We are currently looking for a Communications Strategist to join one of the group’s specialist divisions. World Services partners with governments, civil society, foundations, academia, and the private sector, we work on the critical issues of our time, including national security, social justice and conflict prevention. We provide a fully integrated, end to end service, combining multi-discipline communications teams with subject matter experts, across the world. Our work is domestic and global, often affecting the most vulnerable in society, with international activity orientated towards developing countries, and fragile, conflict affected states.

We are particularly interested in candidates with a working knowledge of, or a Degree in International Relations, Political Science, other related humanities, or social science. Languages are a big plus for us so if you're obsessed with understanding different cultures, with human psychology & behavioural change and never put down your phone/books when it comes to staying up to date on geopolitics please submit your CV.

We have almost 250 colleagues globally based in the US, UK, Singapore, Australia and United Arab Emirates working with clients across all corners of the world. We are deeply proud of our trusted, collaborative, and diverse culture. We also recognise our need to continuously grow and evolve.

This role is based out of our Washington DC or New York office. We are open to remote applicants however you will need to be based in the US and have full working rights.

Job Responsibilities:

• To use multiple sources of research, industry best practices and critical thinking to assist government organizations in the pursuit of achieving their objectives. 
• Apply best practices in advertising, communications, and behaviour change to develop communications solutions that address client problem sets. 
• Working collaboratively with a multidisciplinary, cross-agency team to deliver measurable effects. 
• Support the Strategy Lead / Director to develop achievable communications objectives, support communications and effects frameworks, conduct market analysis, refine target audience understanding. 
• Work with the research team to develop evaluation frameworks, shape research, analyze findings and develop insights to optimize strategies and campaigns. 
• Work with creative/production staff and partners to ensure creative products and solutions are strategically aligned and optimized to drive desired effects. 
• Work with the media and dissemination team to ensure the most relevant and effective communications channels are leveraged to drive desired effects.
• Maintain an in-depth understanding of both the commercial and development sector strategic best practices; including new and emerging technology and innovations that might affect current work and its implementation. 
• Maintain a working knowledge of the current affairs, social, cultural, political, and economic aspects of geographies in which projects are being conducted. 
• Excellent communication skills to enable him/her to engage with senior stakeholders and to understand client requirements.

About You:

Essential: 

• 5 years demonstrated strategic/tactical/media communication level experience within the last 10 years. 
• Knowledge of multiple forms of research – both in the development of strategy and the subsequent reporting of it. 
• Understanding of communications principles and best practices from both the commercial and development sectors. 
• Ability to communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders. A confident, well-prepared presenter. 
• The fundamental techniques, tools and practices of a communications strategist.
• Experienced in developing, unaided, communications strategies from first principles through to implementation. 
• Proficient in all components of Microsoft Office (primarily Outlook, Word, Powerpoint and Excel). 
• Must be able to legally work in the US. 
• Flexibility to work outside of contracted hours. 

Desirable: 

• Experience of working in the defence and international development sectors, or similar (includes voluntary work). 
• Relevant cross-disciplinary experience and/or collaboration (for example working with academia, behavioural scientists, tech industry).

PLEASE NOTE: This is an upcoming position in our Strategy team. We are building an active pipeline for when this role goes live. Please submit your CV if you would like to be considered within the next 3 months.

What we offer:

M&CS offers a competitive benefits package including: 25 vacation days, 401k match, annual pay reviews, flexible working, and WFH opportunities. Salary is dependent on experience but ranges from: $115,000-$135,000. All candidates must have the ability to work in the US; we are unable to sponsor any work visas for this role.

The M&C Saatchi Group UK has pledged its commitment to create a company that values difference, with an inclusive culture brought to life through equity with business-wide activity across people, culture, industry, and society. As part of this, M&C Saatchi Group continues to be an Equal Opportunity Employer which does not and shall not discriminate, celebrates diversity and bases all hiring and promotion decisions solely on merit, without regard for any personal characteristics.

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