Full Time, Six Months Duration. Paid at London Living Wage

JOB DESCRIPTION

Press & Media Intern

Full time, six months duration. Paid at London Living Wage

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) London

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is an independent and international medical aid organisation. In over 60 countries worldwide, we provide life-saving emergency relief, including epidemic control, war surgery, nutritional assistance and primary healthcare.

MSF's aim is to provide impartial assistance, on the basis of need alone, regardless of ethnic origin, gender, creed or political affiliation. To maintain its independence from political interference, MSF relies on donations from private individuals for the majority of its income. This private funding gives MSF the freedom to respond to the greatest needs as quickly and independently as possible.

As medical professionals, MSF volunteers have a duty to bear witness and sometimes to speak out on behalf of the patients and communities they are working with. MSF campaigns locally and internationally for humanitarian principles and medical ethics and for access to essential medicines for the world’s poorest and most excluded people.

MSF UK is one of 23 offices and operational centres in Europe, Asia, Africa, America and Australasia, pooling funding, expertise and staff for field operations. Around 3,000 people volunteer their skills every year to work as international staff and the organisation also employs around 27,000 locally in the project locations.

The mandate of the UK section is to provide technical, medical, human resources, financial and communications support to field operations. A permanent team of around 78 is based in London and there is a small sub office in Dublin, which has a significant communications agenda. Approximately 250 British volunteers leave on field assignments every year, which makes MSF UK the largest recruiter of medical staff for overseas humanitarian work in the country.

Media team

MSF UK's media team is made up of a media manager, two press officers and an intern. It sits within and works closely together with members of the wider, multidisciplinary communications department.

The department’s overall purpose is to raise the profile of the organisation and its causes amongst British and international audiences via increasingly diverse media to support MSF’s advocacy, recruitment, and fundraising activities.

The media has long been essential to MSF’s advocacy and fundraising, so our policy is one of openness and co-operation with the press. Communications staff are highly valued within the organisation and are expected to contribute actively in strategic and communication decisions. The UK is a hub for communications internationally and MSF UK is expected to play a significant role in supporting communications ambitions for the whole of MSF, including through direct field support which means regularly sending communications officers to our projects around the world.

Role Description
We require a bright, helpful, committed and adaptable intern to provide daily support to our media team.

The primary focus will be researching and mapping media coverage as well as helping with reporting and analysis. The successful candidate will be able (with oversight) to take the lead in MSF UK's regional media activity and make a significant contribution to the work of the team. They will also gain exposure to and experience of all aspects of NGO media and communications work and will be treated as a full member of our team.

Main Tasks

·  Compile and distribute daily press review

·  Help with media coverage analysis - on a daily basis through scoring coverage, and also by generating graphs and charts based on the scoring for the team's quarterly reports

·  Helping to brief and debrief returning and outgoing field staff and using materials and information to generate regional UK media coverage

·  Media mapping using various tools, including Twitter and other social media - creating lists and groups for specific subjects and keeping them updated

·  Using the media team's Twitter account to reach out to journalists and producers on topical issues where MSF has spokespeople (under the direction of the press officers/media manager)

·  Compile "upcoming future events" from media diary service and stay alert to external events that might impact on/be interesting to MSF

·  Using MSF's photo database to research/respond to journalist enquiries

·  Making travel/meeting room bookings as necessary and taking on ad hoc duties according to the needs/workload of the team

Skills and attributes

·  Demonstrable interest and/or qualifications in press and media work, as well as commitment to MSF's humanitarian principles

·  Experience working with databases, researching in archives, using MS Office, Photoshop and social media (Twitter, Facebook)

·  Professional and efficient manner as well as strong communication skills – written and oral

·  Willingness and ability to manage administration

·  Adaptability and the capacity to help out at times when the rest of the team are very busy

·  Fluency in written and spoken English (other languages are an advantage)

·  Highly organised and punctual

·  Genuine interest in, and commitment to, the humanitarian principles of MSF

Commitment

·  8.30am - 4.30pm day five days per week for six months

·  Starting early January or asap

Benefits

The position pays the London Living Wage of £9.40 per hour (before tax and National Insurance deductions). This is equivalent to approximately £19,500 per annum. Other benefits include paid holiday and sick leave and pension contribution.

This role is an exciting opportunity to explore the day to day operation of an international NGO and to become acquainted with the means and methods of NGO communications. There will also be ample opportunity to learn more about Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and you are welcome to attend and contribute to weekly office meetings and operational updates.

How to apply

Please send a copy of your CV along with a short letter of motivation and answers to the application questions below to by 11.59pm on Sunday 17 January 2016.

For an informal discussion about the role you can email our Media Manager () but please bear in mind that we will be closed for several days over the holiday period and this may delay a response.

Closing date: 9am, Monday 4 January 2016

We plan to hold interviews for this position w/c 11 January 2016

Please Note – we will require a copy of your passport confirming your right to be in the UK. For volunteers who will access confidential data two references will be required.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS

Thank you for your interest in working with MSF. To get a better sense of your experience and aptitude for this work, we would like you to complete the questions below. There aren’t ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers but we are interested in your approach and your ideas. Please write answers of no more than 300 words for each of the questions:

1.  What do you think is the most important media outlet in London for MSF and why? (max 200 words)

2. Write a short pitch to a local newspaper offering an interview with a recently-returned MSF field worker just back from Calais. (max 300 words)

3. Who is your favourite international correspondent and why? (max 200 words)

4. Sum up your application as a Tweet. (max. 140 characters)

Deadline: 9am, Monday 4th January 2016

Application: Send a cover letter, CV and answers to the questions at the end of this document to