Assistant Manager / Specialist - Office of Strategic Communications

Assistant Manager / Specialist - Office of Strategic Communications (OSC) 

Reporting To: Manager

Location: Karachi, Pakistan

Introduction:

The Aga Khan University is a private, international university committed to international standards of excellence in teaching, research and service. Its teaching hospital, the Aga Khan University Hospital has been accredited by the prestigious Joint Commission International for achieving the highest international healthcare standards.

As an equal opportunity employer, AKU believes in promoting a diverse and inclusive culture and is committed to adopt appropriate standards for safeguarding and promoting a respectful relationship with and between diverse workforce of its faculty, staff, trainees, volunteers, beneficiaries, wider communities, and other stakeholders with whom it works, including children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees/trainees and partners to share this commitment.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the implementation of media analytics strategies
  • Lead the implementation of media analytics strategies across traditional media, social media, and the University's digital platforms to support institutional communication objectives. 
  • Develop and continuously refine analytics frameworks, methodologies, and reporting standards to align with evolving media landscapes, institutional priorities, and global best practices. 
  • Translate complex data into strategic insights that inform communication planning, reputation management, audience engagement, and executive decision-making. 
  • Identify opportunities to enhance the University's measurement capabilities through the adoption of new tools, technologies, and analytical approaches. 
  • Ensure consistency, accuracy, and quality across all analytics processes and deliverables.
• Manage media performance analysis and reporting 
  • Oversee the collection, validation, analysis, and interpretation of data from social media, traditional media, websites, and other digital platforms using relevant analytics tools and dashboards. 
  • Develop comprehensive periodic reports, executive dashboards, and performance summaries highlighting key trends, audience behaviour, sentiment, media impact, and benchmarking against peer institutions and competitors. 
  • Provide strategic recommendations to optimise content performance, channel effectiveness, campaign planning, and communications investments. 
  • Monitor industry developments, emerging communication trends, and competitor activity to identify opportunities, risks, and areas for continuous improvement. 
  • Lead the preparation and continuous enhancement of AKU's daily media reports and other institutional reporting mechanisms. 
  • Present findings and recommendations to senior leadership and internal stakeholders in a clear and actionable manner.
• Lead media listening and reputation monitoring
  • Oversee proactive monitoring of conversations involving AKU across social media, traditional media, digital platforms, messaging applications, and other relevant channels. 
  • Identify, assess, and escalate emerging issues, misinformation, reputational risks, and potential crises, ensuring timely reporting and coordination with relevant stakeholders. 
  • Develop monitoring frameworks and alert mechanisms to strengthen the University's issues management and crisis communication capabilities. 
  • Provide timely intelligence and situation updates during major institutional announcements, campaigns, emergencies, and crises. 
  • Analyse public sentiment and stakeholder perceptions to support strategic communication planning and reputation management initiatives.
• Partner with internal stakeholders and provide strategic support
  • Serve as a strategic partner to AKU entities, departments, and leadership by providing analytics-driven guidance throughout the planning, execution, and evaluation of communication campaigns.
  • Collaborate with internal stakeholders to establish measurable communication objectives, key performance indicators (KPIs), and evaluation frameworks. 
  • Deliver evidence-based recommendations that improve audience targeting, campaign effectiveness, and return on communication investments. 
  • Build organisational capability by conducting consultations, training sessions, and knowledge-sharing initiatives on media analytics, reporting tools, and data-informed decision-making. 
  • Work closely with other units within the Office of Strategic Communications to ensure integrated, insight-led communication strategies across the University. 
  • Support cross-functional projects that require communications planning, performance measurement, and stakeholder engagement.
• Manage social media initiatives and special projects
  • Support the management of AKU's global social media presence, including content planning, publishing, optimisation, community management, and performance evaluation. 
  • Contribute to the development and implementation of long-term strategies for the University's global social media channels and entity-specific platforms. 
  • Monitor platform performance and audience behaviour to recommend improvements that enhance reach, engagement, and institutional visibility. 
  • Lead or coordinate special communication initiatives, research projects, and digital campaigns that advance the University's strategic priorities. 
  • Explore emerging social media trends, platform features, and digital innovations, recommending opportunities for adoption where appropriate.
• Process improvement and operational excellence
  • Continuously review and improve analytics workflows, reporting processes, and monitoring systems to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and responsiveness. 
  • Develop and maintain documentation, standard operating procedures, and reporting guidelines to ensure consistency across the function. 
  • Ensure compliance with institutional policies, data governance standards, and privacy requirements in the collection, analysis, and reporting of data. 
  • Support the evaluation, procurement, and optimisation of media monitoring and analytics tools and vendor services. 
  • Mentor and provide day-to-day guidance to interns, or associates, fostering a culture of continuous learning and high performance.

Requirements:

You should have:

• A degree in business, communications, marketing, data analytics, or a related field from a recognized university or post-secondary institution. 
• At least three to five years of experience in communications, marketing, media relations, analytics, or a related field. 
• Demonstrated experience in communications analytics, media monitoring, performance measurement, and reporting, with the ability to translate data into actionable insights and recommendations. 
• Experience using analytics and social listening tools to measure the performance of digital, social media, and communication campaigns. 
• Strong understanding of key communications and digital performance metrics, including audience engagement, reach, sentiment, website analytics, and campaign effectiveness. 
• Experience with content management, digital storytelling, and multimedia content, including video, audio, and social media platforms. 
• Proficiency in digital platforms, social media channels, emerging technologies, and industry trends. 
• Demonstrated knowledge of communications best practices and evidence-based decision-making. 
• Strong stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to understand communication needs and build effective relationships across diverse audiences. 
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills, with the ability to identify trends, anticipate issues, and recommend strategic solutions. 
• Confidence to present data, share ideas, and communicate insights to a range of stakeholders, including senior leadership. 
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills. 
• The ability to take initiative, manage multiple priorities, and deliver high-quality work in a fast-paced environment. 
• The ability to work both independently and collaboratively as part of a multidisciplinary team. 
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks efficiently while maintaining attention to detail.

Comprehensive employment reference checks will be conducted.