Mastercard Foundation-Internal Communications Lead

ABOUT THE MASTERCARD FOUNDATION

Mastercard Foundation seeks a world where everyone has the opportunity to learn and prosper. Through its Young Africa Works strategy and Canadian EleV program, the Foundation works with partners to ensure that millions of young people, especially young women, access quality education, financial services and dignified work. Mastercard Foundation was established in 2006 through the generosity of Mastercard when it became a public company. The Foundation is independent with its own Board of Directors and CEO.

THE WORK AT THE FOUNDATION

We have entered a very exciting time at the Foundation as we scale up our operations across Africa to realize our Young Africa Works strategy. Our role at the Mastercard Foundation is to be a catalyst. Our Young Africa Works and EleV strategies focus on working with others to spur systemic change so young people have the opportunity to find work that is dignified and fulfilling.

The Foundation has offices in Canada as well as Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana, Senegal, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Uganda, building a broader leadership presence in Africa and across Canada to develop specific strategies that support youth in accessing dignified and fulfilling work.  Within a country, we work with governments, the private sector, educators, and other funders to improve the quality of education and vocational training, prepare young people for the work force, expand access to financial services for entrepreneurs and small businesses, and connect job seekers to work.

We are ambitious and driven. Our values transcend and rise above everything else as our guide. We encourage you to bring your bold ideas, curiosity, and expertise to your work. We laugh at ourselves and with each other. We are a team. Our journey together makes our impact even more meaningful.

If you are a Communicator ready to build something new and increase your impact, read on!

THE OPPORTUNITY

Reporting to the Head of Corporate Communications, the Internal Communications Lead will support the success of the Foundation and Communications’ goals by influencing and leading strategic communications plans intended to create awareness, increase understanding, gain engagement, and initiate behaviour change among staff.

Offering the challenge of a diversity of contexts, including cultural, geographic, and professional, this position is responsible for implementing communications best practices, building communications capacity within the Foundation, and showcasing the Foundation’s impact to staff.  While this role is global in nature, its scope includes enterprise, regional and country specific internal communications needs.

WAYS YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE

Executive Counsel

• Provide internal communications counsel and support to the Executive Team on Quarterly Updates, Staff meetings, Executive Chats as well as systems level insights and interdependencies which may have enterprise implications or opportunities.
• Partner with Senior Leadership Team and Country Heads to identify clear, consistent, and compelling internal stories; create and edit content (written or digital) to engage employees and increase understanding of the Foundation’s impact, strategy, and culture.

Strategy and Execution

• Develop and execute the annual Internal Communications Strategic Plan and budget aligned with Foundation priorities and objectives, including effective measurements.
• Provide counsel and lead implementation for communication related to operational initiatives such as the Enterprise Transformation Team and its various work-streams.
• Maintain overall line of sight of the cross functional events and milestones at both the local and global level in order to check and adjust internal communications activities.

Team Leadership

• Lead and coach the Internal Communications Partner.
• Contribute to and support the Partner, Internal Communications with the quarterly employee e-newsletter, Horizon, “The Weekly” update for all employees, as well as maintain the content on the Foundation intranet homepage (Compas).
• Enhance the quality of communications by developing new skills, testing creative approaches, identifying trends and opportunities, and making recommendations with the goal of continuous improvement.

Employee Touchpoints

• Partner with the People and Culture team to shape and deliver the strategic objectives, approach, and agenda for global employee touchpoints, including but not limited to, regional meetings or weekly staff meetings.
• Support efforts to ensure flow of effective messaging from internal stakeholders to employees, including presentations, videos, announcements, process changes, memos, and written articles.

Employee Engagement

• Identify and work with country teams to execute virtual and in-person opportunities to connect across countries and with our mission, leveraging external voices and storytelling.
• Develop and contribute to new employee onboarding and re-orientation of all employees to build awareness and understanding of the Foundation’s work, goals, and culture.
• Partner with the Public Affairs & Communications team to ensure internal communications achieves the right tone and consistency and identify opportunities to leverage external initiatives.

Employee Branding

• Partner with People and Culture to design strategy and programs that strengthen the Foundation’s employer brand, including marketing and brand reputation.
• Lead the execution of public relations and external communications related to People and Culture work, such as recruitment events and Employer of Choice engagements.

Cross Functional Partnerships

• Support and partner with the People & Culture team on key initiatives such as engagement surveys, change management initiatives, values, employee policies, processes, events, training, and related employee communication.
• Participate on various committees and project teams to provide counsel and guidance for the execution of internal communications plans, change communications, and culture initiatives.

WHO YOU ARE

You will know this global role is right for you if you enjoy drawing insight from what makes an organization tick and decoding the culture to drive change communications. If you are an eternal student of organization strategy, evolution and re-invention, who enjoys a dynamic environment where global moments are seized as opportunities to facilitate internal conversations, the Foundation is the place for you. Ideally, you will have led through, and experienced, organizational change and will draw on this experience in your work at the Foundation.

You know how to use Executives’ external communications to advance internal understanding, inspiring staff to our mission and connecting to our strategic goals. As a deep thinker and organizational observer who connects the dots, your intellectual curiosity and maturity serves you well in building relationships, driving results through influence and collaborating with colleagues.

In addition, you are or have:

• Degree or diploma in communications, media/public relations, journalism or related degree/diploma.
• A minimum of 10 years’ experience in internal and external communications within a global organization.
• Proficiency in strategic content review to ensure alignment with internal and external messaging.
• Experience in strategic planning and oversight of high-quality events (live and/or virtual, regional/enterprise).
• Ability to work with cross-functional teams to develop content that is effective and easily understood by a wide range of audiences.
• Experience working in a matrix environment.
• A proficient and motivated communicator.
• Experience with virtual collaboration tools (Zoom, MS Team).
• Strong PR competencies (verbal, written, interpersonal skills).
• Strong social media and digital skills.
• Effective presentation skills and ability to secure buy-in from relevant internal stakeholders.
• Ability to read situations and translate them into a communications agenda to solve problems or seize an opportunity.
• Ability to anticipate reaction/feedback/, advise senior leadership, and prepare relevant content (e.g., agenda, FAQs, etc.) in advance.
• Work well with Public Affairs and Communications colleagues, the Executive Team, and leaders of other business units to ensure alignment and consistency between internal and external Foundation messaging.
• Ability to speak and work in English and French would be an asset.
• Flexible, adaptable, and able to execute a range of job duties and changing priorities.
• Possess excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills with the ability to articulate information to a variety of constituents across cultures.
• Possess professional maturity, sensitivity with different cultures, and impeccable integrity that exemplify the Foundation’s values.
• You have a commitment to Mastercard Foundation’s values and vision.

Deadline for Applications is July 22, 2020.

The Mastercard Foundation values the unique skills and experiences each individual brings to the organization and we are committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive and accessible environment for everyone.

Completion of satisfactory business references and background checks are essential conditions of employment.

For more information and to sign up for the Foundation’s newsletter, please visit http://www.mastercardfdn.org/.  Follow the Foundation on Twitter at @MastercardFdn.

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