The African Women in Agricultural Research and Development’s (AWARD) program is a dynamic, pioneering program designed to fast-track the careers of African women delivering pro-poor agricultural research and development, who are serving the continent’s farmers, especially women.
AWARD provides mentoring, science capacity building and leadership development to 180 outstanding women from ten countries through a two-year fellowship program.
We plan to expand to francophone West Africa in the near future.
The project is managed by the Gender & Diversity Program of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and is housed at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in Nairobi, Kenya.
Launched in 2007, AWARD is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID.
The position
ICRAF/AWARD seeks to recruit an enthusiastic and talented Communications Officer who is committed to helping AWARD to plan and deliver its work serving African women professionals in pro-poor agricultural research and development.
She/he must have a significant depth of professional experience, especially hands-on work with current e-communications technologies and practice, be passionate about the critical role of women in development and thrive in a highly collaborative environment and enjoy working with a multi-national team of creative professionals.
This position reports to the Communications Manager.
Responsibilities:
- Assist in development and implementation of an e-communication strategy to ensure effective communication with key stakeholders, including both internal and external audiences;
- Develop and maintain the Web site, expanding AWARD’s outreach capacity through use of digital media tools;
- Coordinate monthly electronic newsletter: write content, distribute via e-mail, maintain mailing lists;
- Research, write and produce profiles on AWARD participants;
- Write news releases, as required, and assist in development of national and regional media contacts;
- Assist in event planning, including workshops, media conferences;
- Respond to email queries from participants and general public; and
- Implement and maintain corporate brand standards in all material.
Qualifications
- Degree in journalism, public relations, communications, or related field, preferably in the development, science, agriculture or NGO sector;
- At least five years of relevant professional work experience;
- Superior written communication skills, with demonstrated experience in application of professional editorial standards, journalistic news writing and corporate brand style;
- Ability to organize and manage multiple priorities, work under pressure and meet deadlines;
- Strong self-starter with initiative to identify opportunities and take appropriate action;
- Excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work effectively in a multicultural team;
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office, InDesign and Web content management software such as Drupal;
- Direct, demonstrated experience with and knowledge of:
- social networking strategies, networks, tools
- blogs
- graphic design (Adobe suite);
- General knowledge of the sub-Saharan African agricultural R&D systems is a plus;
- Good command of written and spoken French. (Highly desired but not required.);
- Enthusiastic, personal commitment to the issues promoted by the G&D Program, particularly equity, indusion, dignity, and
- professional development of women; and
- Displays the highest standards of personal integrity.
ICRAF/AWARD is an equal opportunity employer offering a competitive salary and benefits package, and a collegial working environment.
The contract is for an initial period of one (1) year, renewable subject to a three (3) month probation period, assessment of performance, and availability of resources.
ICRAF offers a collegial and gender-sensitive working environment, believes that staff diversity promotes excellence, and strongly encourages applications from qualified women.
Applicants are invited to send a cover letter illustrating their suitability for the above position against the listed qualifications/competencies/skills and a detailed curriculum vitae, with names and addresses of three referees (including telephone and fax numbers and email address).
Applications should indicate “Application for AWARD Communications Officer” on their application letters OR email submissions.
All correspondence should be addressed to the
Human Resources Unit,
World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF),
P.O. Box 30677, 00100,
Nairobi, Kenya
OR via email: icrafhru @ cgiar.org.
Applications will be considered until 12th March 2010 or until a suitable candidate is identified and selected.
Only short-listed applicants meeting the above requirements will be contacted.
We invite you to learn more about us at:
http://www.worldagroforestry.org
www.genderdiversity.cgiar.org/resource/award.asp
