Jobs in Calabar for a Communications Manager at Cuso International
Cuso International is a development organization that works to reduce
poverty and inequality through the efforts of highly skilled
volunteers, collaborative partnerships and compassionate donors. Cuso
International’s work is driven by authentic engagement with and
accountability to the people and communities involved.
Cuso International is recruiting to fill the position below:
Job Title: Communications Manager
Location: Calabar, Nigeria
Reports to: Project Team Leader
Contract type: Fixed one-year contract with possible extension
Language requirement: English
Summary
Cuso International is currently implementing a five-year project titled,
Youth Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Access and Development Project
(YouLead). Funded by Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada,
YouLead supports the creation of youth-led enterprises and employment
for young women and men in the natural resource sector in Cross River
State, Nigeria. Cuso International and implementing partners are
developing a youth-driven approach to support sustainable economic
activities in key sectors (forestry, agriculture, aquaculture and
eco-tourism) identified by the CRS government and other stakeholders.
The project is also strengthening capacity of government at State and
LGA levels, youth-serving civil society organizations, training
organizations, and financial institutions to develop and implement a
gender-responsive NRM ‘green jobs/green economy’ policy framework as the
basis of increasing employment, self-employment and secured livelihoods
for young women and men in the natural resource sectors.
Reporting to the Project Team Leader, the Communications Manager will be
the Head of the Communications unit within the YouLead Project at Cuso
International in Nigeria, and supervise/build the capacity of the
Communications Officer in carrying out work related functions and to
implement communications and marketing strategy that will support the
success of the project and provide timely and relevant information to
project stakeholders with support and guidance from the Director of
Communications based at the Cuso International HQ.
Key Responsibilities
Communication:
- Develop close working relationship with project partners and
stakeholders – all parties required to establish a shared vision of the
project and achieve results
- Implement the project communication strategy
- Identify and analyze on a regular basis the communication needs
of the stakeholders (Staff, Donor Agencies, partners and beneficiaries)
and develop appropriate training support to address and respond to such
needs
- Work closely with the Communications Officer to manage the
development, distribution, and maintenance of all print and electronic
collateral including, but not limited to, newsletters, brochures, annual
report, e-newsletters, success stories, factsheets, outreach materials,
and other communication products.
- Provide technical support, management, and oversight of all
media-related activities, including press conferences, editorial content
and media interviews, implemented under the program.
- Develop project-related communication and outreach strategies to
ensure effective public awareness, and effective integration and
coordination across all program components.
- Package lessons learned, results and best practice from YouLead and effectively communicate to a wide range of stakeholders.
- Work with project teams to implement communication strategies
and action plans, potentially including advocacy, external relations and
knowledge management
- Oversee all communication trainings and review materials to
ensure compliance with GAC rules and regulations pertaining to training
power point presentations, handouts, visuals, videos, etc.
- Ensure project compliance with the Branding and Marking Plan
- Act as the point of contact for all media inquiries
- Maintain the project’s photo gallery.
- Coordinate with YouLead Project Managers, management and
stakeholders to ensure quality and timely dissemination and development
and production of promotion materials
- Work closely with the Communications Officer in posting content
and ensuring website and Social Media platform is updated on a regular
basis
- Track and respond to inquiries from the general public from our website, Social Media and other media as appropriate
- Edit and write accurate, newsworthy and compelling content that
will include a mix of hard news, analysis, features, expert interviews,
videos, photo essays, timelines, case studies, and social media content
- Any other duties as required by the Team Leader.
Research, Knowledge Building and Management:
- Development of potential opportunities in the Natural Resource
sector, prioritizing land mark activities and developments to be used
for awareness-raising
- Conversion of publications into key advocacy messages for
campaigns using factsheets, reports, briefings and press release,
targeting diverse audiences
- Organize events to disseminate lessons and best practices from projects and communicate to wide array of stakeholders
- Compiling annual reports on communication best practices and
lessons learned directly linked to YouLead goals of Gender Equality and
Social Inclusion (GESI) and environmental sustainability
Person Specification
Required Qualifications:
- A university Degree in a relevant discipline: International
Relations, Communications or Journalism. A Master’s Degree in any
relevant field will be an added advantage.
