Back Communications Officer

Background

Interpeace is an international organisation for peacebuilding that strengthens the ability of societies to manage conflict themselves in sustainable and non-violent ways. Interpeace designs and delivers its work tailored to each situation in partnership with local partners and communities, based on extensive consultation and research. Interpeace also ensures that the processes of conflict management and change that it supports are integrated at all levels of society including local communities, civil society, government, and the international community (we call it a ‘Track 6’ approach).

Interpeace was originally established by the United Nations and remains its strategic partner. Beyond field-based peacebuilding, Interpeace also assists the international community – particularly the UN – to be more effective in supporting peacebuilding efforts worldwide. This includes contributing innovative thought leadership on peacebuilding policies and practices.

Interpeace has been working in Rwanda since 2001. During this time, Interpeace has been working in support of national institutions to strengthen durable peace, through implementation of programmes supporting societal healing and social cohesion in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. Interpeace works in close partnerships with government and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).

In recent years, the headline work of Interpeace in Rwanda has been the delivery of two programmes. One has been the Societal Healing and Participatory Governance Programme, focused on group-based trauma healing, and strengthening relations and improving participation of citizens in Imihigo and related processes. The other programme has focused on strengthening the capacity of district level governments to implement participatory governance practices. In addition, Interpeace’s work in Rwanda has been linked to a Great Lakes regional programme focused on fostering strong relations across borders. With funding from the European Union and the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), we recently commenced a new programme in collaboration with national authorities and CSOs, focused on strengthening societal healing, mental health, social cohesion, and collaborative livelihood initiatives; as well as addressing inter-generational transmission of genocide legacies.

Position within the Organisation

The Communications Officer (CO) is a member of the Global Communications Team within the Strategic Partnerships & Communications (SP&C) Unit. The CO will report to the Global Communications Manager and works in close collaboration with the Global Communications team. The CO will be based in Rwanda and work closely with the Interpeace Rwanda country team led by the Country Representative. S/he will be in close contact with other colleagues globally, including those overseeing Interpeace’s overall engagement in the Great Lakes Region.

Purpose and General Overview

Communication is central to every organisation. When used effectively it supports the creation of a positive working environment, cements working relationships with internal and external stakeholders and sets the tone for the entire organisation. Good communication is more than a simple exchange of information and messages: it involves attitude and behaviour. The Communications Officer is expected to own and lead the communication, strategy, plans, flow and messages of Interpeace’s programme in Rwanda.

The Communications Officer is responsible for informing, developing and delivering a wide array of communications products to help achieve Interpeace’s Rwanda programmatic goals. Through a deep understanding of the local context and substantial sensitivities related to Interpeace programmatic engagement, the Communications Officer ensures that institutional messages on all communication products and channels are conveyed adequately for optimal impact. S/he also informs Interpeace’s global communications efforts in line with its Global 5-years Strategy and the Interpeace Communications Strategy.

This position is based in Kigali and involves frequent national travel throughout Rwanda. Occasional international travel might also be required. **

Responsibilities

Communications strategy and plans

§ Develop a sound understanding of the Interpeace overall communication strategy; the vision, purpose and objectives

• Develop a communication plan in line with the Interpeace’s Communications Strategy for Interpeace’s Rwanda programme to help achieve its objectives and in line with external stakeholders’ requirements (donors, national partners)
• Seek opportunities to enhance the positioning of Interpeace in Rwanda, and coordinate publicity events as required.
• Plan, develop, and implement effective communications to support the project(s) and initiative(s) branding and messaging priorities, using the full range of modern communication tools, including social media and digital publishing in compliance with the Interpeace (IP) overall communications strategy.
• Provide clear communications guidelines and material on Rwanda’s communications strategies and activities to the diverse teams at all levels.

Content creation

In close coordination with the Global Communication Team, the CO will:

• Draft and edit a wide array of written and audio-visual content, including web stories, press releases, media alerts, blog posts, content for Vlogs, speeches, Op-Eds, human interest stories, key messages, talking points and video scripts for Interpeace’s Rwanda Programme.
• Undertake research and generate content for Interpeace’s Rwanda Programme and social media platforms as well as preparing draft presentations and infographics.

