The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Office of the Australian Consulate-General Shanghai is seeking applicants to fill the following locally engaged position:
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Communications Manager (LE5)
The successful applicant will be offered an initial fixed term contract of 12 months with the possibility for extension and are subject to a probationary period.
The annual basic salary for this position is CNY ¥240,609.85 plus the employer’s social security contributions.
Your application, written in English, addressed in the title ‘Application for Communications Manager + your name’ must include:
- A pitch of no more than 500 words outlining how your skills, experience and qualifications make you the best person for the job
- Curriculum vitae of no more than 2 pages
- Completed application form. (Please click here to download the application form)
Applications and inquiries should be emailed to acgshanghai.recruitment@dfat.gov.au. Closing date for applications is 5pm, 28 April 2025. Please consider your application unsuccessful if you have not received any contact within four weeks from the closing date.
What should I include in my pitch?
- Your pitch is a chance to tell us why you are the right person for the job. We want to know why you want to work at the Australian Consulate General, why you are interested in the role, what you can offer us, and how your skills, knowledge, experience and qualifications are applicable to the role. In a nutshell – why should we hire you?
- Try not to duplicate information that can already be found in your resume, but do highlight any specific examples or achievements that will demonstrate your ability to perform the role.
About the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
The role of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is to advance the interests of Australia and Australians internationally. This involves strengthening Australia’s security, enhancing Australia’s prosperity, delivering an effective and high-quality overseas aid program and helping Australian travellers and Australians overseas.
The department provides foreign, trade and development policy advice to the Australian Government. DFAT also works with other Australian government agencies to drive coordination of Australia’s pursuit of global, regional and bilateral interests.
About the Position
The Communications Manager is a member of the Australian Consulate-General Shanghai’s public diplomacy team, which also includes the Public Diplomacy Manager and the Public Diplomacy Officer. The team, which reports to Consul (Policy), is responsible for our work to promote a positive image of contemporary Australia, through the delivery of the Consulate’s public diplomacy, alumni and digital communications activities in Shanghai and East China.
The responsibilities of the public diplomacy team include, but are not limited to：
- In consultation with Canberra and other China Posts, plan, develop and implement the Consulate’s public diplomacy, communications and alumni engagement strategies to strengthen the public’s understanding, in Shanghai and East China, of Australia’s economic, cultural, sporting, innovation, science and education credentials.
- Design, develop and deliver a program of public diplomacy activities that achieve the objectives set out in the respective strategies.
- Manage the Consulate’s digital presence and strategic communications. This includes managing the Consulate’s WeChat account and website, and content posted on the Australian Embassy Beijing’s Weibo account.
- Strengthen engagement with the Australian university alumni community in East China, including by maintaining key relationships and organising events.
- Develop, maintain and strengthen relationships with partners (cultural, media, social media, academic, sports, commercial, key opinion leaders) in East China to support our public diplomacy objectives.
- Monitor, analyse and report on media and social media trends in East China, including on any coverage relating to Australian interests.
- Draft media releases, speeches, briefing materials, talking points and reports for public diplomacy and alumni events.
- Represent and promote Australia’s interests at a range or forums, events and meetings and provide advice on Australian participation, operational and policy issue.
- Contribute to visit programs for the Consul-General and senior Australian officials on cultural, education, sports and alumni opportunities and activities.
- Provide operational support to senior staff during inbound visit programs.
- Provide support to other Consulate priorities, when needed.
The Communications Manager’s responsibilities include:
- Working as a member of the public diplomacy team to deliver the Consulate’s public diplomacy, alumni and digital communications engagement in Shanghai and East China, including mentoring support for the Public Diplomacy Officer.
- Planning, developing and implementing the Consulate’s annual communications strategy.
- Managing the Consulate’s digital presence and strategic communications, including the Consulate’s WeChat account and website, and content published on the Embassy’s Weibo account and other platforms.
- Leading the creation of digital content (including videos, photographs, graphic design and flyers/invitations) for internal and external advocacy; and liaising with the Embassy and DFAT Canberra to ensure consistent messaging.
- Developing media and social media plans for the Consulate’s offline public diplomacy activities and senior visits, including media releases as required.
- Developing and maintaining relationships with partners, including contacts from China mainland posts.
- Monitoring, analysing and reporting on recent social media trends in East China, particularly as they relate to Australia.
- Representing the Consulate (and Australia’s interests) at a range of forums, events and meetings.
- Providing operational support during ministerial and senior official visit programs.
- Providing mentoring to support the professional development of other staff, including the Public Diplomacy Officer.
- Other duties, including supporting the delivery of public diplomacy events (including interpretation between English and Chinese) and alumni activities, as required.
Qualifications/Experience
- Previous experience managing digital communications and social media accounts. Tertiary qualifications in communications related fields are also desirable.
- Proven ability to produce public-facing strategic communications content. Demonstrated skills in graphic design, video production and photography are desirable.
- Demonstrated understanding of the Chinese media environment, including social media platforms and trends, and experience in dealing with Chinese media organisations and individuals to achieve positive and innovative public relations outcomes.
- Demonstrated ability to communicate with native or near-native fluency in both Mandarin and English (verbally and written). Strong abilities in both translation and interpreting are desirable.
- Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a team environment, including mentoring colleagues to support their development.
- Proven organisational skills, ability to work with limited direction and with initiative, handle multiple tasks and prioritise effectively.
- Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to liaise with government representatives, and develop and maintain a wide range of contacts. An existing network of Chinese media and KOL contacts is desirable.
- Knowledge of Australia, particularly its arts, culture media and community relations landscapes, and knowledge of the arts and cultural scene in East China, are desirable.