Aim of Role

The Communications Officer is a full-time role responsible for managing and driving the organization’s external communications presence. This includes producing visual content, managing social media platforms, maintaining the website, and proactively identifying and developing content from internal project materials and activities.

The role sits at the intersection of creative execution and organizational coordination: working closely with the Communications Circle Lead, Business Development, and Stakeholder Engagement to ensure that every significant project activity or output has a corresponding, accessible online presence.

Note on onboarding: We expect the first 3–6 months to be a structured onboarding period. The responsibilities listed in this document represent the fully ramped-up role. During onboarding, the same responsibilities apply but at reduced volume and with closer guidance, as the expectation is not immediate full performance. A separate onboarding document will outline monthly milestones and support provided during this period.

Key Responsibilities

1. Proactive Content Development and Writing

• Act as Dala’s internal journalist: seek out project insights, findings, and activities across teams. Regularly review internal project folders and materials to identify content opportunities
• Contact and discuss with project staff to brainstorm and assist them in developing content for their project (including ghostwrite, modify according to their feedback and final copy edit).
• Translate internal documents, updates, and activity results into compelling external communication outputs (including medium-length learning reports, blog post, other written or visual formats when approriate)
• Propose and draft content based on organizational activities — not only wait for direction from team leads
• Ensure all posts and content go through relevant approval processes before publishing
• Coordinate with relevant teams to gather materials, quotes, or context for content
• Write post captions and short-form content in English and Bahasa Indonesia (usually 150–500 words per post
• Adapt tone and voice to suit platform and audience

2. Quarterly Newsletter

• Produce and distribute the Quarterly Newsletter — a key communication piece sent to clients and funders — in close coordination with Business Development and Stakeholder Engagement teams; this may involve working from scratch or from an existing template, depending on the edition.
• The newsletter is text-based (not heavy HTML design) and sent individually to approximately 35 contacts with personalised content per edition
• Responsibilities include: writing and editing content, coordinating with relevant teams, sending each edition, and managing the connect@dala email address

3. Visual Design and Branding Consistency

• Design 4 visual content assets per week for social media posts, following brand guidelines (counted per asset/piece — e.g. 1 carousel = 1 asset, 1 quote card = 1 asset, regardless of number of slides or pages)
• Produce a mix of visual formats including quote cards, stats highlights, project update tiles, single-image graphics, cover photos, and carousels — keeping designs clean and accessible
• Adapt content formats for LinkedIn, Instagram, and other relevant platforms
• Ensure visual consistency across all communication materials
• Improve Dala’s branding template across platforms (Canva, Collabora, etc) to ensure consistency of use by staff.

4. Social Media Management

• Schedule and post content across 2–3 primary platforms (primarily LinkedIn and Instagram with a possibility of adding one other in the near future)
• Scale posting frequency from 1–2 posts per week initially to 2–4 posts per week as content pipeline develops
• Monitor and respond to comments and messages in a timely manner
• Track and report on engagement metrics quarterly
• Maintain a rolling social media content calendar (2–4 weeks in advance)
• Respond to urgent posting requests within 4–6 hours during working hours (9 AM – 5 PM WIB)

5. Online Reference Coverage

• Work with Business Development and Stakeholder Engagement circles to ensure every notable project activity or item mentioned in the quarterly newsletter has an accessible online reference
• ◦ This may take the form of a LinkedIn post, Instagram update, or website page/article
• Maintain a simple tracker of project activities and their corresponding online presence
• Flag gaps in online coverage and proactively fill them with content

6. Stakeholder Mapping and Analysis Support (in coordination with Stakeholder Engagement Team)

• Work with the Stakeholder Engagement circle to enrich the existing stakeholder inventory and analysis: adding context on each stakeholder’s interests, engagement history, and relevance to Dala’s work
• Map each stakeholder’s online presence and preferred communication channels to inform outreach and content targeting
• Keep the stakeholder inventory updated as new relationships develop, relieving SE circle staff from carrying this as an additional administrative burden
• Actively suggest approriate communication strategies to engage stakeholders based on the stakeholder analysis, and leading new initatives in improving Dala’s engagement and communications.

7. Website Administration

• Update website content weekly as needed using Dala’s CMS (content only- no coding required) (publications, project updates, staff news) including:
• Upload materials provided by staff and circles on an ongoing basis
• Ensure website content is current, accurate, and well-organized
• Translate projects documentations into appropriate website content, i.e. project profiles page and other potential website contents.

8. Media Relations & Event Coverage (as needed)

• Draft press releases for project events or organizational announcements, in English and/or Bahasa Indonesia
• Conduct media outreach: distribute press releases to relevant journalists and editors using the existing media contact list, and help maintain and expand that database over time
• Sustain connections, relationships and collaboration with media apparatus in the database (journalists, media company, etc)
• Attend relevant events in Jakarta when requested — document key moments, capture content for social media, and report back to the team
• Note: Event attendance and media outreach are ad hoc and project-dependent — not a fixed weekly commitment.

Is This Role For You?

This role is a strong fit if you:

• See communications as your core career path
• Are genuinely comfortable switching between writing, visual design, coordination, and media outreach
• Are curious about sustainable development, environment, or public policy around social-environmental issues — even if you are not an expert
• Enjoy taking initiative — identifying what needs to be communicated and making it happen, without waiting to be told every step
• Have experience in or exposure to think tanks, NGOs, research organizations, or advocacy groups — and understand how these environments operate

This role is likely not the right fit if your primary career interest lies in research, policy analysis, or other fields where communications work would feel like a distraction from your main goals.

