Summary
Date Posted: Friday, January 10, 2020 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
  The USAID-funded Policy Leadership, Interaction, Networks and knowledge (LINK) Project is a five-year effort to help leaders and organizations work better together to transform agriculture in USAID Feed the Future countries, the program aims to strengthen food security policy systems by investing in and reinforcing productive human and social capital and developing strategic partnerships that help bring these innovations and capacity investments to scale in order to achieve a critical mass of local: actors with the ability and opportunity to effect positive policy change through collective action. Activities supported under LINK will focus on empowering involved citizens from the bottom up, while also strengthening leadership and institutional accountability and performance from the top down. This will be achieved by harnessing the power and contributions of committed and motivated leaders and by strengthening vertical and lateral linkages between and among policy system actors to generate shared learning and purposeful collective action at scale. Location Nairobi (with periodic local and international travel). LINK has four interrelated programmatic objectives:
1. Enhance food security leadership and management capabilities
2. Strengthen communication, coordination and cooperation among institutions for more effective and accelerated policy implementation
3. Increase power of local actors and communities to influence food security policy and governance decisions that affect them
4. Increase excellence and collaboration in participatory policy learning and knowledge sharing practices. SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES: The Strategic Communications Manager will supervise the Communications and Knowledge Management Coordinator. He/she will also hire both short- and long-term specialized communications functions as needed, including videography, data visualization, photography, graphics and writing.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
a) The Strategic Communications Manager will work closely with LINK's top management to ensure internal and external awareness of project purpose and activities, and to enhance the effectiveness, scaling and results of the project. The Strategic Communications Manager will play a critical role ect's cross-cutting knowledge, Learning and Communications (KLC) team. Since learning and knowledge management are foundational components of LINK, the Communications Manager will be responsible for providing thought leadership and bringing innovative thinking in communications to enhance design and implementation of individual buying activities, project-wide initiatives and overall project reporting.
b) The Strategic Communications Manager will manage all areas of project communications, internally and externally. First and foremost, he/she will fully understand and internalize LINK's core purpose and continually reinforce and communicate them internally and externally. Second, he/she will design strategies and programs, in collaboration with LINK and outside colleagues, to strengthen project activities and outcomes. He/she will develop and oversee the LINK's communications strategy.
c) He/she will incorporate communications as a central part of the design, implementation and reporting of all project activities, emphasizing the creation and sustainable use of networking and learning mechanisms driven by LINK's stakeholders and partners. He/she will train and orient all project staff about communications strategy and activities, and support and encourage active participation in implementing the communications strategy. He/she will ensure that the project team generates pertinent, value-added information, based on data, lessons learned and best practices that support LINK's overall learning agenda.
d) He/she will prepare communications products based on this information and disseminate these products regularly to USAID and stakeholders. He/ she will work with the LINK team to manage, store and share relevant project and stakeholder resources and directly circulate resources as appropriate. The Strategic Communications Manager will be responsible for, but not limited to, the following detailed tasks:
• Be a thought leader - ensure communications has a role on all project activity teams; contribute to program design, suggest resources, and ensure that communications strategies and vehicles are integrated into project activities as appropriate.
• In coordination with the MEL Specialist, lead coordination and production of the quarterly and annual reporting functions, ensuring strong participation from technical and other team members.
• Build the capacity of LINK Activity Teams and other staff to develop content from project activities; support staff with communications products templates and reporting guidelines as needed.
• Write, integrate, edit, finalize and disseminate LINK communications products, including but not limited to, blogs, success stories, press releases, and regular reporting requirements (monthly, quarterly etc.).
• Develop systems and guidance for regular, ongoing capture of project achievements and learning that combine M&E results/data that are useful for both USAID audiences and project counterparts. Coordinate the production and dissemination of these "Activity Updates on a rolling basis throughout the life of the project.
• In collaboration with the KM & Networking Manager, provide thought leadership to activity design and implementation to strengthen the use of KM platforms, tools and approaches on activity teams and on project-wide initiatives. He/she will determine if a project-wide KM platform is required and support the development of a KM strategy to maintain and curate it.
• In collaboration with the KM & Networking Manager, ensure LINK KM platforms and other external platforms (such as Agrilinks) are updated and populated with key LINK learning materials, according to the LINK KM strategy.
• Support the development and implementation of the LINK learning agenda to ensure that learning and knowledge products are designed and disseminated effectively to key project audiences.
• Review materials generated for LINK supported activities and events - edit through management of contracted editors), organize, brand, produce required marketing materials, publish and disseminate.
• Develop, approve and update promotional materials. Ensure program events and successes are appropriately promoted through local media, distribution to USAID, and posted on appropriate websites.
• Create and maintain content for the project's website and social media sites in coordination with the IT team and USAID.
• Actively liaise and collaborate with relevant partners and stakeholders. including other USAID and other donor projects, private sector firms, learning institutions, civil society organizations, and others.
• Represent LINK among outside partners and clients; manage media relations and interface directly with the media..

Job Skills: Not Specified

Job QUALIFICATIONS:
• Minimum 5 years of experience leading a communications team for a high profile, demanding communications role, including: Design communications, press and marketing strategies; Oversight and design of multi-media platforms, including content development, for a combination of video, print and social media inputs: Demonstrated experience designing and distributing marketing products; Demonstrated experience organizing, managing and liaising with external organizations and press.
• Proven networking skills with broad spectrum of contacts with diverse target groups related to prior work experience:
• Outstanding communications skills, including writing in English and Swahili:
• Strong organizational and project management skills, including: High level of self-initiative and creativity: Able to work effectively on a team; Ability to synthesize large amounts of data and inputs from multiple sources into cohesive, strategic messages and products:
• Proficiency with graphic design software and skilled in designing and producing basic layouts and graphics..

Job Education Requirements: Not Specified
Job Experience Requirements: Not Specified

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Job application procedure
If you believe you qualify for this job, kindly submit your CV, current and expected salary to hrafricalead@dai.com  by January 20, 2020. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

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