Rwanda Communications Specialist

ABOUT ONE ACRE FUND

Founded in 2006, One Acre Fund supplies smallholder farmers with the agricultural services they need to make their farms vastly more productive. We provide quality farm supplies on credit, delivered within walking distance of farmers’ homes, and agricultural trainings to improve harvests. We measure our success by our ability to make farmers more prosperous: On average, farmers harvest 50 percent more food after working with One Acre Fund.

We are growing quickly. We currently serve more than 800,000 farm families in Eastern and Southern Africa, with more than 7,500 full-time staff, and we aim to serve 1 million farm families by 2020.

JOB DESCRIPTION

The Partnerships Division manages external relations and communications with the Government of Rwanda and other stakeholders. The Strategic Communications Specialist should quickly learn the intimate details of TUBURA’s Core and Government Services programs in order to accurately communicate key details to external stakeholders – specifically, members of the press in Rwanda.  This will involve time in the field in order to understand program implementation, as well as time with all team members, enabling him/her to find creative and strategic ways to communicate the organization’s work to journalists, editors and radio and TV producers.

The candidate should ideally understand social media strategy – or be willing to learn about it — and be prepared to write pitches and reach out to media in Kigali and to regional media outlets in Rwanda.  

In addition, the candidate will be responsible for translating quantitative program data into sound bytes and compelling and quotable messaging for various campaigns, whether geared toward government stakeholders or toward members of the media.

Our aim is to hire an enterprising individual who will help us improve the focus, quality, and frequency of media coverage of TUBURA in Rwanda; strengthen TUBURA’s relationships with key members of the media, and interpret strategic direction and vision communicated by key leadership to identify media objectives.  

Activities will focus on three scopes of work:

Government Communications

• Producing TUBURA’s regular reports to government, including quarterly and annual reports; this involves the information gathering, analysis, writing, and production of the reports
• Producing additional communications materials, including presentations, reports, videos, pamphlets, fact sheets, booklets, etc
• Gathering all program information and making it accessible to internal stakeholders through a dashboard. Identify or create new communications systems for internal coordination and communication
• Engagement with government officials at high-level events such as advisory council meetings, national season launches and press conferences
• Planning, executing and managing high-level government-focused events

Brand Management

• Develop and direct marketing efforts to enhance the performance and value of the One Acre Fund Rwanda brand
• Monitor social media and online media data to ensure that the right messaging around the organization is being delivered
• Support the design and implementation of social media campaigns involving dissemination via our Twitter and FB accounts
• Oversee community management strategy, ensuring that TUBURA’s brand voice is consistent and responses to followers are informative, engaging and memorable
• Monitor and track TUBURA’s social media accounts

Media Relations 

• Craft external media- or government-facing talking points and messaging for various TUBURA projects
• Develop strong relationships with key members of the Kigali and regional Rwandan media, including bloggers and other influencers
• Source story ideas from across TUBURA divisions and programs, and translate them into compelling and effective content for media pitches
• Serve as a liaison between the communications team and the GR team, both proactively and reactively (i.e. regular calls and document sharing with the Comms team, as well as being a primary point of contact if an incident should occur which requires media outreach)

Strategic Partnerships

• Help connect with potential government, private sector or nonprofit partners who can help to enhance One Acre Fund’s reputation in Rwanda and bring new benefits to farmers.
• Assist the GR Communications Lead in configuring the parameters of each partnership, including contributing to the writing of proposals, Memorandums of Understanding and guidelines.
• Contribute to the implementation of these partnerships, and tracking the progress of each.

CAREER GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

We have a strong culture of constant learning and we invest in developing our people. You’ll have weekly check-ins with your manager, access to mentorship and training programs, and regular feedback on your performance. We hold career reviews every six months and set aside time to discuss your aspirations and career goals. You’ll have the opportunity to shape a growing organization and build a rewarding long-term career.

QUALIFICATIONS

We are seeking exceptional professionals with 3-5 years of work experience, and a demonstrated long-term passion for development work. Candidates who fit the following criteria are strongly encouraged to apply:

• Work Experience: Candidates should have 3-5 years of strong work experience in communications, public relations, and/or journalism. This experience should include the design of communication strategies, assembly of engaging communicating materials, and analysis of quantitative and qualitative information to produce analytical reports.
• Excellent writing and editing skills: Capable of delivering high-quality reports, presentations and proposals with minimal need for content editing or proofreading.
• Software skills: Expertise in Microsoft Office (especially very strong PowerPoint and Excel skills). knowledge of InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator and Acrobat would be an added plus.
• Event Planning: Experience developing, planning and executing high-level events.
• Social Influencing Experience: A strong understanding of the social influencer space.
• Social Media Content Management: 2+ years creating and managing social media content.
• Attitude: Humility. We are looking for passionate professionals who combine strong leadership skills with a willingness to learn about media strategy.
• Flexibility: You should be comfortable with ambiguity and quickly learning new skills and subjects.
• Growth: Potential to move into a GR leadership position within 6-12 months, based on performance. 
• Other Skills: Quantitative and qualitative analytical skills.
• Language: Fluency in English and Kinyarwanda required; French is a bonus.
• Passion: Passionate and innovative about bringing new ideas to life.

We are looking for someone with leadership potential who is comfortable working independently. This is a career-track role where you will be exposed to high-level leadership for communication planning.

PREFERRED START DATE

As soon as possible

JOB LOCATION

Kigali, Rwanda

COMPENSATION

Commensurate with experience

DURATION

Full-time job

BENEFITS 

Health insurance paid time off

SPONSOR INTERNATIONAL CANDIDATES

No; Must have existing rights to work in Rwanda. 

One Acre Fund never asks candidates to pay any money or pay for tests at any stage of the interview process. Official One Acre Fund emails will always arrive from an @oneacrefund.org address. Please report any suspicious communication here (globalhotline@oneacrefund.org), but do not send applications or application materials to this email address.

We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender, gender identity or expression. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace.