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MSF Syria Crisis Social Media Officer

Terms of Reference

Permanent base

Middle East Unit, Amman

Covering contexts

Syria (North, South)

Hosting MSF section

OCBA

Reporting Line

RECO1, functional to CA CO1

Starting date

ASAP

Minimum period

1 year

1. GENERAL CONTEXT

Médecins Sans Frontières is an international independent medical-humanitarian organization, which offers assistance to populations in distress, to victims of natural or man-made disasters and to victims of armed conflict, without discrimination and irrespective of race, sex, religion, creed or political affiliation.

The MSF movement is built around five operational directorates supported by 23 sections and offices worldwide. MSF OCBA is one of those directorates. The operations are implemented by 41 field teams and 20 mission coordination teams and organizational units based in Barcelona, Athens, Nairobi and Buenos Aires. The field operations are guided and supported by 5 Operational Cells, the Emergency Unit and other departments supporting operations, including the Operational Department.

2. POSITION BACKGROUND

Social media has been identified as a key communications tool in Syria, for operations, communications and advocacy. However, it has been significantly underutilized by MSF. MSF currently has Facebook and Twitter accounts, with limited followers, as well as an inactive Instagram account and proposed website which are not working for the lack of staff managing it. Inside Syria, social media has emerged as the most powerful way of communicating, with more than 90 per cent of Syrians using a smartphone and reluctant to rely on or unable to rely on media,TV or radio. Social media is the most effective way to communicate with Syrians, for Syrians to communicate with external actors, and for Syrians to communicate with each other. MSF requires a Social Media Officer to help sharpen our analysis, improve our information sharing and help our understanding of Syria for both operations, and communications and advocacy purposes.

3. OBJECTIVES OF THE POSITION

The opening of the social media officer position for the Middle East is designed to define and execute the movement´s social media strategy for Syria. Using the 2017 Social Media Audit as a basis for recommending improvements, he or she will manage MSF Syria social media accounts, created in 2015, and aim to achieve the following goals:

 Enhance visibility on MSF activities with Syrians inside the country and around, increasing awareness of what MSF is, what it does and why.

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 Raise awareness about the humanitarian needs in Syria, and MSF´s response to it, targeting MSF home societies and humanitarian actors who can fill the gaps.

 Help monitor MSF perception in Syria, particularly in MSF´s area of operations, using social media as a tool.

 Use social media in a way that allows the population to send feedback to MSF on its projects inside Syria, with a particular focus on those managed by remote.

 Analyze and respond to feedback received through MSF social media channels, such as Facebook and WhatsApp — in an effective manner, to support and inform operations.

 Reactivate the network of MSF social media ambassadors across the movements Syria projects, in order to ensure a steady stream of content to disseminate through the accounts.

 To be defined how much we will be able to serve other OCs and coordinate, as the ultimate goal of the Syrian social media officer is to serve all MSF movement communications.

4. MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

Mapping

 Mapping influential actors using social media in Arabic and English on Syria in order to have a good understanding of the social media landscape.

Monitoring and Analysis

 Monitoring of messages spread through social media on a daily basis

 Analysis of those messages to provide operations and communications staff a good understanding of perception of MSF on the ground.

 Alerting operations and communications advisors to social media mentions that are damaging to MSF´s reputation, mission and projects

 Advising operations and communications staff on appropriate action to take in response to the above

 Actively correcting misrepresentation of MSF communication in social media

 Proposing messaging in a reactive mode when required

Proposing social media communications strategies

 Defining social media strategies for creating a better understanding and acceptance of MSF´s mission and principles

 Proposing social media strategies in support of MSF´s positioning on topics relevant to the Syria crisis

 Animating social media tools on a daily basis to disseminate MSF Content

 Creating a network of social media ambassadors, at the project level, to create social media content for MSF´s Syria channels.

 Defining pro-active online communications strategies for Syria in support of MSF´s operational objectives.

Content Creation

 Help create feature content, rather than just breaking news and situational updates.

 Clearly identify staff working on content generation from inside and outside Syria and liaise with this network to feed social channels.

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 In collaboration with the Data Management and Analysis Officer, generate data-based content for use on social media.

 Identify visual material to bolster key messaging on Syria, using this to produce institutional evergreen content, for periodic use on different social media channels.

Reporting

 Produce monthly reports summarizing social media performance, benchmarks, trends, events and incidents, and MSF´s response.

5. PLACE IN THE ORGANISATION

The Social Media Officer is part of the communications team deployed by MSF in the Middle East. He reports to RECO1 and functionally, he or she reports to the OCBA Communications Advisor (CA) for the Middle East, who acts as focal point on behalf of the other CAs supporting projects in the region. He or she is hosted by OCBA’s Middle East Unit in Amman and works closely with advocacy staff and operational teams in the region.

6. SELECTION CRITERIA

Education and Experience

 Solid experience in using social media for the objectives of an NGO, both on strategic and implementation level

 A strong understanding of the Middle East context

 Excellent command of Arabic and English, spoken and in writing

 Excellence in juggling many responsibilities simultaneously

 Excellent reporting skills

Competencies

 Commitment to MSF’s Principles

 Cross-cultural Awareness

 Behavioural Flexibility

 Analytical Thinking

 Results and Quality Orientation

 Service Orientation

 Initiative and Innovation

 Teamwork and Cooperation

Others

 Flexibility with working hours.

7. CONDITIONS

 Based in Amman at the Médecins Sans Frontières OCBA decentralised Headquarters

 Commitment : Full time job planned for 1 year (temporary position )

 Annual gross salary based on MSF OCBA reward policy.

 Starting date: Immediately

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8. HOW TO APPLY

 To apply, all applicants should please send their CV and cover motivation letter under the reference “SCSMO” to recruitment_meu@yahoo.com.

 Please submit your CV and cover letter in ONE file and name the file with your LAST NAME

 Closing date: 11th of March 2018  Replies will only be sent to short-listed candidates.

 Médecins Sans Frontieres, as a responsible employer, under article 38 of “Ley de Integración Social del Minusválido de 1982 (LISMI)” invite those persons with a recognised disability and with an interest in the humanitarian area to apply for the above mentioned position.