General Experience:
- At least five years’ experience working in a high pressured
strategic communications and/or knowledge management environment ,
external relations , public relations, corporate communications
development work, preferably in social and gender issues.
- Previous experience in field of advocacy for human or environment and women’s rights will be an advantage.
- Proven experience in knowledge management
- Proven experience in website management and content development.
- Experience leading or supporting communications activities/initiatives in Nigeria or other West African context is desirable
Specific Knowledge, Skills and Competencies
- Communication, Representation and Networking
- Ability to create and execute strong communications strategies and plans to support programmatic objectives
- Ability to present and represent YouLead and Cuso International
in a variety of communication media to a variety of audiences including
government, private sector, donors and civil society
- Strong networking skills and the ability to build relationships, alliances and networks in a fast-paced work environment
- Support Cuso International priorities with respect to profile and visibility in Nigeria as needed.
- Excellent writing skills for a wide variety of audiences and
media, including feature writing, speech writing, writing for social
media and the web.
- Ability to articulate project views efficiently and positively
in various formats, including speech, panel, debate and group discussion
- Demonstrated ability to communicate good practices and learning
in working with both young women and men to contribute to breaking down
negative gender and generational stereotypes
Development Knowledge:
Significant practical, analytical and theoretical knowledge and
experience of international development work in sub-Saharan Africa
including Nigeria, and this may include:
- An appreciation of the contribution international volunteering in its many forms can bring to development
- A strong awareness of gender and equity issues and knowledge of
issues affecting young women and men (key target groups for YouLead)
- An appreciation of the contribution that the private sector and business development approaches can bring to development
- Proven ongoing commitment to staying abreast of current development thinking.
Team Work:
- Proven ability to work effectively in a number of teams, in a
multi-cultural context and where teams may be geographically dispersed.
IT:
- Proven ability to be self-serving in IT (Outlook, databases,
Excel, Powerpoint) and willingness to develop IT skills in order to
improve effectiveness at work
- Experience in graphic design, adobe software and publisher usage will be an added advantage
Personal Skills & Attributes
Networking skills:
- Considerable problem-solving and decision-making skills
- Good time management, flexibility and ability to work under pressure
- Multitasking, organized and results oriented, with ability to deliver in set time frames
- Demonstrated ability in crisis management and performance under pressure
- High values of dialogue, transparency and accountability
- Team player, with a spirit of sacrifice, and a value of responsibility for one and all.
- Deep personal commitment for human dignity, equality, and justice
- High motivation and passion for personal development
- Strong conviction to affect change to discriminatory cultural norms and practices
- Demonstrable zeal for innovation and creativity
Abilities:
- Fluency in English is essential
- Ability to engage with a diversity of audiences - target communities, donors and senior government decision-makers
- Proven experience crafting messages in various formats
(articles, press releases, websites, photos, video documentaries,
success stories, blog entries, tweets, etc.) targeting a variety of
audiences
- Ability to work under pressure and demonstrate high tolerance for change, complexity and unpredictability
Desirable:
- Knowledge of other national or international languages will be an advantage.
Remuneration
Salary: to be determined.
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should forward their applications to:
[email protected] with the competition number:
Communications Manager 2016-33 clearly marked as the subject title.
Note:
- Nigerians will be given the priority; should there be no
qualified candidates from Nigeria, candidates from other countries will
be considered.
- No late applications will be considered. CV must not be more
than 4 pages in length maximum and covering letter must be 1 page long
maximum.
- To be considered, your resume and cover letter should
demonstrate that all of the essential qualifications are met.
Applications that do not meet the above requirements will not be
considered.
Application Deadline 11:59 pm, Friday, 2nd September, 2016.