Each year, Africans who participate in Tostan’s Community Empowerment Program (CEP) catalyze social transformation and spearhead grassroots development efforts in their communities. The Communications Assistant has the important job of helping the International Communications Team to connect stories from the field to Tostan’s supporters internationally. This goal will be achieved mainly through collecting, researching, and writing stories to share with Tostan’s network of supporters and partners. The Communications Assistant will use volunteers’ first-hand depictions of program participants’ experiences, village portraits, and other various reports to write documents that share Tostan’s important work with others around the world.

Start Date: June 2010

Minimum commitment:  10 weeks

Location: Washington, DC

Hours per week: Full-time (35 hours per week) preferred
Direct supervisor(s): Associate Director of US Operations

• Maintain regular communication with Tostan’s International Communications team to track upcoming events for potential stories, and help to maintain the “Tostan Story Tracking Spreadsheet” (Google Word Doc)
• Assist with Tostan’s media outreach, including the distribution of press releases and press briefings, making follow-up phone calls, arranging teleconferences and meetings, etc.
• Prepare written documents for internal and external communications, such as reports on program activities, articles/stories for intranet and internet sites, and short pieces for other Tostan communications vehicles (i.e. newsletters, website, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Idealist.org, Change.org, LinkedIn, etc.)
• Synthesize and translate information from the following types of Tostan documents to include in updates for newsletter and other communications
  • Regional project reports
  • Village portraits
  • Declaration documents
  • Internal bulletin
  • Reports to donors
• Assist in developing and posting website content
• Coordinate with the Volunteer Coordinator in Dakar and with regional volunteers to report events in Tostan publications (i.e. e-newsletter, updates to Tostan website, press releases)
• Request and organize promotional materials from regional volunteers, including brochures, newsletters, articles, etc.
• Maintain a list of media contacts, blog contacts by topic
• Manage and update blogs on relevant topics
• Help communications team develop a media relations strategy
• Coordinate with International Communications Team and other staff to ensure consistent messaging and style

• Assist communications team with various other research and writing-related tasks
• Various administrative tasks
• Participate in various social networking events and workshops  

• Thorough understanding of Tostan’s programs and methodologies
• Bachelors degree or current enrollment in Bachelors program; studies in International Development, Education, Gender Studies, other social science, Communications, Business, Management, or related field
• Strong communication skills, including written and spoken proficiency in English ( required) and French ( preferred)
• Previous experience with either a nongovernmental or nonprofit organization or experience in Africa/non-western country preferred
• Project management experience preferred
• Strong computer skills in Microsoft Office Suite required
• Knowledge of Gmail, Google Groups, Google Documents, Google Calendars, and other Internet programs preferred
• Ability to work independently, to self-motivate, and to manage multiple tasks at once
• Flexibility adapting to a multicultural environment, to be considerate of limited resources, and to adapt work priorities to the immediate needs of the project or donor
• Must be willing to provide administrative support when necessary

 
Benefits

• Hands on experience with an internationally recognized NGO
• Development of Curriculum Vitae/Resume
• Opportunity to develop highly sought-after skills in project management, training, and written and oral communication in a multicultural, multilingual environment 

• SmartSite 2.0 (WYSIWYG website management)
• Z2 (donor relations management)

This job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required in this position. Employees may be required to perform other duties outside of their normal responsibilities, to meet the ongoing needs of the organization.

To learn more about the Washington, DC Internship Program, click here .

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