Leading Storyteller

We are seeking a dynamic and strategic Senior Program Manager (Communications) to lead narrative building around community stewardship of the commons, drive organization-wide storytelling, and ensure cohesive messaging across internal and external platforms.

• Strategic Communication & Narrative Building:
  • Lead the development of compelling narratives around community-led natural resource governance, with a focus on the Promise of Commons initiative;
  • Support the execution of a communications strategy, while keeping organizational and thematic focus in mind;
  • Integrate insights from on-ground initiatives, research, and NGO and Government partnerships into powerful communication strategies and products;
  • Build and manage campaigns that engage diverse audiences including rural communities, policymakers, civil society, donors, academia, and media;
  • Ensure coherence and consistency of messaging across all teams and channels.
• Ecosystem Engagement & Thought Leadership:
  • Enhance visibility and positioning of community stewardship of Commons through authored pieces, op-eds, media engagement, and high-impact storytelling;
  • Elevate the agenda of community stewardship of Commons across convenings, campaigns, and collaborative initiatives;
  • Forge and manage strategic relationships with media, NGOs, and other suitable platforms aligned with our mission.
• Events & Campaigns:
  • Provide narrative and communications oversight for high-stakes events, campaigns, and launches;
  • Collaborate with program and other thematic groups to shape learning products, event collateral, and post-event dissemination plans;
  • Ensure alignment of communication objectives with campaign and event outcomes.
• Digital, Media & Design Oversight:
  • Guide our digital presence, including social media, website, and blogs, with a focus on quality, engagement, and strategic positioning;
  • Build partnerships with media platforms and knowledge collaborators for building the narrative around Commons;
  • Oversee visual communication standards and content planning, ensuring brand and narrative consistency;
  • Oversee the management of external vendors and consultants to deliver high-quality multimedia and digital content.
• Internal Communication & Knowledge Management:
  • Manage internal communications to ensure transparency, alignment and engagement across the organisation;
  • Strengthen and manage the communications team;
  • Strengthen internal communication flows between states to enhance learning and strengthening the vision across the organisation;
  • Ensure documentation and sharing of institutional learnings, case studies and stories from the ground;
  • Oversee building capacities across the organisation to use communications tools effectively.
• Vendor & Partner Management:
  • Oversee management of external communication vendors, creative agencies, designers, writers, media consultants, production teams, etc.;
  • Lead development of clear briefs and timelines to ensure timely, high-quality, and brand-aligned outputs.

The ideal candidate will have 12-15 years of experience in communications, with about 5 years in the development sector. They should possess a postgraduate degree in Communications, Development Studies, Journalism, Public Policy, or related fields. Key skills and competencies include prior experience in managing a team, sound familiarity and relationships with the Indian media landscape, exceptional writing, editing, and storytelling abilities, project management skills, and demonstrated ability to develop and execute communication strategies.