ROTA Council & Global Coalition against Child Pneumonia Program (GCACP) Coordinator

The Program Coordinator will initially work on two projects – the Rota Council and Advocacy & Communication Support for the Global Coalition against Child Pneumonia (GCACP) project based here at the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC). These are separate but similar projects in that they focus on supporting evidence-informed decisions about pneumonia and diarrhea prevention and control interventions and financial resources to support programs in low- and middle-income countries.

About IVAC

IVAC is a Center based at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Department of International Health located in Baltimore, Maryland. IVAC was established in 2009 with a mission to accelerate global access to lifesaving vaccines by overcoming many of the obstacles that often delay vaccine usage and distribution. IVAC also serves as a source of vaccine policy information and analysis and will develop and use evidence-based information to advocate for improved global health policies and their implementation.

About the ROTA Council

Despite the fact that safe, effective vaccines exist that can prevent rotavirus, the disease continues to kill 200,000 children each year and hospitalize millions more. Rotavirus vaccines are the most powerful tool to protect children, yet many children in low- and middle-income countries lack access to them.

The ROTA Council is working to change this by providing the scientific and technical evidence policymakers need to accelerate the introduction of rotavirus vaccines. The mission of the ROTA Council is to save lives and improve health by promoting the use of rotavirus vaccines as part of a comprehensive approach to addressing diarrheal disease. What makes the ROTA Council unique is its focus on providing evidence for decision making through credible scientific authorities.

About the Global Coalition against Child Pneumonia Program (GCAP)

IVAC was one of the founding members of the GCAP, which was established in 2009 to raise awareness about pneumonia, the world’s leading killer of children, and to advocate for global action to protect against, effectively treat, and help prevent this deadly disease. Comprised of over 120 non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, academic institutions, government agencies, and foundations, the Coalition provides leadership forWorld Pneumonia Day (WPD), marked every year on November 12th, as well as year-round events and activities to promote awareness of childhood pneumonia and diarrhea, particularly focusing on low- and middle-income countries.

Overall Roles and Responsibilities

· Coordinate international advocacy coalition groups that includes planning, organizing and managing meetings and events.

· Responsible for project deliverables and reports to funders and key stakeholders.

· Communicate regularly with funders and key stakeholders including scheduling and organizing meetings and follow-up reports.

· Maintain website and assist in website design.

The Communications Specialist will coordinate day-to-day activities for both the ROTA Council and GCAP Advocacy & Communications teams and contribute to IVAC advocacy and communications planning and execution as a member of the Policy, Advocacy & Communications (PAC) team. Specific job responsibilities are listed below:

Job Duties: ROTA Council

Support Communication between ROTA Council Members

· Facilitate technical consensus building on key issues related to rotavirus vaccines –Support the coordination of reviews of technical documents, including incorporating edits and feedback from Council and Core Partners.

· Support Council communications —Schedule calls or in-person meetings; draft and help finalize agendas; prep Council Chair to lead meetings; invite Council Members; coordinate travel reimbursement; Maintain onboarding documents for new Council members.

· Draft Council Communications—Draft periodic update emails on breaking news and developments to the Council; Develop monthly progress update summarizing new research, media, and Council activities.

· Support accelerating rotavirus vaccines in targeted low- and middle-income countries—Assist in strategy development for focus country working groups; support regular communication with working groups.

Coordinate events & meetings

· Contribute to the Council’s event strategy—Track key events/meetings and research opportunities for Council member participation; periodically survey Council members to learn about and prioritize events.

· Organize meetings—Work with consulting agencies to plan logistics for meetings and conferences (invite participants, coordinate travel arrangements & reimbursements, prepare materials dossier, draft presentations, agendas and other meeting documents); develop and disseminate meeting outcomes.

· Support in-country decision maker briefings—Coordinate logistics for in-country briefings with decision-makers and technical experts; Prep Council Members for briefings; Support the development of materials tailored for decision makers, such as editing and designing materials.

Maintain ROTA Council advocacy toolkit

· Monitor new research and news via Google News & scholar alerts and suggest ways to improve/add to materials. Updates will include new research, country introductions, news stories, expanded vaccine pipeline and changing vaccine properties (e.g. package size), co-financing, and other price information.

· Update core messages, materials, and advocacy toolkit (e.g., update website via Content Management System website design).

Job Duties: GCACP & Pneumonia and Diarrhea advocacy activities

Support Communication with Coalition Members

· Schedule calls or in-person meetings; draft and help finalize agendas; participate in coalition meetings and maintain minutes of all meetings.

· Draft monthly reports for team to be sent to project funders and obtain input and edits from IVAC team members.

· Support development of key messages, tweets, infographics and other materials to support coalition pneumonia and diarrhea advocacy activities.

· Coordinate writing and posting of blogs, editorials, development of videos and other communications by coalition members to meet stated targets of grant.

· Regularly communicate with coalition members and key partners to monitor coalition activities, address requests, post content on website and/or address other issues in a timely manner.

· Develop & disseminate guidelines for posting on the WPD website and for social media.

World Pneumonia Day (WPD) Website & Social Media

· Develop and update a WPD social media campaign strategy and work with the Pneumonia Coalition to create annual, virtual event(s) in the first quarter (Q1) each year.

· Update and post advocacy tool kits, including messaging for use by coalition.

· Coordinate with key coalition members to organize annual virtual event to achieve stated goals of grant.

· Monitor website and social media to measure impact of campaigns and activity of the coalition conducting surveys and developing baseline data.

· Evaluate IVAC Digital Communication Strategy and make suggestions for improvements.

· Maintain WPD website and social media platforms and ensure content reflects stated project objects.

· Work with website designer and coalition members to redesign WPD website.

· Monitor pneumonia and diarrhea and update the WPD website throughout the year with pneumonia events/news/publications/reports content provided by Coalition members and key partners and maintain spreadsheet on these postings.

· Work with student groups at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health to organize on-campus WPD events with limited budgets.

Position Requirements

• Understanding of digital media and experience with web and social media platforms.
• Demonstrated excellence in organizing events, attention to detail, and ability to be self-motivated and disciplined.
• Strong writing and verbal communication.
• Ability to communicate well with partners and to respond promptly to requests.

· Ability to manage multiple projects successfully under tight deadlines.

• Fluency with Microsoft Office software applications including PowerPoint, Word, Excel.
• Familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite/Creative Cloud including InDesign, Illustrator, WordPress, and Photoshop.
• Science background and knowledge and understanding of pneumonia and diarrhea diseases and vaccines helpful but not required.
• Bachelor’s Degree in public health, international development, communications, public relations or marketing.
• Background and/or education in communications, particularly digital media preferred.
• Advocacy experience preferred.
• Ability to travel domestic & international on occasion, up to 15% of time.

HOW TO APPLY:

Please send a cover letter and resume/CV to Lawanda Lewis at llewis36@jhu.edu.