Social Media and Communications Volunteer

Surgeons of Hope is a United Nations Affiliated New York City based nonprofit established in 2001. We strive to create a world in which every infant and child with a damaged heart has an equal opportunity to receive life-saving surgery. While the incidence of congenital heart defects is about 8/1,000 living births everywhere in the world, every year about 90% of the one million children born with a congenital heart defect do not have access to care or only receive suboptimal care.

At Surgeons of Hope, our network of healthcare professionals who are among the world’s best are committed to serving on missions of mercy to the Latin American countries we work with, providing life-saving interventions to these children in need. Through their work, they can transform a usually hopeless situation into one of joy and triumph. Because our volunteer medical teams are sourced from recognized teaching hospitals, the local team benefits from collaborative training to promote sustainability, long after our team has departed.

Where we work:

• Nicaragua: 25 surgical and training missions over the last ten years, over 800 children receiving surgery. Built a new 20-bed Pediatric Heart Center in 2013, expected to provide 300 surgeries per year. Efforts to develop telemedicine are continuing.
• Costa Rica: work began in 2014. SoH has enhanced the existing surgical program at the Hospital Nacional de Niños, improving access and quality of care for hundreds of patients.
• Paraguay: first mission conducted in March 2019. Since then, over 600 children have received life-saving procedures. 
• Mexico: first mission recently conducted in July 2022. 

Position Summary

SoH seeks a dynamic, self-starter to assist with communications with a focus on social media. This is an excellent opportunity for a student who is looking for hands-on experience in a growing nonprofit organization and is an exciting opportunity to make a significant impact on our mission. SoH has a longstanding relationship with Publicis Groupe, one of the largest advertising and PR agencies in the world, and our office is located within the Publicis Sapient building in SoHo and volunteers will have the opportunity to network independently when appropriate. This is a unique opportunity for a student majoring in advertising, marketing, or communications.

Responsibilities include:

• Update and maintain SoH’s social media presence, including suggesting innovative ideas for engaging content for social medias and scheduling Facebook and Instagram updates
• Develop a plan to strengthen relationships with all relevant stakeholders.
• Update SoH’s website as needed.
• Research and prepare background information for individuals, corporations and possible sponsorship/grant applications.
• Support and attend special events and fundraising activities
• Draft and proofread professional correspondence.
• Collaborate with staff to create new ideas for fundraising and communications.
• Other tasks as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Firm grasp of tools and platforms in the social media space
• Previous experience in communications/fundraising is a plus
• Must be computer literate (strong working knowledge of Word, PowerPoint, Excel)
• Proficiency in WordPress is highly desired
• An effective communicator, both written and oral
• Self-motivated, good organizational skills, detail-oriented, ability to prioritize, multi-task and meet deadlines
• Enthusiasm for SoH’s mission and the infants & children that we serve
• Knowledge of social media analytics software including Facebook Insights, Google Analytics and Twitter Analytics to track audience engagement and campaign performance.