Communications and Advocacy Manager

Reporting to:

Director, Program Development and Quality (PDQ)

-- Dotted reporting line to Pacific Advocacy Advisor and Pacific Communications Manager

Work location:

Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Department:

PDQ

Budget holder:

No

Team:

PDQ Team

Direct reports:

No permanent direct reports. Management of freelancers may be required.

Driver’s Licence:

Not required.

Travel: Required

Required

Working with Children Check:

Required

Assets: Laptop

Laptop, Camera and other communication equipment

Save the Children has been supporting communities in PNG since 1978, working across all regions of the country. We’re committed to being a platform for transformative and lasting change for children, their families and their communities.

Save the Children is no ordinary not-for-profit

We’re ambitious, collaborative and creative. We want all children to be educated, healthy and live a life free from violence. We are seeking experienced, ambitious and professional individual to join our organisation for the vacancy of Communication and Advocacy Manager based in Port Moresby.

Communication and Advocacy Manager

The Advocacy and Communications (A&C) Manager will take lead in designing and delivering innovative communications and advocacy strategies that inspire public support and actions, influence policy decisions and drive the agenda for children in Papua New Guinea. She/He is expected to organise and deliver advocacy initiatives aimed at changing practices for betterment of children’s lives at community and national levels, including advocacy workshops and mentoring young activists and groups. Working with the Program Development and Quality Director (DPDQ), they will lead on implementing the Save the Children’s Pacific Advocacy Strategy in PNG.

The A&C Manager is responsible for managing the PNG Country Office’s media-related activities as well as its social media and online platforms to ensure published information is up to date, of a high quality, accurate and in line with organizational policies and procedures. She/He will also support the capacity building of Save the Children PNG staff in identifying and undertaking communications to achieve brand consistency in line with organizational branding policy standards and donor requirements.

Key Responsibilities

Advocacy

• With the PDQ Director, lead the development and coordination of Save the Children PNG’s Advocacy Strategy under the guidance and support from Save the Children Australia Policy Team.
• Support the programme teams in implementing advocacy activities taking advantage of key moments to deliver on the Country Office advocacy objectives.
• Work closely with thematic advisors involved in advocacy campaigns, public mobilization and engagements to create moments and opportunities for advocacy and change.
• Build and maintain effective, collaborative relationships with Save the Children’s Australia Policy Unit, other Pacific Country Offices, to ensure common messages and effective advocacy efforts.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with government stakeholders, civil society representatives, UN, INGOs, and Academia to advance Save the Children’s advocacy efforts.
• Support Save the Children PNG’s engagement in regional and global advocacy efforts through contribution of stories, videos, photos etc. to highlight Country Office achievements within such initiatives.

Advocacy campaigns

• Support the co-creation of advocacy campaigns at national and global levels with children and youth activists, including Save the Children Project Managers to explore opportunities for Children’s voices to be heard in project designs.
• Work closely with thematic advisors involved in advocacy, public mobilization and engagements to create moments and opportunities for campaigning.
• Build and maintain effective, collaborative relationships with Save the Children’s Australia, Pacific Country Offices, Pacific regional and global advocacy teams ensuring consistent approaches, common messages and effective campaign events.

External Communications

• Develop a communication strategy, guidelines and plan for the Country Office.
• Lead the development and dissemination of relevant real-time humanitarian and development situational reports/materials.
• Lead the dissemination of Save the Children brand to make it recognised, respected, accepted, and protected at all levels.
• Support project leads and technical specialists to identify and document stories of change and case studies, success stories that communicate the impact of our work and for use in media work and for quality reporting purposes.
• Take lead in reviewing and presenting stories, photos, messaging, fact sheets and multimedia products for Save the Children’s key public audience.
• Support the field program teams in ensuring Save the Children brand and donor requirements are fulfilled for visibility and communications materials.
• Work closely with the program teams on graphic design and production of materials for fundraising and advocacy campaigns.
• Produce other external targeted products on an ad hoc basis as necessary and requested by the supervisor.
• Train key senior staff on communications and media and support the Country Director and Senior Management teams in their roles as the Save the Children PNG designated spokespersons.

