Strategic Communications Design and Knowledge Management Advisor

Overview

Chemonics seeks a Strategic Communications Design and Knowledge Management (SCD-KM) Advisor for the FEWSNET team. The SCD-KM Advisor will strengthen alignment between FEWS NET decision support products and the information needs of the United States Department of State (DoS) and other United States Government (USG) decision makers. The Advisor aims to ensure that FEWS NET products deliver clear, compelling, timely, and actionable information through the most effective communication channels for the USG.

The SCD-KM Advisor will be based in Washington, DC, working out of the home office and directly supervised by the Deputy Chief of Party-Innovation, with dotted line supervision by the Chief of Pary on strategic communications components. The SCD-KM Advisor may be required to undertake international travel occasionally.

This role also develops and maintains internal knowledge management systems to support consistent, high-quality analysis, reporting and decision support across the FEWS NET DST. The SCD-KM Advisor will, in effect, focus on improving and clarifying external communications with key stakeholders, while also ensuring the establishment and efficient use of internal systems and processes designed to capture, organize, share and effectively use FEWS NET’s extensive knowledge, with the ultimate outcome being that institutional knowledge is retained and easily accessible.

Having an effective knowledge management system is essential to efficient workflows and analysis processes. Given that FEWS NET’s effectiveness is linked strongly to the ability of every member of its staff to communicate the conclusions of its analysis to the right people at the right time and in the right ways, the SCD-KM Advisor plays a critical role in helping to ensure that decision support products are designed to achieve this goal, and project staff have access to a knowledge management system that supports their ability to generate and communicate this analysis.

The SCD-KM Advisor helps establish and maintain a strategic bridge between technical analysts and decision-makers, applying best-in-class communications design, user-centered design principles, and knowledge management practices to enhance FEWS NET’s impact. The SCD-KM Advisor provides strategic direction and advises on ways to achieve a continuous process of calibration between State Department decision-making needs and FEWS NET decision support products, including on aligning the content, structure and timing of FEWS NET products with relevant USG decisions and timelines, aiming to simplify complex analytical content into clear, direct, and visually engaging communications suitable for senior decision makers.

In addition, the SCD-KM will be responsible for establishing and maintaining knowledge management systems that support institutional memory, workflow efficiency, and product quality across the Decision Support Team. He/she will also lead on training staff in communications-related areas, such as improved technical writing, briefing and representational skills.

The main responsibilities of the SCD-KM Advisor include, but are not limited to:

• Team Capacity Building
  • Support FEWS NET staff in designing effective briefings, including clear story-telling/narrative structuring, slide preparation, and presentation coaching.
  • Developing and delivering training programs aimed at improving the communication skills of our team in areas including but not limited to communication design, technical writing for the DoS/USG audience, and briefing development.
  • Mentor technical staff in communications, representational skills and media engagement.
  • Building a culture of clear and effective communication within the team.
• Communication Strategy Development
  • Work with the FEWS NET Hub and FEWS NET DST leadership to build and maintain continuous awareness of State Department decision-making processes, communication preferences, and decision support needs.
  • Maintain a deep understanding of FEWS NET’s reporting processes and product lines to ensure full use is made of all available materials at the appropriate time.
  • Work with the Hub to test redesigned products…