Health Correspondent at Options Consultancy Services Limited

Options is a leading provider of technical expertise, short-term consultancy and long-term management services in the health and the social sectors. Established in 1992, Options has evolved into a dynamic organisation with a broad portfolio of work that includes over 900 assignments in 50 countries. We work with a wide range of clients that includes donors, national governments, the private sector, academic institutions, and civil society.

Evidence for Action (E4A) is a programme managed by Options Consultancy Services and funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) until 2016 to improve maternal and newborn survival through a combined focus on evidence, advocacy and accountability across six sub-Saharan African countries: Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Tanzania. The E4A consortium brings together experts from academic institutions, internationally recognized advocacy and accountability coalitions and civil society organizations. It works through local institutions in each of the six selected countries which hosts a small E4A Country Team.

In each country and at a regional level, E4A has launched a locally driven programme under an umbrella E4A regional advocacy campaign known as MamaYe! The campaign has a clear focus on survival and positive stories rather than a resigned social acceptance of death in pregnancy and childbirth which is common throughout Africa.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through the advocacy work, has committed resources to expand the reach of the E4A program and enable existing and effective models of change to be scaled-up, improving maternal and newborn survival in Nigeria, Malawi and Ethiopia.

We are looking for a Health Correspondent to support advocacy and communications.

Job Title: Health Correspondent

Location: Abuja

Job Summary

• As the Health Correspondent you will be responsible for supporting advocacy and communication technical inputs through writing and disseminating diverse evidence based communication materials on maternal and newborn health for the E4A-MamaYe campaign.
• A key role will be to produce and disseminate high quality written evidence based materials for a variety of online and print media to showcase the MamaYe campaign and activities.
• You will report to the Country Director and work closely with other members of the country team supported by the host agency in Abuja and Options’ head office team members, in particular the Technical Support Unit (TSU) and other core team members. You will work closely with the team in Nigeria including the National Coordinator, Communications Advisor, MamaYe Lead, Advocacy Coordinator, State Coordinators, and Budget Advocacy Advisor.

Job Responsibilities

• Lead inputs on communication and writing for various print and online media:
• Identify, research and write stories highlighting successes within maternal and newborn health and to celebrate individual or organisational champions in Nigeria
• Produce and disseminate press releases for key campaign and national events
• Support E4A team members in developing rich online and social media content including blogs, stories and website updates.

Build the capacity of journalists and media networks on maternal and newborn health:

• Mentor journalists in accurately using evidence, identifying stories and positioning media as a powerful accountability and advocacy mechanism to influence politicians and the public
• Produce materials and deliver media training on investigative journalism and MNH
• Support the development and implementation of an investigative journalism fellowship/competition to inspire, motivate and celebrate investigative journalism pieces on MNH issues, to mobilise action.

Support delivery of the operational plan:

• Contribute ideas into the country operational plan and the overall E4A strategy, using best practice from the sector.
• Work with the E4A team to develop specific communications materials and messages to support both advocacy and accountability efforts.
• Support the development and writing of key strategies and reports as needed.
• Monitor progress of the operational plan to ensure it is on track, and regularly report on progress to the Country Director.

Person Specification
Essential:

• Master's Degree in Health or journalistic relevant field
• Experience working as a journalist within the health sector
• Experience of communicating evidence and statistics for different audiences on different platforms (e.g. print/web/mobile/broadcast) in an engaging way
• Excellent written, online and oral communication skills
• Experience of running campaigns on social media sites
• Strong training, motivating and facilitation skills
• Fluent in English

Desirable:

• Good understanding of the maternal and newborn health landscape in-country
• Proficient in Hausa or Yoruba

Others:

• You have excellent written, online and oral communication skills and a track record of producing high quality communications materials, preferably in the health sector.
• You have experience working as a journalist, reporting on topics of health and maternal and newborn health.
• You have experience of translating complex, scientific information into short, accurate and accessible briefings and messaging for a wide range of audiences and using a wide range of media.
• You have an understanding of the political, social, cultural and economic landscape in Nigeria and will be able to take this into account when communicating the work of E4A.
• You have experience using social media, writing blogs and developing press releases.
• You are passionate about improving the survival of mothers and babies.
• You are a strong writer, communicator and connector.

Remuneration
Commensurate with experience

Application Closing Date
8th January, 2015

Duration
January/February 2015 - March 2017

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should email their CV and covering letter to: [email protected]

Click here to download Role Profile

Note

• Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for interview