Media

• Develop media strategy/guidelines to guide the engagement of Save the Children in PNG office with media.
• Develop, and implement a social media strategy that communicates the impact of our work and speaks to the Papua New Guinea and Pacific public, including regularly updating the platforms.
• Ensure that all media messages and engagements are approved by the line manager and Country Director.
• Identify media issues, prepare media messages, assess appropriate media for communicating those messages and facilitate the process of disseminating/communicating those messages.
• Take lead in media relations and, as appropriate, establish proactive and beneficial relationship with media houses that can help in advancing children’s rights at policy and program levels as well as identify opportunities to profile Save the Children work.
• Ensure that any action undertaken to implement communications or media work in country is compliant with Save the Children’s communications and branding standards and has been duly approved by the Country Director.
• Familiarise self with the work of Save the Children in Papua New Guinea to effectively represent the organisation in media engagements where relevant.
• Draft media briefings, talking points, Q&As, press releases and media statements based on advocacy priorities identified by thematic technical advisors.

Internal Communication

• Compile and develop Save the Children’s Country reports, sit reps and newsletters with thematic advisors and project managers as required.
• Provide assistance to content and layout of creative promotional materials such as leaflets, fact sheets, info graphics, creative audiovisual information, brochures and other communications materials.
• Lead the development of a communications calendar capturing priorities of actions and products for the Country Office.
• Management of internal communications content including archiving, uploading on content hub, website and other platforms.

MEAL PDQ

• With support from Save the Children Australia, develop and put in place systems to monitor and measure the impact of the PNG advocacy and communications strategies, as well as systematically sharing these achievements in the most appropriate way with the SMT.
• Share success stories and learning related to Advocacy and Communications initiatives spearheaded in PNG with the Pacific Team, Melbourne Office, Pacific regional and global working groups and/or communities of practice.
• Contribute to proposal development processes where advocacy and communication activities are present.

Health, Safety, Security and Risk Management

• Be a role model for safety and security, including complying with all safety instructions and training given at the workplace.
• Act in a safe manner at all times, including complying with all safety instructions and training given at the workplace.
• Participate in, and contribute to, health and safety awareness and improvements.
• Report all incidents, injuries and potential hazards in a timely manner.
• Be aware of, and consider, the risks associated with your team’s everyday work and ensure appropriate mitigation measures are applied.
• Ensure staff have completed all required training and have up-to-date background and working with children checks.
• Lead and promote a culture of strong governance promoting employee health, safety and security and operational risk management.
• Ensure safety and security of staff and equipment during implementation of advocacy and communication activities.

Child protection and safeguarding requirements

• Maintain a child safe environment at the workplace and safeguard children’s rights, acting in the best interests of children at all times.
• Comply with the Child Safeguarding Code of Conduct and child safeguarding and protection policies and standards (click here to view further details).
• Demonstrate the highest standards of behaviour towards children in both your private and professional life.
• Never abuse the position of trust that comes with being a part of the Save the Children family.
• Always maintain a safe and positive relationship when working with children and young people.
• Respond to any concerns for the safety or wellbeing of a child in a program in accordance with internal reporting processes.

Person Specification

Essential knowledge or experience

• Ability to multitask, work under pressure and to meet tight deadlines, responsive to external requests and strong team player.
• Experience influencing opinions and managing multiple social media and online platforms.
• Ability to write, review and edit reports and products (in English and Tok Pisin) for dissemination and publications.
• Experience identifying target audiences and devising promotional and advocacy strategies to engage, inform and motivate current and potential partners.
• Willing and able to travel widely in country to support field teams.
• Experience managing large scale communications for emergency response to inform, influence and educate.
• Experience designing and implementing communication and public relation strategies for private and public sector

Desirable knowledge

• Knowledge of the PNG and Pacific regional media and communication landscape.
• Previous experience influencing policy makers through advocacy efforts.
• Strong understanding of approaches for communicating information to a wide range of audiences including media relations.

Required qualifications and/or accreditations

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant fields such as advocacy, international development, international relations, international relations, public relations, strategic communications, media, journalism or a related field.
• At least eight (8) years of progressive work experience in advocacy, communications, media or international development.
• Proficiency in graphic design, photography, and videography.

All roles at Save the Children contribute to our impact for children.

At Save the Children, every role, whether in our programs or support services, plays a vital part in our impact for children. We are committed to creating a positive impact on the lives of children and their communities, and we value the contributions of every team member in achieving this vision.

How to Apply:

Your application should include a cover letter (2 pages maximum) together with a current CV and contact details of two recent referees, Certificates and current Police Clearance Certificate obtained in the last 12 months.

Interested Candidates are invited to submit their applications via email to: [email protected]

Please address your application to:

The People & Culture Manager, Save the Children, PNG

PO Box 503, Port Moresby, NCD

Applications close on Monday 4 May 2026, please note applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and the vacancy may close prior to the deadline. So, we encourage you to apply soon

Kindly note that only short-listed candidates will be contacted.