Communications Officer, AI, Digital & Data

PATH's AI, Digital, and Data Initiative cuts across the organisation's work, developing and deploying innovations that address some of the world's most pressing health and development challenges. Its portfolio spans the use of generative AI and advanced machine learning to accelerate biomedical discovery and strengthen regulatory systems; the design and scale-up of digital health tools and platforms that improve the safety and reach of healthcare delivery; and the development of data infrastructure and services that put high-quality, actionable data where it is needed most. 

PATH seeks a Communications Officer to work alongside the Chief AI Officer and shape how the initiative presents itself to the world. You will be the primary communications resource for a growing and diverse portfolio, which today includes a flagship FCDO-funded programme on AI co-scientists; Wellcome Trust-funded climate and health data services in Malawi and Pakistan; and digital financial inclusion work across Africa with partners such as AfricaNenda. 

This is a role for someone with strong communications instincts and the versatility to move across formats and audiences. You might spend one morning turning a dense technical paper into a one-pager that a minister or board member would actually read, and the afternoon preparing talking points for a conference panel. You will develop and own the initiative's communications strategy, produce a wide range of written and multimedia outputs, run its external engagement, and serve as its primary liaison with PATH's central communications team. 

The role is anchored in high-quality writing. The bulk of your time will go to producing outputs, with the balance spread across strategy, external engagement, and channel management. 

Responsibilities:

Strategy and planning 

• Develop, own and iteratively refine the communications strategy for the AI, Digital, and Data Initiative, setting clear objectives, target audiences, channels and success metrics. 

• Maintain a forward-looking communications calendar that anticipates key milestones, publications, events and funding cycles across the portfolio, so the initiative's work is visible at the right moments. 

• Conduct regular audience analysis and landscape monitoring, keeping the approach responsive to external developments, emerging conversations, and shifting funder priorities. 

• Advise the Chief AI Officer and project leads on proactive opportunities, including media moments, thought-leadership windows, and policy-engagement openings, and help develop positioning ahead of them. 

• Contribute communications inputs to funding proposals and help frame programme narratives for donor cultivation. 

Content and production 

• Lead the production of high-quality communications outputs across the portfolio, including: 

• Project briefs, plain-language summaries, and case studies that turn technical work into accessible, donor-ready narratives. 

• Blog posts, feature articles, and newsletter content for global health, AI and development audiences. 

• Social media copy, asset coordination and scheduling across relevant platforms such as LinkedIn, calibrated to the register of each channel. 

• Slide decks and talking points for the Chief AI Officer and other team leads, for conferences, donor meetings, internal briefings, and panel appearances. 

• Annual and periodic impact reports that synthesise results and learnings across the initiative. 

• Internal communications that keep the wider organisation engaged with the initiative's work, including its internal SharePoint pages. 

• Keep all outputs consistent in voice, accurate in substance and appropriate in tone for the intended audience, and maintain the initiative's editorial standards. 

• Maintain a repository of core communications assets, including key messages, approved programme descriptions, bios, boilerplate and imagery, so the team can produce consistent material efficiently. 

• Complete PATH's proofreading training; become familiar with PATH branding, style, and editorial guidelines; and ensure outputs comply with them. 

• Coordinate leadership reviews and approvals for high-visibility products. 

External engagement and events 

• Lead the planning and delivery of external engagement activities, including webinars, panels, roundtables, conference participations, and hosted events. 

• Manage logistics for speaker participation and convenings, coordinating invitations, agendas, run-of-show, and follow-up, so the Chief AI Officer and colleagues are well-prepared and well-represented. 

• Monitor publications, reports, and sector conversations to flag opportunities for the initiative to contribute its voice, and give the Chief AI Officer timely intelligence on the external landscape. 

• Represent the initiative in cross-organisational communications forums and working groups within PATH, keeping its priorities and outputs coordinated with the wider organisation.

Messaging, brand, and channels 

• Serve as the primary liaison between the AI, Digital, and Data Initiative and PATH's central communications team, keeping initiative-level communications aligned with PATH's branding standards and messaging frameworks. 

• Develop and steward the initiative's core messaging architecture, including its strategic narrative, key programme descriptions, and audience-specific talking points, and keep these current as the portfolio evolves. 

• Coordinate with project leads, external partners and other counterparts so that joint or co-branded communications are consistent, appropriately cleared, and mutually beneficial. 

• Provide light-touch guidance and coaching to team members on communications best practice, including how to write clearly for non-technical audiences and represent the initiative consistently in external settings. 

• Work with PATH's digital and web teams to keep the initiative's pages on PATH's website current, including programme descriptions, publications, and news. 

• Track and report on digital engagement metrics with the digital and web teams, and use these insights to refine the approach over time. 

• Explore emerging formats and platforms, such as short-form video and data visualisation, where these help communicate the initiative's work more effectively. 

Required skills & experience:

• Bachelor's degree in communications, journalism, public health, international development, science communication, or a related field. 

• At least 5 years of professional experience in a communications, external affairs or public engagement role, ideally within a global health, international development, science, or technology organisation. 

• Excellent writing and editing skills across long-form, short-form and digital formats, with the ability to produce polished outputs under tight deadlines and adapt voice and tone to different audiences. 

• A demonstrable track record of developing and executing communications strategies from the ground up. 

• Experience coordinating with central or institutional communications functions in large, complex organizations. 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Master's degree, or equivalent experience, in communications, journalism, public health, international development, science communication or a related field. 

• Prior experience in global or digital health. 

• Familiarity with collaborators in Sub-Saharan Africa or other diverse contexts. 

• Experience within a matrixed nonprofit or NGO structure. 

• Experience managing digital communications channels and social media, including content scheduling and performance tracking. 

More About the Skills and Experience Needed to Succeed 

• Communications instincts. You know how to tell a compelling story about complex, technical work. You can take a dense project document and turn it into a one-pager that a minister or board member would actually read. Good communication comes down to clarity, credibility and knowing your audience. 

• Strategic ownership. You can zoom out, assess what the initiative needs to say and to whom, and build a plan to get there. You take initiative, manage your own workload across concurrent projects, and set the next deliverable yourself rather than waiting to be told. 

• Intellectual curiosity. The portfolio spans AI for biomedical science, climate and health data systems and digital financial inclusion. You will not be a subject-matter expert in all of these, but you will be genuinely interested in learning enough to communicate effectively, and to spot when a technical claim needs checking before it goes out the door. 

• Judgement and discretion. Working closely with a senior leader means you will be involved in communications decisions before they are finalised and privy to sensitive strategic context. You exercise good judgement, know when to seek input, and can be trusted to represent the Chief AI Officer's intent accurately. 

• Getting things done in complex environments. Delivering at PATH takes patience, persistence and strong stakeholder management. You know how to navigate institutional processes without getting stuck in them. 

We know great candidates won't always meet every listed qualification. Research shows that some groups, on average, are more likely to self-select out if they feel they don't meet all requirements. If you're excited about the role and think you'd be a good fit, we encourage you to apply.