Communications Officer

Location: Geneva, Switzerland

Contract: full time, permanent employment

Home Office: 1-2 days per week

The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) is a United Nations-backed public health organisation working to increase access to, and facilitate the development of, life-saving medicines for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Through its innovative business model, MPP partners with civil society, governments, international organisations, industry, patient groups, and other stakeholders to prioritise and license needed medicines and pool intellectual property to encourage generic manufacture and the development of new formulations. MPP’s mandate covers patented medicines for infectious diseases – HIV, TB, hepatitis C and also non-communicable diseases including cancer, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, in addition to COVID-19 treatments and technologies.

MPP operates as a non-profit voluntary licensing mechanism through partnerships with originator pharmaceutical companies and generic manufacturers that facilitate access and promote innovation. The terms and conditions in MPP licences seek to improve treatment options for the broadest number of people living in LMICs and are negotiated on a case-by-case basis with each patent holder.

Positively impacting peoples’ lives is one of the main goals of MPP activities. MPP’s impact assessment is based on country-level modelling and contrasting MPP’s contribution to alternative scenarios where key WHO-recommended medicines would not have been available through MPP licences. For further information regarding our work, please visit our website.

Under direct supervision of the Senior Communications Manager, the Communications Officer will collaborate closely with the communications team members to produce compelling visuals and content tailored for different channels such as websites, social media, newsletters, and presentations.

The role will be specifically responsible for maintaining MPP’s online presence, overseeing the day-to-day management of the MPP website, online tools and social media platforms. Additionally, the Communications Officer will contribute to the development of promotional and marketing materials across various communication channels, encompassing branding, printed materials, and online assets.

• Act as focal point for MPP website (bilingual EN/FR) content publishing, maintenance, and users’ experience enhancement in collaboration with an external technical support.
• Assist the communications team with the website content creation and translations.
• Maintain, update, and grow MPP social media presence. This includes:
  
  • designing and publishing engaging visuals and feeds in accordance with MPP visual identity and branding guidelines.
  • Collecting and interpreting media, website and social media analytics.
  • implementing agreed plans and strategies for connecting with audiences and increasing engagement with the followers.
• Independently design branded materials for such as slide decks, social media cards, banners, posters, email signatures, etc. using Adobe Suite or other design tools.
• Support creation of new marketing materials, including videos, brochures, publications, liaise with wider MPP team for the needed content and liaise with external graphic designer for design and delivery.
• Liaise with external translators for the translation of materials (Spanish, French) ensuring they are properly proofread, shared, and published.
• Coordinate the creation of MPP quarterly e- newsletters, MedsPaL updates and any emailing to MPP stakeholders as. needed, manage its branding, formatting, and distribution using MailChimp.
• Support the communications team in writing, editing, and distributing communications pieces including, but not limited to, paragraphs for online and traditional content.
• Provide logistical support for events, including planning, organisation, and delivery; participate in events as requested by the Senior Communications Manager or Head of Communications.
• Manage the development and maintenance of media and stakeholders’ databases.
• Manage the development and maintenance of MPP’s video and picture libraries (on PicFlow).
• Perform other duties as assigned by the Senior Communications Manager and Head of Communications to implement MPP’s communications strategy.

• At least two years of experience supporting digital communications or running digital campaigns in an organisation, including content creation for social media platforms (X, LinkedIn, YouTube).
• Experience with website content management and using web technologies including WordPress, JavaScript, HTML, CSS.
• Experience compiling and interpreting website and social media analytics reports.
• Experience creating content for organisational social media presence across variety of social media platforms.
• Good graphic design skills and knowledge of Adobe suite including, Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator for development of graphics and infographics; and video editing skills and knowledge of iMovie or Premiere for minor video editing etc.
• Proficient use of MS Office, Macintosh and Windows operating systems, familiarity with SharePoint, Google Docs, online tools and libraries.
• Good writing skills with the ability to synthetise information into short compelling messages.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills with the ability to organise own work autonomously and prioritise workload to meet deadlines.
• Native level of written and spoken English; full professional proficiency of French (especially written).

• Knowledge of public health, matters related to access to medicines, intellectual property and/or the pharmaceutical industry.
• Interest in new technologies and their use in communications highly desirable

MPP’s richness lies in its staff: a small dynamic and multicultural team!

To flourish in our team, you must recognise yourself in our values: Respect, Courage, Generosity and Commitment. And demonstrate the following qualities:

• Collaborative and supportive approach to teamwork.
• Sensitivity to different cultures and work styles.
• Demonstrable personal commitment to the public health goals of the MPP.

MPP respects all individuals regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, HIV status or disability. All qualified applications are welcome.

If you recognise yourself in this description and wish to join our outstanding team, please send a cover letter and C.V. to Write an email including “Communications Officer” as reference in the subject line.

This position will be open until the right candidate is recruited. Applications will be reviewed and assessedon a continuous basis.