Communications Manager

[Admin]

Country: Netherlands

Organization: Access to Nutrition Initiative

Closing date: 1 Aug 2021

Organization and Overall Purpose

The Access to Nutrition Initiative is an independent, not-for-profit organization based in the Netherlands. We publish consistent, standardized analysis and commentary on food and beverage manufacturers’ efforts to improve consumers’ access to nutritious foods and beverages, both globally and in Spotlight countries.

Every country in the world is affected by malnutrition with 88% of countries facing overlapping burdens. Globally one in three people are either undernourished, overweight or obese. Over the last 35 years, obesity has more than doubled and has now reached epidemic proportions. Over the next 10 years, undernutrition is also set to continue to increase in some countries.

Our vision is a world where:

• No one goes to bed hungry.
• Everyone eats a healthy, affordable diet that has the nutrients they need to grow and develop fully.
• Deaths and illnesses from diets low in essential vitamins and minerals are confined to history.

Our aim is to drive change by tracking and driving the food industry’s attempts to tackle obesity, diet-related chronic diseases and undernutrition at the local and global levels. We design and deliver a range of private sector accountability tools, using our own research, experience and the knowledge of our growing global stakeholder network. Every action we take is intended to encourage businesses to do more to achieve good health through improved diets and nutrition.

We pride ourselves on being innovative and collaborative and are increasingly working on new accountability tools and embarking on other bespoke research, establishing new partnerships with investors, not-for-profits and foundations.

For more information on ATNI, please visit our website www.accesstonutrition.org.

Our Work and the Role as Communications Manager

ATNI publishes the Global Index, country Spotlight Indexes and other tools and initiatives. ATNI’s products provide companies with a tool to benchmark their performance on nutrition against others in their sector and provide stakeholders with impartial objective, consistent, in-depth information on companies’ contributions to improving nutrition. The aim of ATNI is to encourage companies both to increase the number of healthier products and access to them, and also to responsibly exercise their influence on consumers’ choice and behavior.

The first Global Index was launched in 2013 and subsequent Global Indexes in 2016 and 2018. They gained a positive response from stakeholders, including food and beverage manufacturers, NGOs and investors. The Global Index is published approximately every two years. In 2021, the fourth Global Index will be launched. In addition, ATNI publishes country Indexes and tools (Spotlight Indexes) for individual countries that aim to provide a strong evidence base for local dialogue and action. The first India Spotlight Index assessing India’s largest food and beverage manufacturers was published in 2016 and the second in 2020. Similarly, the first U.S. Spotlight Index focusing on the United States was published in 2018 and the second is planned for publication in autumn of 2021. Other projects being conducted by ATNI and its implementing partners can be found on the Projects section of the website. ATNI has an active Twitter account and is boosting its presence on LinkedIn.

As we enter this exciting and busy period, ATNI is seeking to hire a Communications Manager to manage the internal and external communication activities of the organization. The Communications Manager plays a central role and will have the ability to help shape the further development of communication processes of the organization, with approximately 20 staff members, as well as to advise on strategic communication topics. This is a unique opportunity to have a substantial positive impact on improving global health by helping to fundamentally shape the nutrition standards and practices of the largest food and beverage manufacturers globally.

The ATNI team works towards the following objectives:

• To boost visibility and further strengthen the reputation among the key stakeholders of ATNI.
• To promote ATNI’s global tracking tools, projects and data provision.
• To ensure all stakeholders are sufficiently informed about how they can effectively utilize the tools we produce.
• To forge links to wider sustainability and single-issue benchmarks and indexes.

The Communications Manager position will require hands-on communication experience in a professional international organization (e.g., international not-for-profit organization or international communication agency, food and beverage company). A proven interest in and an understanding of nutrition, health and/or sustainable business is essential.

Duties & Responsibilities include (but are not limited to)

The Communications Manager is involved in shaping and implementing the organization’s communication strategy together with a Junior Program Manager (1/3 FTE) and a Communications Intern through the following activities:

• To further develop and (jointly) implement ATNI’s communication strategy.
• To formalize and implement internal and external communication processes within the expanding organization.
• Together with external international PR and Communication agencies, to develop media outreach strategies for communicating Index reports and coordinating the implementation of the strategies including message development, reaching out to media etc.
• To manage other external communication service suppliers including design agencies, editors and website developers.
• To lead and prepare ongoing communication of ATNI activities on social media (including Twitter and LinkedIn), the organization’s website, blogs, through newsletters etc.
• To edit reports, press statements, and publications (the latter together with our external design agency).
• To support the writing of nutrition blogs and newsletters, making weekly news updates for the ATNI team.
• To support in organizing and arranging multi-stakeholder meetings worldwide.
• To revise ATNI’s style guide.

The Communications Manager will work closely with the Program Director of ATNI as well as with the Program and Research team.

Job requirements

Experience:

Ø At least five years of relevant work experience within a communications department in an international working environment, i.e., international not-for-profit organization or international communication agency and/or food and beverage industry.

• A proven interest in nutrition, health and/or sustainable business is required.

Education:

• Master’s degree in (International) Communication, Journalism, Public Relations or a related field

Qualifications and Skills:

• Proven practical and strategic communication skills in English, both verbal and written. A second or third language is an advantage.
• Good experience in communication strategy development.
• Strong experience in using content management systems such as WordPress.
• Well-organized with a strong attention to detail and excellent writing skills.
• Understanding of communication in public and private sector environments.
• Content writing experience: blogs, reports, social media (please share any relevant examples).
• Good knowledge of social media platforms (Twitter and LinkedIn) and of social media analytics is essential.
• Good IT skills including the use of social media, data management platforms and proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc.)
• Demonstrated interest in food systems, global nutrition, sustainable business and/or related topics (SDGs, corporate transparency, benchmarking) is a plus.
• Highly motivated, self-directed and adaptable, with a positive, problem-solving attitude.
• Ability to work efficiently, as part of a team in a fast-paced environment.
• Strategic and creative mindset.

Candidate should be eligible to work in the Netherlands.

How to apply:

Please submit your application before August 1, 2021 (23:59 CET).

How to apply: Send a cover letter, max 2-page CV and two writing samples (e.g., a press release, a blog post, a social media pack or similar) to Management Assistant Aline Kwizera: aline.kwizera@accesstonutrition.org.

Interviews will be conducted over Zoom or Microsoft Teams.

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