COMMUNICATIONS & KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM OFFICER

COMMUNICATIONS & KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM OFFICER

Vacancy Announcement Date: 29 August 2013
Deadline: 11 September 2013 @ 16:00 hours

Urgent Action Fund-Africa (UAF-Africa), based in Nairobi, Kenya, seeks a Communications & Knowledge Management Program Officer who will translate UAF-Africa’s 2011-2015 strategic plan into effective development initiatives and results. Guided by feminist principles and values, UAF-Africa advocates for women’s equality, not only as a matter of human rights, but also as a fundamental prerequisite for social justice, global security, and sustainable peace. UAF-Africa supports women activists in Africa through Rapid Response Grant making in three contexts: defense of rights in conflict and post conflict situations, escalating socio-political violence or repression; potentially precedent setting legal actions; and protection of women’s human rights defenders. UAF-Africa’s Rapid Response Grant-making model is a unique funding model that allows urgent and timely financial response to women’s rights organisations for strategic and time urgent interventions that advance women’s rights or protect the lives of women human rights defenders who often find themselves targeted for their activism. UAF-Africa also implements alliance building and advocacy initiatives in collaboration with other human rights organisations including ground-breaking initiatives, research and publications - to deepen understanding on gender dimensions and implications of conflicts and marginalized sexual rights; provide women with tools needed for strategic engagements and policy advocacy and to encourage knowledge and information sharing in critical areas affecting women’s rights.

The Officer acts as a nexus between the other UAF-Africa programs with the mandate of creating and sharing information on issues and trends in Africa and highlighting the lessons, experiences and successes of UAF-Africa and the constituency of African Women that it serves. The candidate is charged with the overall responsibility of profiling the Fund nationally, regionally and internationally while generating and ensuring proper management of knowledge for the Fund and its partners. The Officer is a dynamic team player who is an exceptional, dynamic, self-driven, team player with a unique hybrid of journalist activism and leadership qualities. Supported by a values oriented team, s/he has experience at the management level, sound knowledge of and commitment to feminist principles and values and women’s human rights issues, and a sophisticated ability to forging mutually reinforcing partnerships with relevant human/women’s rights CSO partners, academia, media, private sector, UN and AU counterparts and with bilateral and non-traditional funders in order to stimulate action in the mobilization of visibility and resources to advance women’s rights.

S/he has experience in liaising with diverse and high level partners from varying cultural backgrounds. S/he has respect for minority diversity and employs a collaborative working style. S/he must be willing to undertake some regional travel. The selected candidate will report to the Executive Director.

This is an international post with frequent travel across Africa and occasionally overseas. The Officer will be based in their African home country in line with UAF-Africa’s virtual office policy.

Description of Duties

Internal:

• With full understanding of UAF-Africa’s core business, candidate generates stories, case-studies, news briefings, grant related articles and other relevant write-ups in English and French for various fora provided under communications framework.
• Lead in the development of gender sensitive tools for communications , knowledge management, public and donor relations.
• The Officer will draft/edit and distribute widely and strategically UAF-Africa’s grant making programme documents on lessons learnt and good/best practices through various communication channels.
• The candidate’s style of writing should be reader-friendly as well as professional.
• Keep abreast of latest tools and trends in social media and communications and deploy appropriate measures as necessary to reach out to the wider audience.
• Provide coaching to other UAF-Africa staff on the latest trends and tools of social media, communications and knowledge management as necessary.
• Develop and update UAF-Africa’s annual reports, institutional brochure, fact sheets, website among other products.
• Advises on media, communication and publications strategies.
• Provide communication support such as editing, drafting and proof reading of all communications.
• Contribute to preparing strategic plan, proposals for resource mobilization.
• Interns- Select and orient interns into the programme whilst sharing knowledge and information about the Fund.
• Grant Making Committee- Is part of the grant making committee.

External:

• Translators–oversee translation of UAF-Africa IEC materials into French, Swahili, Portuguese and Arabic;
• Stakeholders- Works with various like-minded stakeholders in the field on collaborative issues and maintain an updated list of key constituencies and partners.
• Consultants- Works with web developers to upgrade and improve content and design of UAF- Africa website. Works with designers on UAF-Africa branding of IEC materials.
• Works with videographers and documentary producers to produce and orient UAF- Africa’s audio visual material.
• Media personnel- Works with various print and electronic media personnel to spotlight UAF-Africa’s activities.
• Perform other Fund’s programming tasks as required by the Executive Director.

Academic Qualifications

• Advanced degree in social sciences - Gender Studies, Sociology, Social Psychology, Development Studies and any other related disciplines with a focus on Communications and or Journalism.

Key Skills

• Over 5 years’ experience working on human/women’s rights and or in communications in private sector or other sectors of the economy.
• Demonstrated communications, publishing and knowledge management skills and the ability to multitask using various media techniques.
• Sound Information Technology (IT) and media skills.
• Must be a feminist with contextual knowledge of the women’s rights situation on the African continent and commit to adhering to individual and organisational feminist principles and values.
• The candidate must have excellent time management skills, enabling them to work quickly and efficiently under pressure especially when facing tight deadlines.
• Ability to work both independently and as a member of a team and set own work plan, meet deadlines and balance competing priorities.
• Must have outstanding oral and written skills in English. Knowledge of any AU language will be an added advantage.
• Officer should have valid travel documents and be able to travel on short notice.

Desired Competencies:

• Communications, knowledge management, public relations and conceptualization skills and ability to network widely.
• Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UAF-Africa.
• Cultural sensitivity/valuing diversity: demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organisation and the diversity of its staff.
• Demonstrating an international outlook and has ability to build effective teams.
• Communicating information and ideas: creating and promoting an enabling environment for open communication.
• Continuous Learning: sharing research findings across the organisation and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning.

How to apply:

Applicants fulfilling the requirements should submit their application letter together with a detailed CV and all relevant certificates via email to; jobs@urgentactionfund-africa.or.ke with the subject line Communications & Knowledge Management Program Officer by 4pm Wednesday 11 September 2013. UAF-Africa will respond to candidates who are short-listed for interviews.