Communications Specialist Vacancy at The State Partnership for Accountability Responsiveness and Capability (SPARC)

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The State Partnership for Accountability Responsiveness and Capability (SPARC) is the main governance programme funded by the UK government's Department for International Development assisting the Nigerian Government to build on governance reforms already under way in ten states
(Anambra, Enugu, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Lagos, Niger, Yobe and Zamfara) and at Federal level. The programme started in September 2008 and will run for April 2016.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Communications Specialist

Location: Nigeria

Job Description

• We are now looking for a Communications Specialist to join the SPARC Knowledge Management (KM) Team in the Abuja office.
• S/he will have proven ability to analyze and identify key information, have an eye for detail, understand a range of audiences, be able to write plain English stories from more technical material and excellent presentational skills.
• The ideal candidate will have some experience in development, mass communications and knowledge management.
• S/he will be keen to learn and innovate and must be computer literate and familiar with the most popular types of social media.
• Travel may be required to visit other states where the programme works.
• The Communication Specialist will report to the Senior Knowledge Management Adviser and provide support, as needed, to the SPARC programme to convey information about programme work and lessons learned to various project audiences, including state governments, SPARC state.
• Teams, DFID, international donors and domestic civil society partners, and other key programme stakeholders,
• The Specialist will have excellent writing, editing and proofreading skills in English.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Provide support in documenting and synthesizing learning by taking information from state offices, technical staff and translating them into briefs, success stories and other communication pieces;
• Assist in the preparation, writing and editing of communication materials, including but not limited to biweekly updates, quarterly reports, annual reports and work plans.
• Maintain SPARC online media presence (website, Facebook page, YouTube, flickr);
• Other communications and knowledge management tasks, as necessary.
• Support creation of templates and knowledge sharing activities/channels related to programme activities and contribute to the development of outlines, writing, and layout designs;

Specifically, the Specialist will be required to do the following tasks:
Managing Relationships:

• Support KM team in liaising with designers and printers of SPARC leaflets and booklets and ensure only quality products are accepted;
• Represent the Programme by attendance at key events;
• Make useful contacts and explore networking opportunities for the benefit of the programme.
• Contribute to the production of SPARC's publicity material, documentation, video and audio and ensure quality assurance standards are adhered to;

Collecting and Sharing Governance Information:

• Collect information about the Nigerian governance sector relevant to SPARC - from the media (newspapers, radio and television) and direct from other agencies involved in this sector and circulate to Senior Management and State Offices and maintain news archive of the above news stories;
• Contribute to development of new communication tools for use across the programme;
• Advise and support State Offices with planning of, and technical inputs to, any communications activities at state level;
• Maintain a distribution list for all SPARC's knowledge products.
• Assist in the implementation of KM Exit/Transfer Strategy;
• Provide communication and marketing support to SPARC's ASK Desk;

Quality Assurance:

• Assist the Knowledge Management Team to ensure submission of reports is in accordance with Programme formats and templates.

Required Minimum Qualification

• A Bachelor's Degree in Communications, Marketing, Public Relations, Journalism, Public Administration, International Relations, or the social sciences, plus five (5) years of work experience in communications, marketing, knowledge manage- mentor governance is required.

Skills and Abilities:

• Professional judgment, demonstrated through a work and education history that supports the ability to multi-task and meet demanding assignments under tight deadlines;
• Provide needed advice to colleagues and monitor the progress of DFID-funded activities;
• Excellent written and oral communication skills as well as demonstrated high-quality writing, editing, and proofreading skills.
• High comfort level with writing reports, analyzing and summarizing data from diverse sources.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should email/send their CV's along with a cover letter and 5 page writing sample to: [email protected] by closing date, quoting ref: Application for Communications Specialist.

Note:

• The Ideal candidates will be keen to learn and innovate and must be computer literate and familiar with the most popular types of social media.
• Interviews will be held shortly afterward and only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Application Deadline  Sunday, 13th September, 2015.

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