Founded in 1984, APCO Worldwide is an award-winning, independently owned global communication and business strategy firm with offices in major cities throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. APCO combines a global perspective with local expertise to help clients around the world manage challenges, opportunities, perceptions and reputations. APCO clients include corporations and governments; industry associations and nonprofit organizations; and six of the top 10 companies on the Fortune 500. The firm is a majority women-owned business.
The Role: The role will be twofold \xe2\x80\x93 firstly working directly with government and financial sector clients to advise on content strategy, and secondly delivering that content including \xe2\x80\x93 but not limited to \xe2\x80\x93 press releases, media invites, opinion editorials, speeches, talking points and digital copy before they are disseminated to the media and/or published on client channels. You will be a responsive, responsible, and authoritative self-starter who can devise and write original, compelling content across all platforms and, vitally, contribute across the project management team with coherent strategic inputs
Primary Duties and Responsibilities
\xc2\xa7 Take the lead on delivering outstanding written content for critical clients across APCO\xe2\x80\x99s portfolio, particularly in the government and financial space
\xc2\xa7 Assist various client teams in drafting compelling copy and strategic and tactical plans
\xc2\xa7 Draft, review, edit and rewrite all written material (to include traditional, digital, and social media content) as required
\xc2\xa7 Write press releases and statements
\xc2\xa7 Write official speeches for conferences and meetings
\xc2\xa7 Write Op-eds for ministers and other officials
\xc2\xa7 Prepare media plans and specialized campaigns
\xc2\xa7 Assess Media Opportunities including Interviews & Commentary
\xc2\xa7 Support on media relations, including pitches and shaping stories
\xc2\xa7 Draft and review social media content, and work closely with our Arabisation team to ensure top quality across both EN and AR
\xc2\xa7 Understand and convey the client\xe2\x80\x99s key messages adequately and appropriately through effective use of language
\xc2\xa7 Support teams by providing error-free media-worthy material
\xc2\xa7 Consult and guide client-handling teams on matters related to media requests
\xc2\xa7 Interact with team members and support them in building accurate communication measures
\xc2\xa7 Manage deadline-oriented workflow of releases, invites and requests from various team members on a daily basis
\xc2\xa7 Contribute to the development of new concepts, techniques or ideas at brainstorming sessions
\xc2\xa7 Support the project manager in ensuring that resources are in place to cover delivery of all content
Competencies
\xc2\xa7 Strong understanding of politics, economics, finance, geo-politics and current affairs
\xc2\xa7 Client relationship skills
\xc2\xa7 Research skills
\xc2\xa7 Excellent grammar, editing, writing and re-writing skills;
\xc2\xa7 Understanding of writing across digital and traditional platforms
Requirements
\xc2\xa7 Bachelor\xe2\x80\x99s or Master\xe2\x80\x99s Degree in relevant area
\xc2\xa7 A minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in a consulting firm, corporation, diplomatic post or media role
\xc2\xa7 Fluent in English (Mother tongue fluency)
\xc2\xa7 Proficiency in providing error-free copy
\xc2\xa7 Ability to recognize the key messages of clients and offer effective ways to forcefully convey those messages
\xc2\xa7 Capable of rapidly handling industry-specific research to develop top drawer communication material
\xc2\xa7 Completely conversant with local, regional and global current-affairs
\xc2\xa7 Skilled in use of MS Office, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook
Work Conditions
\xc2\xa7 Office environment is general office setting, either at Employer\xe2\x80\x99s office or client\xe2\x80\x99s office
\xc2\xa7 Some travel will be required
\xc2\xa7 Willing to work additional or irregular hours, including nights and weekends, as neede
About APCO in the Middle East and North Africa
Home to some of the fastest growing economies in the world, the Middle East and North Africa region has a pivotal role to play in driving global conversations \xe2\x80\x93 from environmental policies to religion and pop culture. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are clear leaders in this equation, although the wave of innovation continues to transcend borders.
APCO launched its regional operations in 2006 in Dubai. Growing from a team of less than 10 consultants, APCO today has over 200 people from 26 countries working in teams across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Manama and Kuwait and our projects take us to countries across the region and the Levant. APCO was awarded Best Agency in the Middle East by PRWeek in 2019 and Best Agency to Work for: EMEA Network by PRovoke Media in 2017 and 2019.
With a portfolio of over 100 clients, APCO\xe2\x80\x99s MENA offices deliver public relations and digital communication support across health, food, consumer & retail, finance, technology, real estate & hospitality, non-profit and public affairs practices. The region also offers specialized services, created for the Middle East, such as our Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model and our Compass and License to Operate offerings.
In addition, APCO\xe2\x80\x99s global AI Comms Lab, a first-of-its-kind innovation center which utilizes artificial intelligence to build and protect the reputations of major global brands, governments and organizations is driven from the Dubai office.
From helping governments connect with the private sector and civil society, to supporting the Pope\xe2\x80\x99s historic visit to the region and launching iconic brands and destinations, we understand the nuances of the MENA region and pride ourselves on making an impact.