JOBS

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is looking for a passionate Senior Communications Officer to lead strategic communications for its work in East Africa

Ednah Carrick September 21, 2024

0 180 5 minutes read

Closing Date: 29 September 2024

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is looking for a passionate Senior Communications Officer to lead strategic communications for its work in East Africa

The Foundation

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest nonprofit fighting poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. Founded on a simple premise: people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation believes its employees should reflect the rich diversity of the global populations it aims to serve.

The Team

The Africa Communications Team works to ensure that the foundation’s communications approaches in and on Africa are informed by the continent’s contextual realities and priorities. The team is responsible for developing and implementing the communications strategy in Africa, in close collaboration with the Africa team, the Communications Division in Seattle and various Program and Advocacy and Communications Teams across the foundation. It is part of the Africa Team and the Communications Division in Seattle.

Your Role

The Africa Communications Team is looking for a Senior Communications Officer (SCO), Africa (East Africa Communications) to drive the foundation’s communications strategy engagement across Africa, specifically East Africa. This role will also lead the foundation’s Africa-wide efforts around programmatic and advocacy communications. The postholder will work closely with colleagues across Africa and in Seattle to position the foundation to effectively increase familiarity and trust through their storytelling of our mission and work in East Africa, as well as the stories of partners and grantees.

The primary responsibility of the SCO will be to develop coordinated and innovative communications and media plans and approaches to help achieve the foundation’s communications, programmatic and advocacy goals in Africa, focusing primarily on East Africa countries and audiences. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is seeking a candidate who not only understands brand communications but also possesses an exceptional grasp of communications for development. You should be adept at approaching communications from a programmatic perspective. In doing so, you will draw on a range of high-quality communications tactics, dissemination strategies, materials, events and initiatives, and creative tools, including social media.

You will also handle media enquiries, manage social media channels, review and edit material for African audiences, and function as part of the foundation’s global communications newsroom. The postholder will be based in Nairobi, Kenya, and report to the Deputy Director Communications, Africa.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Senior Communications Officer will be responsible for the following tasks:

Communications strategy development: Work closely with leadership and colleagues in developing long term communications strategies for East African audiences that are aligned with broader foundation communications, programmatic, and advocacy needs.
Programmatic/issues and advocacy communications: Lead foundation efforts on programmatic and advocacy communications across the continent, working with programmatic communications leads in Seattle.

Enhancing brand presence: Drive brand visibility, reputation management, and audience engagement in East Africa, through the development and implementation of effective communication strategies.
Partner collaboration: Work with partners to develop and execute tailored communications strategies that align with foundation goals and priorities in East Africa.
Coordinated communications: Collaborate with various teams to ensure consistent messaging and coordination of communications efforts.

Relationship building: Build and maintain relationships with media outlets, influencers, and partners in the region to enhance foundation reach and impact.
Leadership trips: Support senior leadership trips to the region, events, and activations by providing strategic communications guidance, coordinating logistics, and ensuring effective messaging.
Drive program and advocacy communications: Lead programmatic and advocacy communications efforts across the continent, working closely with internal teams and external stakeholders to amplify key messages and mobilize support for foundation priorities in East Africa.

Intelligence and insights: Stay informed about the latest trends and best practices in programmatic and advocacy communications, sharing insights and recommendations to continuously improve communications strategies and tactics.
Media monitoring: Track media coverage and public sentiment related to the foundation’s work in East Africa, proactively identifying opportunities and risks, and providing strategic recommendations to enhance the foundation’s reputation.
Media inquiries: Respond to media inquiries in a timely and professional manner, providing accurate and compelling information about the foundation’s work in East Africa.

Boost program awareness: Proactively identify and create media engagement opportunities to raise awareness of key programmatic issues and initiatives.
Cross-functional synergy: Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure alignment and integration of communications efforts across different program areas.
Content creation: Collaborate with internal and external partners to create compelling content, including articles, press releases, social media posts, and multimedia materials, to effectively communicate the foundation’s work and impact.

Evaluate communication impact: Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of communications initiatives, using data and insights to inform future strategies and tactics.
In-country communication partnership: Engage with partners to provide in-country communications thought partnership, helping to elevate priority issues and effectively manage any potential reputational risks.
External voice collaborations: Identify and form strategic alliances with diverse and credible opinion leaders and influential individuals and organizations, at regional and national levels across East Africa.

Communications planning: Alongside leadership and colleagues, develop and implement communications plans that deploy foundation assets and campaigns (e.g. Goalkeepers, annual letter, and annual calendar of events) in support of the foundation’s Africa strategy and its communications, programmatic, policy, and financing goals.
Risk management and tackling mis/disinformation: Manage the foundation’s brand and reputation, monitor perceptions, and track shifts in opinion across East Africa, while responding to inquiries and providing and updating key facts about priority issues. This includes devising effective approaches to address misconceptions about the foundation’s work and priority issues.

Your Experience

Masters’ degree or higher in a relevant field: Communications, English, Journalism, Literature, Public Relations, Political Science, International Relations, Psychology/Sociology or other relevant area of study.

At least 10 years of progressive Africa-wide or international experience in senior roles in marketing, PR, media, and communications, public policy, or international relations, preferably in the non-profit/public health or development, government, communications agencies, or private sector.
Prior experience of working in East African (e.g. Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, South Sudan, Somalia), including strong cultural awareness, and an understanding of the region’s political economy and developmental issues.
Experience building and developing strategic communications and media relationships and partnerships, as well as strong contacts and working relationships with domestic and international media.

Proven experience crafting and deploying persuasive communications.
Deep understanding of the communications landscape and familiarity with major publishers in East Africa is essential.
Outstanding knowledge, experience, and expertise in media and communications in Africa – either directly involving global health and development issues, or in areas that have provided strong and meaningful experience that can be translated to health and development issues.

Collaborative track record of working on policy and advocacy efforts with governments, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector (in addition to media) preferred.
Deep awareness of communication industry trends, channels, and resources, including a proven track record of generating ideas that support audience and channel strategies.
Understanding of strategic audience segmentation, and how to use communications channels, traditional and social media, and multi-media approaches to reach audiences with appropriate messages.

A dedication to using facts and sound rationale to convey benefits to goals, as well as a demonstrated commitment to creativity and innovation.
Ability to collaborate with teams and across boundaries, encouraging partnerships that strengthen support for foundation’s priority objectives and mitigate reputational risk. This includes the ability to translate and write sophisticated ideas and information into simple messages aligned to targeted audiences.
Experience working in a fast-paced and matrix environment, requiring cultural awareness and a collaborative nature that knows the benefits of seeking consensus, is strongly preferred.

Ability to multi-task and juggle competing priorities successfully. Capacity to work simultaneously on a variety of issues and tasks independently, adjusting to priorities and achieving results with agreed objectives and deadlines.
Ability to work with flexibility, an entrepreneurial mindset, and diplomacy both individually and as part of a team effort.
Excellent oral and written communication skills in English and Swahili.