Expected Monthly Deliverables

Deliverable volumes above reflect the fully ramped-up role. During the 3–6 month onboarding period, volumes will be lower and expectations calibrated accordingly. The onboarding document will outline phase-by-phase targets.

Salary and Benefits

This position will be 100% full time, but could be issued at 80% at the option of the successful candidate.

All salary and benefits except medical insurance will be pro-rated and are based on a full-time position. The starting salary range for this position is 11,589,000 – 12,937,000 per month (gross) paid in Indonesian Rupiah. Income taxes will be deducted and paid according to Indonesian law. Jakarta DKI-based employees are eligible to apply for a 10% premium to compensate for increased cost of living (conditions apply). THR is paid in addition to the monthly salary. All new employees start on a one-year contract.

Other benefits

• prorated 20 days of vacation yearly
• work from home and flexible locations
• paid leave for volunteering and personal days
• work-from-home allowance*
• private premium medical insurance
• BPJS Kesehatan and Ketenagakerjaan
• your birthday off
• never miss a national holiday: in lieu for holidays that fall on a weekend
• full parental leave for both parents and for adoption
• employee profit-sharing is allocated each year (depending on institutional performance)
• working hours are flexible, however, Dala employees are expected to be available for meetings and communications during normal working hours Monday to Friday. We are closed on weekends and holidays.

* in which case employees supply their own equipment and facilities required for work: computer, internet connection and mobile phone.

We welcome people of diverse backgrounds and experiences. We do not discriminate based on gender, age, sexual orientation or preference, ethnicity, race or religion. You do you and we will accept you. We do discriminate against mean people though, so be nice. We ask that people we work with are in agreement with feminist principles of increasing equality, expanding human choice, embracing diversity, sharing, anti-exploitation, and non-violence

Notes:

• When we say we are different, we are not joking. Dala practices a self-governance model known as sociocracy. It means that all employees are involved in governance of the organisation on a regular basis. This means that no one can focus on their area of technical experise alone, and must spend time working on collective governance issues.
• We make decisions in small groups with clear domains of decision-making. All staff have autonomy and accountability to small groups of peers. We have no individual hierarchy in the organisation. You will consent to everything that you do.
• This position holder will initially be part of our Communications Circle, which is a small group of professionals who focus on the theory and practice of communication. Most employees are part of at least two other circles at any one time, that deal with different areas of Dala’s work.

Required Qualifications

Essential

• Bachelor’s degree (S1) in Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, Digital Marketing, or a related field; graduates in Visual Communication Design are welcome if they have a demonstrable track record in writing, social media management, and coordination beyond design alone
• 3–5 years of experience in communications, digital marketing, or content creation
• Experience writing for research, sustainability, or development sector organizations
• Strong graphic design skills with proficiency in 2–3 tools (Canva, Adobe Creative Suite, or similar)
• Demonstrated experience managing organizational social media accounts
• Experience with content management systems (minimum 2 years)
• Portfolio demonstrating previous written works
• Portfolio demonstrating previous design works
• Proactive and self-directed: able to identify content opportunities and initiate work with proportional coordination
• Strong attention to detail and ability to follow brand guidelines
• Good time management and ability to work independently
• Strong interpersonal and coordination skills: able to work across multiple circles and teams, manage competing priorities, and know when to escalate or delegate
• Strong written communication in both English and Bahasa Indonesia

Desirable

• Familiarity with social media analytics tools and platform dashboards (e.g. Meta Business Suite, LinkedIn Analytics, or equivalent
• Interest in or understanding of sustainable development, environmental governance, or technical assistance work
• Willingness to explore new platforms (i.e. Bluesky)
• Basic video editing skills (30–60 second reels/shorts)
• Experience with newsletter design and layout
• Familiarity with remote working and digital collaboration tools

How to Apply

Applications will not be accepted by e-mail or standard post. If you found the job on a job posting

site, you must also submit your application to us. Applications will only be accepted from the link provided on https://careers.dala.institute.

Please apply by the deadline on the website with the following attachments:

• Your Cover Letter, CV, and Portfolio. Include:
  • Brief cover letter (max 1,000 words) addressing: (a) your relevant experience and how you approach proactive content development; (b) why a communications role — not just this organization — aligns with your career direction; and (c) if applicable, your experience working in or with think tanks, NGOs, research organizations, or similar environments
  • Your CV showing us what you have done, rather than just putting job titles and organisation names. List what you accomplished. Provide a link to your LinkedIn profile if you have one.
  • Your portfolio or a link to portfolio items:
    • Portfolio of writings, design and social media work (10–15 samples)
    • Examples of social media accounts managed, with basic metrics (anonymized if needed)
  • A video no longer than 1 minute explaining why you are a good fit for this job. Please note that you do not have to show your face or person if you don’t want to. We are looking more for content than production quality. If you want to upload a PDF with a link to the video instead of the video itself, you may. If you do, please make sure the video has public access.

You do not have to disclose (meaning we don’t need or really want this information, but is fine it you include it) your:

• age
• gender identity
• marital status or family details
• ethnicity
• religion
• photo

Please DO NOT include (meaning we will be a bit upset and will probably not consider your application because you can’t follow simple instructions):

• certificates and transcripts
• identification documents
• other confidential information that is not considered as part of the job application