Department: Communication and Influencing
Duty Station: Harare, Zimbabwe
Deadline: Monday, June 26, 2023
ABOUT THE AFRICAN CAPACITY BUILDING FOUNDATION
For more than 30 years, The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) has been building human capital and institutional capacity for Africa’s sustainable development. With membership from 40 African Countries, the African Development Bank, the United Nations Development Program, The African Union, and The World Bank, ACBF is the leading institution for capacity development in Africa.
While serving all actors, ACBF recognizes the importance of and pays attention to improving the effectiveness of Africa’s public sector institutions at local, national, regional, and continental levels to become effective systems integrators and catalyzers of sustainable and transformative change.
Since its creation in 1991, ACBF has trained over 50,000 personnel in civil service, most of whom hold key positions in Ministries of Finance, Planning or Economic Development and Central Banks across the continent. The Foundation has established a network of over 50 think tanks supporting evidence-based policymaking across Africa and conducted numerous policy research/analyses, which have been critical in informing economic management and establishing benchmarks for success.
ACBF’s strategy for the next five years focuses on responding to the current and future needs identified by member states such as, Climate Change and Energy for productive use, Agribusiness & Food sovereignty, Trade as an engine of economic development, and Economic & social Governance.
The Foundation currently maintains offices in Accra, Addis Ababa, Harare and Nairobi.
BACKGROUND/JOB PURPOSE
Reporting to the Executive Secretary, the Senior Manager, Communication will be required to provide communication support to all Departments of the Foundation with a view to articulate effectively and communicate and position the Foundation as a key player in capacity development in the most effective and timely manner.
PURPOSE OF ROLE
1. The Senior Manager, Communication will provide strategic media, communication, and social media advice to senior-level staff at the ACBF in the development of plans, matters of brand risk, crisis communication and to maximise communication impact.
2. This role will profile ACBF’s work at different media and in wider communication to support ACBF’s public engagement including fundraising and influencing goals.
3. To encourage the innovative culture, this role will strengthen innovative communication models and channels, including the use of both traditional and new, emerging methods, to engage in more impactful ways with and within a range of constituencies.
4. The ideal candidate for this role thrives working within a team structure, sharing information and insights, and engaging in ongoing intellectual exchange.
5. The incumbent must be comfortable building bridges between academia, non-profit, government, and private corporate sectors.
6. He/she should have experience in designing, planning, and implementing media and communication products, and in managing people and processes.
MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
1. Develop a strategic communication plan with goals that align communication goals with overall business objectives, that secures high-impact media to help raise ACBF’s profile on core issues and raise funds.
2. Work with colleagues in ACBF to deliver high impact stories for use in Africa and global markets for traditional and social media, to showcase ACBF’s work or highlight key influencing issues by generating compelling stories for use in media, social media, and wider communications including in support of fundraising and influencing objectives.
3. Attend or participate in Management, Executive and Board Meetings in order to detect opportunities or advise on potential issues before they arise.
4. Provide strategic advice to ACBF to ensure projects are media-friendly and have the communication products needed to amplify messages.
5. Oversee media monitoring initiatives which helps to develop the organisation’s reputation further by keeping track of how the ACBF is being portrayed in the media, and by whom, and advise the leadership on key messaging and advance thought leadership.
6. Support the Executive Secretary in managing media crises and emergencies, and by advising on internal and external communication issues and opportunities, including media representation, media monitoring, preparation of briefing notes and speeches to be delivered by the Executive Secretary
7. Respond to the news agenda in Africa and globally. to identify opportunities to profile ACBF objectives and identify risk.
8. Conceptualize, plan and implement the Foundation’s internal and external communications and communication policies to enhance the Foundation’s visibility, brand and identity.
9. Evaluate the impact of media projects and provide regular reporting for decision making.
10. Oversee the drafting, production and dissemination of information materials, multimedia products such as photo galleries, videos and audio materials.
11. Maintain editorial oversight and quality control of all communication outputs, including online content, press releases, newsletters, and media kits, success stories ensuring that the Foundation’s goals, key messages and objectives are clearly articulated.
12. Provide communication support to high level events organized by ACBF or to which the Foundation participates to ensure all the target audiences are reached.
13. Formulate and manage social media platforms with particular consideration to increasing engagement and visibility with stakeholders.
14. Undertake activities to strategically position the organization by identifying and creating opportunities to raise the visibility of ACBF through planned media strategies, press conferences, interviews and other special speaking opportunities and events.
15. Work closely with Heads of Units and Managers on identifying success stories in all areas and publishing them accordingly to enhance ACBF’s external visibility.
16. Supervise the maintenance of an updated events calendar.
17. Identify effective and innovative channels of information dissemination on the Foundation’s work and successes for an appropriate audiences.
18. Identify opportune events, networks, contacts that provide the Foundation the platform to participate in and contribute to key capacity development issues and communication.
People and Resource Management
1. Manage the Communication Officer and any interns assigned to the Communication team according to ACBF’s leadership and feminist principles.
2. Identify communication development needs for staff in other departments, plan and organize trainings accordingly.
3. Chair or participate at regular meetings with program and influencing team, to align and update on key communication/media issues.
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DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS, COMPETENCIES AND EXPERIENCE
1. Advanced university degree in Communication, Marketing, Public Relations, Journalism, or related field.
2. A minimum of ten (10) years of experience at multinational or international level in communications and with an established track record and portfolio in communications, branding web management and social media skills.
3. Strategic Thinking: The ability to think strategically and align communication goals with overall business objectives is crucial. This includes developing communication strategies, understanding target audiences, and identifying key messages.
4. Excellent Written and Verbal Communication: Strong written and verbal communication skills are essential. Being able to write clear and concise messages, create compelling content, and effectively convey information to different audiences.
5. Media Relations: Developing and maintaining relationships with media outlets, journalists, and influencers.
6. Crisis Communication: Managing and mitigating potential damage to the organization |
English 
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