Tony Blair Institute for Global Change
Focus of the Role
Are you excited by the prospect of designing and implementing high impact transformation programmes from the centre of government at the interface of government and industry? Do you have experience advising senior political leadership on policy, delivery, technology, and strategic communications? Do you have experience of consulting – or working in – the public sector and of leading teams of consultants or government advisors?
Our main objective in this strategically important role is to provide support to the Malawi Country Team in development policy and delivery communications collateral across all workstreams especially the Agro-Industrialisation, Human Capital, Infrastructure and Digitalisation Workstreams. The Advisor will provide generalist communications support to all other advisors as they work to drive implementation for their government counterparts with quick documentation turn-around time.
This is a senior role requiring an exceptional candidate with relevant experience in policy and delivery communications in a fast-paced environment. The candidate must be able to demonstrate the capacity to effectively communicate policy and delivery issues to a wide range of audiences and ability to work across a whole range of stakeholders.
Policy and Delivery Communications
- Establish, review, and maintain a communication strategy to engage press, social media, and government stakeholders.
- Alignment with overall TBI Malawi practices and collaboration with other advisors.
- Work with Delivery Practice and Tech for Development Practice to ensure alignment and consistency in communication methodologies
- Be the problem-solving lead in responding to key communication issues
- Ability to write press releases, press conferences, news, social media strategy, etc.
- Manage day to day partner relationship
- Overall quality control
- Advise TBI Malawi on matters related to communications
- Produce high quality policy documents and briefs across practices
- Inspire and engage within TBI and externally on topics related to communications
- Shape and embody a culture that drives innovation and results-orientation
Key elements of the role include:
Communications: Build, develop and implement a communication strategy tailored to Malawi context to reach a wide range of audiences through multiple platforms. Identify innovative communication solutions through drawing on global best practises.
Social Media and Press Diagnostics: Diagnose partner governments’ public perception through robust data-driven analysis and keep up to date record of periodic press and social media trends. Provide a detail analysis on how delivery communications affect public perception.
Policy writing and analysis: Produce policy documents across practices, create communication frameworks to inform counterparts on the policy needs, and diagnose how policies will affect public perception of partner governments through a robust data-driven and hypothesis-based analysis.
Counterpart Management: Ensuring effective and trusted relationships with senior politicians in government, such as Presidents, PMs, Ministers and Special Advisers, and ensure alignment of communication strategies across counterparts.
This is a role in a fast-paced team, working within complex policy areas that are highly scrutinised. We are looking for enthusiastic and resilient individuals with a “can-do” outlook and the ability to consistently achieve results in a fast-paced environment. We are looking for an experienced leader with:
- Significant multidisciplinary experience, cutting across technology and/or development agendas in developing and emerging economies. This should include
- communications consulting, or government advisory
- Strategic problem-solving ability, can challenge the status-quo and develop plans for successful delivery of challenging objectives
- Demonstrable expertise in delivery, communications, public policy, or international relations
- Outstanding management skills and the proven ability to build and inspire teams to achieve exceptional objectives
- Excellent communication and influencing skills from executive office level through to technical level; is adept at speaking to senior leadership; knows how to navigate ambiguous environments; is comfortable at managing up and beyond hierarchy
- Has worked or consulted in developing and emerging economies and is sensitive to a diverse range of cultural and regional norms, and fosters a positive spirit of collaboration between the countries and the global TBI government advisory practice
- Postgraduate degree favoured
The Tony Blair Institute (TBI) is a mission-driven not for profit organisation. We exist to equip political leaders and governments to build open, inclusive and prosperous societies. We work hard, every day, to make a difference. When governments work well they are able to create economic and social change in a way that promotes fairness, social justice and opportunity. We work relentlessly to support leader and governments with the challenges they face. Giving them practical solutions and actionable insights, that once implemented, can be transformative for their people
We do this within two connected divisions:
Government Advisory
Our Government Advisory teams work directly with political leaders and governments around the world to implement reforms that improve the lives of their citizens. It works with a variety of partners and its outputs cover a range of disciplines and projects across countries in Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and South Asia.
Policy Futures
Our Policy Futures work encompasses three broad areas:
- Renewing the Centre: developing a bold and innovative domestic policy programme to help renew the centre ground of British politics;
- Tech and Public Policy: exploring the policy challenges and opportunities presented by the technological revolution; and
- Extremism Policy Unit: creating solutions designed to tackle the threat of extremist ideologies in the UK and around the world.
As an organisation, the core beliefs we all embrace are:
- Open and Progressive: you’ll believe in the value of teamwork
- Bold and Pragmatic: you’ll approach everything you do with integrity and authenticity
- Optimistic Changemaker: you’ll be focused on results
TBI believes embracing diversity and inclusion make us a better place to work. It’s our goal to reflect everyone in society and we actively welcome applications from individuals and groups who are under-represented in the workplace. We celebrate difference be it ethnicity, religion, age, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation or disability. We will only ever assess you on your abilities and fit for a role. We’re happy to discuss any adjustments you need to ensure a level playing field during recruitment and, if you\’re successful, discuss any adjustments you might need to thrive in your role.