§ Developing short stories/change stories and articles to be published in newspapers/ magazines/ online platforms;

§ Ensure regular content creation for newsletters, and prepare monthly alert messages to announce the monthly updating of the web; edit and adapt file formats of photographs for web and social media use; adapt video and multimedia files to the required formats and upload to YouTube, when requested;

Events, media, and public relations

• Provide support to the Country Office on media engagement. This includes the creation of a network with relevant national and international journalists and media to increase visibility for the work. **

§ Liaise with national and regional media for press releases and events, establish media connections and aim to get maximum media attention for press releases, special events, press interviews either through broadcast or print media.

• Create the tone and content of draft media materials whilst ensuring it is in line with Interpeace’s institutional positioning, for various audiences.
• Select graphic content for media outputs and develop or obtain graphic/visual content when required from stock image platforms

§ External events and webinars initiated and delivered, and created and edited materials for conferences, capacity building workshops and country level meetings (deliver on: writing, preparing presentations of, developing designs and layouts, editing and speaking on screening of opportunities, development of concepts, press releases and other news coverage, coordination with partners, drafting briefings and speaking points, with audiences including partner agencies.

§ Take the lead on the development of new communications activities aimed at expanding Interpeace’s digital reach and engagement

§ Develop and pre-test appropriate messages, tools and materials. This will include the development of: advocacy kits for policy- and decision-makers, senior program managers, various key influencers; materials for different media/target audiences, infotainment scripts, TV/radio spots, illustrative leaflets, posters, generating audio-visual stories from the field and other materials.

Analysis and Monitoring and reporting

§ Regularly track the web and social media statistics and prepare reports with the support of the Global Communications Manager and the global communications team.

§ Develops key performance indicators with the support of the Global Communications Manager to track the successful implementation of the communications plans.

§ Documents lessons learned and good practices during the implementation of programme activities.

• Maintain records of media coverage and collate analytics and metrics.

§ Conduct research and data collection for publications, articles, blogs, reports, etc.;

· Effectively monitor and evaluate various communications tools and activities, to measure the impact on achieving the overall objective

§ Participates in meetings with authorities, donors, partners and communities to share lessons learned, advocate policy recommendations, etc.

The CO can be called upon to perform other duties required for the effective running of the country programme.

Expected results

High quality, multi-purpose, impactful communications and media content produced; enhanced presence and visibility online of Interpeace Rwanda programme; increased number of local and international media at profile-raising events; improved efficiency and increased output of the Rwanda Country programme and the Global Communications team.

Qualifications

Education/ Experience

• Minimum of three to five Years of experience in journalism, PR agency, corporate communications, or nonprofit outreach;
• University degree or equivalent in communications, journalisms, advertising, or another relevant field;
• Familiarity with the country context related to peacebuilding and security with a proven ability to work with a diverse, multicultural team;
• Excellent proven writing capabilities in English and Kinyarwanda. Knowledge of French will be an advantage.
• Excellent knowledge of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google+ and other social media best practices;
• Ability to turn technical information into compelling stories;
• Demonstrated expertise in producing high quality audio-visual content;
• Ability to work collaboratively and effectively across multiple teams;
• Solid understanding of news media and public relations and strong content strategy and development;

• Highly organized/structured and able to manage multiple projects and understand and adjust

  to changing priorities;

• Strong IT skills, including familiarity and a track record of social media content development, planning and web management;

• Commitment to continuous learning. Keeps abreast of new developments in own profession, actively seeks to develop oneself professionally and personally; shows a willingness to learn from others; seeks feedback to learn and improve

Success factors

• Strong commitment to supporting local peacebuilding initiatives and to the values and working principles of Interpeace

• Excellent social and inter-cultural skills, outstanding communication skills to a variety of stakeholders from different backgrounds

• Creative team player with a commitment to inclusiveness and consensus building personality with tact and a high adaptation capacity

Interpeace Competencies

• Collaboration and Weaving
• Communication
• Drive for results
• Adaptability and Continuous Learning
• Respect for Diversity