication plan including cultivating media partners and platforms at the global and national level in the initial WLGHI target countries (U.S. India and 3 countries in East Africa) and future WLGH conference sites. This plan should align with critical events including future conferences, speaking events and engagement by high level champions.
• Guide and support WLGHI country hub partners with appropriate national and sub-national communication programs in target countries of India and East Africa initially.
• Develop, execute and oversee an active social media campaign to promote WLGHI stories, evidence, partners and women leaders within countries and globally. The social media strategies should complement the broader communications and public relations strategies.
• Engage closely with Stanford and external partner communication and conduct community-outreach activities such as highlighting the results of the initiative in Stanford newsletters or Stanford conferences and working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other partners in the global health community on stories about the Initiative and the women leaders it is supporting.
• Independently use established network of key media leaders including reporters, editors and others to promote WLGHI stories. Build and leverage relationships with WLGHI high level champions including on the Global and National Advisory Committees.
• Leverage established media relationships including through implementing partners who have built strong networks of reporters who focus on global health issues.
• As a senior member of the WLGHI team, contribute to the overall strategy, learning and business planning of WLGHI.
• Responsible for budgeting and managing expenses for the Communications activity.
• Responsible for overseeing the global health communications/engagement partner that WLGHI is establishing as an implementing partner for the Initiative. This will include developing and overseeing the work-plan and budget for the partner.
• Supervise the yet-to-be-hired staff member responsible for content curation and generation and for the posting of this content on the WLGHI website.

* Other duties may also be assigned

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Minimum 7 years related experience in developing and executing communication plans for projects of comparable size/complexity, including developing communication plans, communication materials (written, speeches, presentations), social media outreach, and brand management.
• Background in global health, gender equity and leadership development.
• Established network of personal and institutional relationships relevant to global health.

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE (REQUIRED):

• Bachelor's degree and seven years of relevant experience or combination of education and relevant experience.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (REQUIRED):

• Excellent written communication skills, outstanding research and analytical skills, and skills in conceptual editing, copy editing, and proof reading.
• Ability to work collaboratively with internal communications groups across campus.
• Demonstrated interpersonal skills in working with a variety of people.
• Mastery of skills in journalism and public relations.
• Demonstrated public speaking skills.
• PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS*:
• Constantly perform desk-based computer tasks.
• Frequently stand/walk, sit, use a telephone, grasp lightly/fine manipulation, speaking.
• Occasionally grasp forcefully, writing by hand.
• Rarely sort/file paperwork.

* Consistent with its obligations under the law, the University will provide reasonable accommodation to any employee with a disability who requires accommodation to perform the essential functions of his or her job.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

• Occasional work on evenings and weekends.
• On call and ability to respond 24/7.

Additional WORKING CONDITIONS:

• Position may require substantial travel, domestic and international, to partner institutions, conferences, and key-informant meetings.

WORK STANDARDS:

Interpersonal Skills: Demonstrates the ability to work well with Stanford colleagues and clients and with external organizations.

Promote Culture of Safety: Demonstrates commitment to personal responsibility and value for safety; communicates safety concerns; uses and promotes safe behaviors based on training and lessons learned.

Subject to and expected to comply with all applicable University policies and procedures, including but not limited to the personnel policies and other policies found in the University's Administrative Guide, http://adminguide.stanford.edu.

Additional Information

• Schedule: Full-time
• Job Code: 4264
• Employee Status: Regular
• Grade: K