Team Development: Global Strategy

Problem: The role of Director of Strategic Communications at Water For People was new to the organization when I accepted the position. Water For People had grown quickly in the previous five years and while funding and programs had expanded, systems and supporting structures, particularly around communications, had not. Communications-like roles were spread throughout the organization and within country programs, creating confusing and disconnect.

Solution: The definition of this new Strategic Communications Team needed a clear identity within the organization. I spent time getting to know colleagues, both on my team and outside of it. That trust-building was critical for moving forward a newly-defined team at the global hub level and then in supporting our in-country colleagues. During this initial phase of listening it became clear that our in-country colleagues were often young, juggling multiple roles between communications and monitoring or communications and fundraising with little-to-none overarching strategy or mentorship.

Within three months of our new definition and focus, the Strategic Communications Team had more than doubled in size. We added internal communications, design, a writer and the regional comms manager for Latin America (currently the only role of its kind) with plans for a regional communications manager for Africa in the future. We have monthly meetings with communications officers across Latin America, Africa and India. In early 2024 we hosted our first-ever in-person communications retreat for Latin America colleagues in Cajamarca, Peru.

Recognizing the need for mentorship and networking for our younger global colleagues, I developed a Communications Fellowship for in-country comms officers to spend one mentored year (in an 80/20 breakdown of their time) as part of the global communications team with mentoring from leaders in internal communications, strategic planning, crisis communications, government influence and media relations.