Back Communications Specialist, WRI Africa Food Program

This position is hybrid requiring a few days per week in Nairobi, Kenya; WRI Africa Regional Office. Existing work authorization is required at the time of application submission. WRI is unable to sponsor any visa work sponsorship for this position.

About the Program:

WRI Africa’s Food Program aims to transform food systems in the continent to create a better future for people, nature and the climate. We do this by addressing food and nutritional insecurity for a rapidly growing population while driving economic development, increasing their resilience to climate change, reducing biodiversity loss, and generating greater equity outcomes for women, children, youth and other vulnerable groups. We develop cutting-edge research and innovative partnerships to produce more food while protecting and restoring ecosystems and shifting toward lower-carbon consumption patterns.

Job Highlight:

Reporting to the Senior Communications Manager for Africa, you will support the Africa Food program and the Food and Land Use Coalition Kenya platform. You will design and implement communications and engagement strategies, lead media relations, and manage communication support for events. You will curate communications products to elevate people-centered stories and messages for various channels, such as websites, social media, blogs, and publications. You will work with food program team and partners in priority countries in Africa to develop communication products and messaging to promote project activities, create awareness, share lessons learned and increase the overall visibility of project activities. You will work in collaboration with other communications professionals across the institute on joint efforts to promote WRI’s mission and values.

What will you do:

Communications and Engagement (60%):

• Develop and implement a communications and engagement plan for the Food Program in Africa, including the FOLU Kenya country platform
• Creatively translate technical and scientific content into products that are understood and used by a wide range of audience including farmers
• Coordinate and help develop audience-specific knowledge products
• Coordinate and help develop effective outreach material including high-quality presentations, publications, newsletters, blogs, photographs, videos, testimonials, webinars, social media, etc.
• Ensure that the Africa food program website is updated
• Maintain a library of photos, videos and publications
• Facilitate communication between partners and the public through dissemination of research and data, publications, media outreach, and digital communications

  Media Relations (20%):

  • Draft press releases and coordinate the release of media advisories to promote research
  • Coordinate project media relations including identifying opportunities for media coverage, responding to media requests, and arranging interviews as appropriate
  • Maintain a list of media coverage of the Food Program
  • Maintain a list of media contacts within the food program scope

    Events (10%):

    • Coordinate the production of webinars with relevant program teams
    • Coordinate communication support for program events including social promotion and coverage, photography, media outreach, production of communication products, and post-event communication reports
    • Contribute to WRI Africa’s list of events to ensure effective and efficient coordination of communication support

      Institutional communications (10%):

      • Contribute to WRI Africa’s communication initiatives such as compiling content for international days, blogs, the release of flagship reports, and newsletters.

        What will you need:

        • Education: You have completed a bachelor’s degree in mass communication, journalism, or social sciences preferred
        • Experience: You have minimum of 5 years full-time work experience in a similar role in the agriculture/ food systems sector, preferably with international development organizations, knowledge institutions, or media
        • Excellent writing, editing, and oral communication skills.
        • Experience in storytelling and writing human interest stories
        • Creative, detail-oriented, and highly organized individual with a strong interest in partnerships, coordination, and communications
        • Ability proactively identify and lead opportunities for communication activities.
        • Experience in designing and organizing events
        • Self-motivated with an ability to juggle multiple priorities, handle assignments independently, and work under tight deadlines
        • Flexibility, breadth of interests, and willingness to explore unfamiliar issues
        • Strong interpersonal and communication skills, resiliency, flexibility, and drive
        • Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues in teams and encourage knowledge sharing to achieve organizational goals and preferred experience of working in coalitions and other collaborative partnership models
        • Willingness and ability to travel within the region and internationally
        • Languages: Verbal and written English proficiency
        • Requirements: Existing work authorization is required where this position. WRI is unable to authorize visa work authorization

          Potential Salary: Salary is commensurate with experience and other compensable factors.

          How to Apply: Please submit a resume with cover letter by the date of 19 February