Main purpose of job:

You will be an important member of the team at the British High Commission (BHC), being embedded in the wider team but with autonomy to lead and direct our communications and public affairs output. You will be responsible for the BHC communications strategy, as well as overseeing the internal and external communications and event functions. You will have shared responsibility for managing and delivering innovative, accessible content on the BHC social media channels and on our website – acting as a point of expertise, advising policy teams on social media and digital approaches and content. You will be adept at managing diverse stakeholder relationships and navigating the local media environment. Highly motivated and creative, you will be happy to work on your own initiative, ensuring that relevant colleagues and stakeholders are clearly briefed and supportive of your work.

Roles and responsibilities / what will the jobholder be expected to achieve?:

Digital communications – 60%

• Build relationships with communications colleagues in London, Pretoria and the wider region
• Work with teams across BHC to understand their priority areas for engagement as part of the planning process for communication activity
• Manage day-to-day social media accounts and post timely and impactful content using excellent copywriting and proofreading skills to support different policy teams
• Produce a channel strategy that defines type of followers/likers for all official BHC channels including the High Commissioner’s account
• Ensure that all communication activity has evaluation built into the planning from the outset and produce consistent monthly evaluations of social media engagement rates and audience to check progress against channel objectives and benchmark campaign activity.
• Develop communication campaigns using the OASIS (Objectives, Audience, Strategy, Implementation, Scoring) model and achieve demonstrable outcomes in support of agreed policy objectives
• Create innovative and accessible multimedia content for campaign, announcements and events. Design content for Facebook and Twitter to target a diverse range of audiences
• Adapt content to take account of social media trends and digital developments
• Provide out-of-hours support on occasion.

Media Liaison and strategic engagement– 15%

• Build strong and effective relationships with key external stakeholders that support the delivery of business and communication objectives. This will involve gathering and using audience insight, identifying influencers, monitoring attitudes, developing partnerships and delivering through others.
• Build a strong understanding of the local media environment and a network of key media actors in Botswana including traditional media outlets, social media influencers and communications teams in ministries and other diplomatic missions
• Regularly horizon scan social and local media channels to spot opportunities to promote policy objectives.

Events – 15%

• Support events and visits before, during and after using social media activity to help maximise impact and meet event objectives.
• Where required, support policy teams in the planning and evaluation of events.

Crisis – 10%

Support the planning and, if needed, delivery of crisis communications. This may require managing high call volumes and increased digital activity, monitoring media, and ensuring an effective flow of information internally.

• Strong planning and organising abilities
• A solid understanding of Botswana’s political, social and cultural landscape and a keen news sense
• Experience in a fast-paced communications role
• Experience of managing Facebook and Twitter accounts and an online website
• Experience of video editing
• Experience of using animation packages to develop content
• Experience in analysing in-platform analytics to evaluate performance
• Fluent in English