Communications & Outreach Specialist Urban Practitioners Programme

About the Urban Practitioners Programme (UPP)

The UPP is an education and capacity building programme for urban practitioners spanning disciplines and levels in public, private, academic and civil society sectors. IIHS believes that a citys transformation rests largely on the collective endeavours of practitioners who confront challenges through an informed, reflexive and creative manner. Through a portfolio of customised and open enrolment capacity development programmes and projects, the UPP offers institutions and practitioners new frameworks of knowledge, backed by a cohesive package of skills. Our portfolio spans sectors, disciplines and scales of practice and seeks to intervene at three levels:

• Strategic perspectives and orientation of the practitioner to urban challenges;
• Knowledge frameworks employed to appraise such challenges;
• Execution skills to tackle them effectively and sustainably.

Job Description

The communications and outreach specialist will be part of the core UPP team, responsible for supporting the planning and delivery of project and programme level communications and public engagement across UPP projects. S/he will  also be involved in providing outreach and market research support to UPP activities and initiatives as needed.

Apart from collaborative working within the UPP team, the role will also require  close coordination with the IIHS Communications & Design team to ensure that programme communications are aligned with the core communications strategy  at the institutional level.

This will be a contractual position for an initial term of 11 months, renewable on mutual consent.

Activities and Tasks

Responsibilities would include, but not be limited to, the following:

• Helping develop, produce and disseminate content to engage and educate audiences across various channels via newsletters, blogs, graphics, website content, and social media posts; developing and publishing the Capacity Building Digest at the required frequency; regularly updating and maintaining the UPP microsite;
• Helping drive online and onsite events and campaign rollouts, internal and external;
• Assisting in business development efforts, including pitch notes and presentations, as and when relevant;
• Supporting with market research and outreach activities, including email outreach to existing and potential UPP course participants;
• Contributing to research and content creation for UPP courses;
• Contributing to the writing, reviewing and publishing of UPP course reports;
• Supporting primary and secondary research on UPP initiatives and projects;
• Helping develop capacity building frameworks and manuals for UPP projects as needed;
• Providing support to other IIHS activities including academics, research, training, practice, operations and others, including contributions to keeping the IIHS website up to date;
• Participating in all activities of institution-building at IIHS; carrying out tasks as assigned by IIHS; and travelling on IIHS work within or outside the country as and when needed.

Structure and Reporting

The communications and outreach specialist will be an External Consultant coordinating with the Head UPP or with any other person designated by the Head, and will be required to collaborate effectively with a diverse group of internal teams and external individuals/ organisations;

Person Specification

An ideal candidate shall have the following:

• An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in management, communications, urban development, or related fields;
• 2-5 years of progressively responsible experience in marketing communications, outreach, network management or related areas;
• Effective research, writing, editing, outreach, relationship- building and data-management skills;
• Proficiency in MS Office;
• Excellent communication skills in English, both oral and written; knowledge of regional languages like Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, etc. would be an added advantage;
• Strong team–working and interpersonal skills;
• The ability to develop and implement a creative approach to communications and outreach.

This is a contractual engagement for an initial term of 11 months, renewable on mutual consent.

This offer is on an exclusive basis, which implies that other professional assignments (whether compensated or not) that bear a potential conflict of interest with IIHS cannot be undertaken.

We are looking for an immediate hire. The search will remain open until the position is filled.

Location

This position is based in Bengaluru and may entail travel to other locations in India.

Review and Assessment

The role and performance of the incumbent shall be subject to normal review and assessment systems at IIHS.

Diversity Policy

IIHS is an equal opportunity employer that encourages women, people with disabilities and those from economically and socially excluded communities with the requisite skills and qualifications to apply for positions.

Contact

Please write to us at hr@iihs.co.in if you need any clarifications while filling the online application form.