Job Description

About the Tamil Nadu Urban Sanitation Support Programme (TNUSSP) The TNUSSP was launched in November 2015, as the Techncial Support Unit (TSU) for the Government of Tamil Nadu (GoTN) to make improvements in fecal sludge and septage management (FSSM) along the full cycle of sanitation (FCS) across Tamil Nadu. A consortium of organisations, the programme is led by the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) to make clean water and sanitation accessible.
For more information on TNUSSP, please see https://tnussp.co.in/
About the Trichy CWIS Project Trichy has been selected as one of the cities under the City-Wide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) initiative by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). The wider CWIS initiative is globally supported by multiple agencies and organisations including the BMGF and the World Bank. CWIS cities are expected to move towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for sanitation to ensure safe, inclusive, and financially sustainable sanitation services, and serve as global benchmarks.
The Trichy CWIS project is guided by the urban local body and delivered by a consortium of partners led by IIHS. While the project aims to improve overall sanitation outcomes in Trichy across the full cycle of sanitation, it also focuses on improvement of service delivery to the urban poor and vulnerable. The project also attempts to mainstream sanitation into existing initiatives, showcase innovations, and systematically document and share learnings (particularly with a view to enabling replication).
The project builds on ongoing work done by IIHS on urban sanitation in Tamil Nadu (TNUSSP).
The Practice Team at IIHS is responsible for providing cutting-edge and integrated solutions to India\xe2\x80\x99s urban development challenges by bringing together faculty and experts across diverse domains of knowledge and practice, exposing learners to real-life problems, and integrating practice into academics and research.
The communications manager for TNUSSP & CWIS will be responsible for anchoring project communications for TNUSSP & CWIS. S/he must be able to showcase the work of the programme to diverse stakeholders while also raising the profile of urban sanitation through impactful and engaging communication.
Activities and Tasks Responsibilities would include, but not be limited to, the following:

• Anchoring project communications for TNUSSP and CWIS, including strategy creation and execution, content development, campaign execution, and media relations;
• Developing, implementing and monitoring multimedia strategies targeting multiple segments; building continued awareness about the programme; raising the profile of urban sanitation;
• Creating targeted communication strategies for flagship events and launches;
• Facilitating and guiding the preparation of communication materials across channels in multiple languages, especially English and Tamil; including press kits, leaflets, brochures, presentations, press releases, banners and testimonials, etc.;
• Working with a multitude of stakeholders including team members, partners, government, etc.;
• Streamlining processes and workflows, including quality assurance, and systematic archiving;
• Responding to communication-related issues in a timely manner;
• Providing support to other IIHS activities including academics, research, training, practice, operations and others;
• Participating in all activities of Institution-Building at IIHS; carrying out tasks as assigned by IIHS; and travelling on IIHS work within or outside the country as and when needed.

Structure and Reporting The communications manager will report to the Senior Lead \xe2\x80\x93 Practice at IIHS and will be required to collaborate effectively with a diverse group of internal teams and external individuals/organizations, and students.
The role will also require working in close coordination with the IIHS Communication and Design team to ensure that project and programme communications are aligned with the Institutional communication strategy and related guidelines.
Person Specification The candidate shall possess:

• A Bachelor\xe2\x80\x99s or Master\xe2\x80\x99s degree in Journalism, Communications, Marketing or similar discipline/s with 8-10 years of relevant experience, working with content and communication plans, preferably in the development sector;
• Excellent communication skills \xe2\x80\x93 both spoken and written; fluency in Tamil would be an added advantage;
• Excellent organisational and managerial capabilities, with the ability to work across teams and manage work pressure;
• Demonstrated ability and experience to design communication targeted at a wide variety of audiences;
• Ability to manage a team and activities from content creation, including both text and visual outputs, to planning and execution, and monitoring;
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including MS Word and other desktop publishing software;
• Familiarity with digital and social media to ensure the communication plans are well-rounded and suitable to multiple and inter-generational audiences;
• Excellent interpersonal skills; should be comfortable working with inter-disciplinary teams, and a variety of programmes.

This offer is on an exclusive basis, which implies that other professional assignments (whether compensated or not) that bear a potential conflict of interest with IIHS cannot be undertaken.
The search will remain open until the position is filled.
Location This position is based in Chennai with some travel within Tamil Nadu and to other locations in India.
Review and Assessment The role and performance of the incumbent shall be subject to normal review and assessment systems at IIHS.
Diversity Policy IIHS is an equal opportunity employer that encourages women, people with disabilities and those from economically and socially excluded communities with the requisite skills and qualifications to apply for positions.