Director of Communications (East Africa)

Director of Communications (East Africa)

People First Consult is seeking a Director of Communications (East Africa) for one of its clients – an international social enterprise dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs in growing their businesses to enhance livelihoods, foster job creation, and promote thriving communities. The organization has over 400 employees across 22 offices in four African Countries – Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia, and South Sudan.

Position Details

Position: Director of Communications (East Africa)

Location: Kigali, Nairobi, Addis Ababa or Juba.

Contract Type: Regular

Role Purpose

Reporting to the CEO, the Director of Communications will develop and/or manage the development of the strategy for all internal and external communications and public relations efforts, raising the visibility of the organization and our work with key stakeholders, including government, donors, clients and prospective clients, and local and international media by effectively and consistently articulating Company’s mission and story.

Responsibilities

To lead the communications and marketing work for the organizational parent brand and across Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia, and South Sudan.

Core Responsibilities:

• Develop and direct comprehensive communications strategies, working collaboratively with senior leadership and country leads to advance awareness around the Organization’s impact on business growth, job and livelihood improvement
• Lead efforts to shape and amplify relevant narratives that support the organization’s story
• Develop annual marketing and communications budget to optimize resources for the greatest impact, seeking value for money in all expenses
• Manage and supervise a team responsible for effectively deploying various communications and marketing strategies including brand and editorial management, collateral and multimedia production, storytelling, earned and paid media outreach, digital and social media engagement, and thought leadership planning
• Write and/or review and edit media pitches, press releases, statements, op-eds, talking points, fact sheets, and journalist briefs
• Create thought leadership plans for members of leadership and other surrogates
• Develop and refine messaging documents
• Manage communications agencies and consultants
• Work with appropriate team member(s) to generate earned media coverage identify paid media opportunities, and provide media training and prep to key spokespeople
• Foster and strengthen relationships with relevant journalists and other external storytellers
• Provide counsel and collaborate closely with senior leadership to ensure alignment on strategic goals and priorities
• Work collaboratively with country leads and teams to ensure adequate communications support for events and event production efforts
• Lead efforts to develop and refresh all branding efforts and collateral materials including the supervision of website maintenance and upgrading for all sites:  Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan
• Review and approve all speeches for the Organization’s representatives for speaking engagements
• Conceptualize, and lead the work to produce write, and produce organization’s annual report
• Manage the writing and production of the monthly internal staff newsletter and other internal communications channels
• Participate as an active contributor to company-wide initiatives.

Minimum Qualifications

Qualifications, Skills, and Requirements:

• 10+ years of work experience in communications and marketing
• A collaborator with a passion to learn and help when needed
• Self-starter, able to work independently, and entrepreneurial; enjoys creating and implementing new initiatives
• Excellent writing and editing skills, with an ability to take complex, nuanced topics and develop creative, compelling, clear, concise, and crisp pitches, stories, and headlines
• Proven track record of effective leadership, and remote team management
• Ability to work effectively with all stakeholders including staff, board members, volunteers, donors, program participants, and other supporters
• Experience working across various East African geographies and knowledge local languages will be added advantage.

What You’ll Get

This role is inside a high-growth, mission-driven social enterprise. By joining, you’ll access:

• Competitive salary, and potential Goal-based bonus
• Incredible company culture, including deep investment in your learning and growth
• Diverse colleagues and policies that show our commitment to equity and inclusion
• Talented, passionate, and committed team colleagues across the region
• Ability to make a significant social impact to your community
• Generous health insurance, staff savings, parental leave, sabbatical, and more benefits

How to Apply

Please send your resume to careers@peoplefirstconsult.net using the job title as the subject.