The Foundation

We are the largest nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on a simple premise: people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. We believe our employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations we aim to serve.We provide an exceptional benefits package to employees and their families which include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with no premiums, generous paid time off, paid family leave, foundation-paid retirement contribution, regional holidays, and opportunities to engage in several employee communities.As a workplace, we're committed to creating an environment for you to thrive both personally and professionally.

The Team

In June 2020, the foundation established a new Communications Division, led by the Chief Communications Officer in Seattle, to oversee the foundation's global communications strategy. The division brings together internal and external communications to advance the foundation's mission of a more equitable world.

The Global Communications Division is responsible for shaping internal and external use of foundation voice to protect the foundation's reputation and advance its priority advocacy and program objectives and ensure that employees are meaningfully connected to the foundation's mission and community. The team is responsible for comprehensive voice planning for foundation leadership and key spokespeople as well as driving engagement with media.

The Europe, Middle East and East Asia (EMEEA) team is part of the Global Policy and Advocacy Division and is the foundation's 'ambassadorial network.' The team's country representatives are embedded in the political capitals of each major government donor and based in country (London, Berlin, Brussels, Paris, Stockholm, and Tokyo). EMEEA's focus is on advocacy, communications, partnership building and government relations in countries that are major donors and sources of innovation in areas critical to the foundation's goals, such as poverty alleviation and infectious disease.

As a team, EMEEA brings deep insights on the political landscape, media and public attitudes, and the foundation's ability to influence decision making on our issues to the rest of the foundation. Through our network of representatives and advocacy partners in these capitals, we advocate on behalf of our program teams to relevant decision makers to build support for our programmatic objectives. Our currency is the strength of our relationships with decision makers, our credibility as an effective partner co-investing alongside our donors, the depth of our political analysis and intelligence, and the influence of our co-chairs. Our ultimate objective in EMEEA is to secure sustained and/or increased funding for the foundation's key programmatic priorities as well as a supportive policy environment.

In this role, you will be part of both the Communications Division and EMEEA's Tokyo-based team, which is responsible for advocacy and communications in Japan and South Korea and helps drive the foundation's work in other emerging regional donors as needed. Alongside advancing the brand and reputation-related goals set by the Communications Division, a key priority for your role is to help the Tokyo-based team use communications tools to achieve its advocacy objectives – notably, supporting resource mobilization for the foundation's core priorities in health and development.

Your Role

The Senior Communications Officer (SCO), Japan and South Korea will act as the strategic communications lead and drive day-to-day execution of the foundation's external communications strategy in Japan and South Korea. The postholder will report to the Deputy Director of the EMEEA Communications team based in London, and will work closely with the government relations leads for Japan and Korea to build integrated advocacy and communications strategies. The core focus of the role will be on Japan as an increasingly significant partner of the foundation, with a secondary focus on Korea (roughly a 70/30 split that may vary over time given key priorities). The SCO will ensure we have a sustained media relations strategy and engagement program in place for both markets.

The postholder will be based in Tokyo , with semi-regular international travel, including to Seoul and London; and to Seattle, where the foundation is headquartered.

What You'll Do

This is a fascinating, stretching, and diverse role with no day being the same. It would suit someone who is experienced, full of innovative ideas and energy, and has an ability to work well with others to get things done. The successful candidate will be key to advancing a set of strategic communications outcomes including an ability to:

Develop an impactful communications strategy to strengthen the foundation's reputation and advance key advocacy goals.

Develop key relationships with influential and emerging media voices.

Develop and implement market-specific tactical communications plans using the voice(s) of foundation senior leadership in support of resource mobilization priorities, around global landmark events, and trips by leadership to the region.

Lead communications around regional partnership announcements, including the negotiation and drafting of relevant press releases in coordination with external partners, and the development and implementation of announcement distribution plans.

Manage day-to-day media requests in Japan and Korea to ensure that we respond quickly and thoughtfully to media requests as they occur.

Develop the foundation's brand.

Work with agency resources to develop the digital infrastructure and management framework that will support our advocacy and communications objectives.

Work with Seattle teams to develop an integrated editorial calendar across traditional print, online, and digital media to support the foundation's priorities.

Act as the communications interface and day-to-day liaison with grantees and partners in Japan and Korea to encourage a more joined-up campaigning approach in support of development and health; to ensure clear, compelling, and consistent communications on our principal issues; and to ensure that we maximize communications opportunities as they arise.

Manage and build the portfolio of strategic communications partnerships to encourage renewed political commitment to global health and development, and improve accountability for existing commitments.

Identify and manage local reputational risks.

Your Experience

Excellent experience of working with a full range of media, including print, broadcast and digital, in Japan.

Understanding of the political, cultural and media contexts for Japan and South Korea, as well as general understanding of cultural sensitivities and nuances.

Ability to confidently represent the foundation when dealing with media, evidenced by a track record of deploying sound judgment and effectively managing risk.

Ability to work in a fast-paced environment under deadlines, with demonstrated ability to juggle multiple and competing demands and establish priorities; to remain flexible, and to work collaboratively as part of a team.

Ability to influence and negotiate with individuals at all levels internally and externally, and effectively cultivate and manage relationships both with internal staff and external foundation partners.

Ability to assimilate and understand sometimes complicated new subjects, including scientific, medical, and policy areas.

Professional fluency in English and Japanese is required, including strong analytical, oral and writing skills in both languages.

Reading knowledge of Korean is desirable but not required.

Experience working in multilingual settings is desirable.

Other Attributes

Comfortable in a wide range of cultural, geographic and operational situations, demonstrating culturally sensitive behavior with a diverse range of people and a deep commitment to development issues and high standards of personal integrity.

Ability to travel domestically and internationally.

Must be able to legally work in the country where this position is located without visa sponsorship.

Application deadline : 6 July 2024

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Hiring Requirements

As part of our standard hiring process for new employees, employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background check.

Candidate Accommodations

If you require assistance due to a disability in the application or recruitment process, please submit a request .

Inclusion Statement

We are dedicated to the belief that all lives have equal value. We strive for a global and cultural workplace that supports ever greater diversity, equity, and inclusion — of voices, ideas, and approaches — and we support this diversity through all our employment practices.

All applicants and employees who are drawn to serve our mission will enjoy equality of opportunity and fair treatment without regard to race, color, age, religion, pregnancy, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, and prior protected activity.

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