Vi Agroforestry is recruiting a Regional Communication Officer, Nairobi

Vi Agroforestry (Vi-skogen) is a Swedish development cooperation organisation, fighting poverty and improving the environment through agroforestry. We do this together with small-holder farming families and farmers’ organisations in four countries (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda) in and near the Lake Victoria Basin in East Africa. The foundation of Vi Agroforestry’s work is sustainable agriculture and agroforestry – growing trees alongside crops and livestock. It provides increased access to food, access to sustainable energy sources and more income. Sustainable agriculture contributes to the mitigation of climate change and protects against the negative effects of climate change. Since its inception in 1983, Vi Agroforestry has reached over 2,3 million people through education, advisory and services. For more information, see www.viagroforestry.org.

Vi Agroforestry is now recruiting a Regional Communication Officer to the Vi Agroforestry Regional Office in Nairobi, Kenya.

Main responsibilities

As Regional Communication Officer you are responsible to communicate about Vi Agroforestry’s work in the region. The role involves independent, proactive work with both operational and strategic communication for an increased awareness and fundraising as well as contributing to the advocacy and visibility work in the region and in Sweden.

As Regional Communication Officer you are based  at the Regional Office in Nairobi, Kenya, but are part of the Marketing Department at Head Office in Sweden and responsible for developing information material and other deliverables requested by the Marketing Department. In the region you have the responsibility to advise and support staff and partner organisations with communication activities. The role requires ability to work autonomously and flexibly to ensure that all communication work is in line with the budget, strategies, regulations and project-specific requirements.

Examples of tasks

• Initiate and coordinate efforts to increase local/regional awareness of Vi Agroforestry and partners.

• Ensure that the communication activities are adapted to the media platforms in the region as well as to the target groups in the region.

• Support the Regional Director with the proactive and operational work of the region's crisis communication.

• Strengthen the competence and capacity of staff in the region as well as partner organisations by offering communication trainings tailored to the region's specific needs.

• Review and update the communication strategy for the region.

• Maintain and update the regional part of the organisation’s global web and the international social media accounts.

• Continuously produce case stories, results, testimonies, photos and films in accordance with the guidelines for regional communication deliverables, used for communication in Sweden.

• Continuously contribute with news from the region for relevant channels in Sweden.

About you

As Regional Communication Officer you are independent and mature in your profession. As your tasks are divided between the regional and the Swedish context it is of great importance that you are responsive and able to adapt your approach and priorites. You need to have the ability to communicate to different target groups. You need to have excellent organisational, scheduling and planning skills and the ablility to meet deadlines. As a person you are positive and curious, you enjoy new challenges and working in a dynamic and always changing environment. You are interested in current affairs and share Vi Agroforestry’s vision of a sustainable environment that enables women and men living in poverty to improve their lives. You adopt a rights-based approach. You are familiar with the different contexts in the four countires in the region where Vi Agroforestry operats.

Required qualifications

• Degree or diploma in communication, public relations, marketing or related field.
• Minimum of 3 years’ professional experience working with communication, public relations, marketing, events promotion, journalism, or similar.
• Experience working with communication for a NGO/INGO or similar.
• Experience adapting your communication for international target groups.
• Experience working with different media platforms, digital, social media, printed etc.
• Experience in photography and filming with smart phone.
• Experience of conducting interviews.
• Excellent computer skills and experience working with MS Office applications.
• Advanced written and spoken knowledge in professional English.
• Awareness of current political and social affairs in the region, and awareness of the different cultural and social contexts in the four countries

Desired qualifications

• Experience in working with fundraising.
• Experience working with Adobe Creative Suit.
• Experience working with Wordpress
• Experience in developing communication plans
• Experience producing content for the Swedish audience.
• Knowledge of the Swedish context and development cooperation.
• Knowledge in written and spoken Swedish.
• Knowledge in Kiswahili, Kinyarwanda, Luganda.

Application

Apply below at the latest 2019-04-07. Please note that you need to have a Kenyan (or East African) work permit to be qualified for this position Only candidates who are short-listed will be contacted. Short-listed candidates are expected to hand in work samples.

The employment is fixed-term contract, with a probation period of six months. 

You are expected to be available from May 2019.

Vi Agroforestry strives for diversity in the organisation and welcome applicants regardless of gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, ethnicity, religious belief, or disability.

For more information

Åsa Rex Nygård, Head of Communication, asa.r.nygard@weeffect.se

Lena Martens Kalmelid, Regional Director, lena.kalmelid@viagroforestry.org