Description
DATES OF INTERNSHIP: May 15 - November 15, 2017

LENGTH OF INTERNSHIP: 6 months

INTERNS SUPERVISOR & CONTACT INFORMATION: Director of Humanitarian Programs
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Mercy Corps has been present in Nigeria since 2012, focusing its interventions on adolescent girls’ empowerment, economic development and conflict mitigation. With the insurgency spilling over from the north-east of Nigeria and causing displacement of millions of individuals, Mercy Corps has decided to address the rising humanitarian needs among displaced households and vulnerable host communities by starting its humanitarian program in July 2014. The current program aims to provide assistance to populations affected by the crisis in North-East Nigeria. With funding from humanitarian donors including OFDA, FFP, and ECHO, GAC and WFP the humanitarian program has been focusing on food assistance, non-food items distribution, protection, livelihoods support, WASH , nutrition, shelter and capacity building of humanitarian response actors.

Mercy Corps Nigeria portolfio has expanded substantively over the past two years and with diverse funding sources and sectoral interventions, communications and media relations becomes an important factor of the strategy.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Gain a deeper understanding of humanitarian and development programming in Nigeria from the angle of international aid organizations.
Management of communications and media relations for INGOs from a field perspective with exposure to internal and external logistical, security and operational challenges.
Expanded understanding of visibility requirements and communication strategies complying with donor guidelines, inter-agency guidelines and internal processes.
DELIVERABLES:

Identify and define communications and media strategies to engage key target audiences.
Create calendar for program related communication activities, events and campaigns.
Support and develop a program visibility strategy aligning with donor guidelines and programmatic needs.
Work closely with the Program Development and Quality Advisor in producing compelling reports and other visibility material for donors.
Lead on the design and production of communication and visibility materials.
Liaise and represent where necessary the agency at media and communications fora.
IDEAL CANDIDATE SHOULD POSSESS THE FOLLOWING QUALIFICATIONS:

College experience/relevant courses

Interest in media relations

Ability to learn and utilize new online research tools quickly

Interest in humanitarian and development issues

Demonstrated solid writing, editing and researching skills

Ability to multi-task and prioritize in a fast-paced work environment

Solid computer skills: must be able to work effectively and accurately with MS Word, Excel, email and internet applications

Flexible work attitude: able to work productively in a team environment and independently

English fluency at native or academic level

http://jobs.jobvite.com/mercycorps/job/oaoc5fwz