The Officer will turn CENR’s research, events, and expert analysis into timely, accurate and visually compelling publications and digital content.
About CENR
The Dhia Jafar Center for Energy & Natural Resources at AUIS is an independent research institute dedicated to rigorous, evidence-based analysis and policy dialogue on Iraq’s energy sector, natural resources, public finance, and economic development. Its flagship publication, Iraq Energy Outlook, is a quarterly publication that presents accessible, data-driven analysis for policymakers, industry, researchers, media, and the wider public.
The Officer will join a small, collaborative CENR team of four and will be supported by the broader AUIS system, particularly the University’s Communications, Marketing, and IT functions.
Position Overview
CENR seeks a creative and highly organized digital communications professional who combines strong publication-design skills with practical website and social media experience. The Officer will manage CENR’s website content, design the print and digital editions of Iraq Energy Outlook, and maintain an active social media presence that showcases CENR’s research, events, publications, data, and experts.
This is a production and communications role rather than a research position. The successful candidate must be able to translate complex material into clear visual formats while working closely with CENR’s researchers and editors, who retain responsibility for technical and editorial accuracy.
Key Responsibilities
1. Website and Digital Publishing
- Manage the day-to-day content of the CENR website, including research publications, Iraq Energy Outlook issues, events, expert profiles, news, and institutional information.
- Upload, format, edit, and publish approved content in the website’s content-management system, ensuring that pages are accurate, current, visually consistent, and easy to navigate.
- Maintain a forward content calendar and routinely review the website for outdated information, broken links, missing files, or inconsistent presentation.
- Prepare web-ready images, charts, PDFs, videos, and other multimedia assets, with appropriate captions, credits, file sizes, and metadata.
- Apply basic standards for accessibility, search visibility, mobile readability, and quality assurance.
- Coordinate with AUIS IT and Communications on technical issues, platform changes, analytics, security, and major website improvements. The Officer is not expected to serve as the website’s server administrator or primary software developer.
2. Iraq Energy Outlook: Print and Digital Production
- Design and typeset each quarterly issue of Iraq Energy Outlook for both print and digital publication, using an established and consistent visual identity.
- Manage the publication-production schedule from receipt of approved manuscripts and data through layout, internal review, final corrections, print-ready files, and online release.
- Create clear charts, maps, tables, infographics, and visual explainers from source material supplied or approved by CENR researchers.
- Prepare digital editions optimized for web viewing and distribution, as well as technically correct, high-resolution files for professional printing.
- Coordinate multilingual layout when Arabic and Kurdish versions are produced, including right-to-left typesetting and the placement of approved translations.
- Maintain organized working files, templates, image permissions, version control, and a complete archive of published editions and production assets.
- Coordinate as needed with editors, translators, printers, photographers, designers, and other external vendors.
3. Social Media and Multimedia Content
- Manage CENR’s official social media accounts and maintain a regular, audience-focused publishing schedule.
- Develop and execute a monthly social media content calendar aligned with CENR’s events, publications, research agenda, and expert commentary.
- Create original content such as informational graphics, data charts, quote cards, short animations, event promotions, expert profiles, publication highlights, and short-form videos.
- Provide timely event coverage before, during, and after CENR activities, including speaker highlights, photography and video coordination, live updates where appropriate, and post-event summaries.
- Repurpose longer research outputs into accessible digital formats without oversimplifying or altering the underlying findings.
- Monitor comments, messages, mentions, and relevant online discussions; respond to routine inquiries and refer substantive, sensitive, or policy questions to the appropriate CENR colleague.
- Track audience growth, reach, engagement, website referrals, downloads, and other useful indicators, and use the results to improve content decisions.
4. Editorial Coordination and Institutional Support
- Work closely with CENR’s small team to identify upcoming content, establish deadlines, secure approvals, and maintain a reliable publishing workflow.
- Ensure that all published materials meet CENR and AUIS standards for quality, accuracy, tone, visual identity, attribution, copyright, and consent.
- Coordinate with AUIS Communications to amplify important CENR announcements through University-wide channels and avoid duplication or conflicting messages.
- Maintain a searchable digital asset library containing photographs, video, graphics, publication files, logos, templates, and approved biographies.
- Support other communications and publication needs related to CENR’s partnerships, public events, donor reporting, and institutional outreach.
Qualifications and Experience
- Bachelor’s degree in graphic design, communications, digital media, journalism, marketing, publishing, or a closely related field; equivalent professional experience may be considered.
- At least three years of relevant professional experience in digital communications, publication design, content production, or a comparable role.
- A strong portfolio demonstrating publication layout, visual storytelling, social media content, data visualization, and multimedia work.
- Professional proficiency with Adobe Creative Cloud—particularly InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop—or equivalent professional design tools.
- Demonstrated experience managing website content through a content-management system and publishing across major social media platforms.
- Ability to create and edit short videos and simple motion graphics using tools such as Premiere Pro, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, CapCut, or equivalent software.
- Strong written and editorial English, with careful attention to grammar, accuracy, consistency, and detail.
- Strong project-management skills and the ability to manage a quarterly publication cycle alongside frequent digital deadlines.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience designing research reports, policy publications, magazines, annual reports, or other data-rich publications.
- Experience with Arabic and/or Kurdish content, including multilingual publishing and right-to-left layout.
- Working proficiency in Kurdish and/or Arabic.
- Working knowledge of HTML and CSS, search optimization, accessibility practices, email marketing, and web analytics.
- Experience producing charts and visualizations from spreadsheets or other structured data.
- Experience in higher education, research institutes, think tanks, media, energy, public policy, or international organizations.
- Photography, audio production, interviewing, or event livestreaming skills.
Core Competencies
- Visual judgment and design discipline
- Editorial accuracy and respect for evidence
- Audience-focused storytelling
- Initiative, reliability, and follow-through
- Collaborative work in a small team
- Ability to manage multiple deadlines calmly
- Cultural awareness and sound professional judgment
- Commitment to CENR’s independent, nonpartisan, evidence-based mission
Application Process
Applicants should submit the following materials via email, with “Digital Communications and Publications Officer (CENR)” in the subject line, to [email protected]:
- Curriculum vitae
- Cover Letter
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
No telephone calls please. While we thank all applicants for their interest, only those under consideration will be contacted for a follow-up interview. AUIS is an Affirmative Action / Equal Employment Opportunity employer that believes cultural diversity is essential to education.
