Communications Officer | Nairobi, Kenya | 2022

Chemonics seeks a Communications Officer for USAID’s ongoing Cross-Border Community Resilience (CBCR) Activity. This project is one year into its five-year term and is designed to enhance resilience and thus reduce the need for humanitarian assistance among communities in the cross-border clusters of Karamoja, Moyale, and Mandera. Focusing on communities that live across the borders of Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, and Somalia, the Activity aims to empower local entities, including communities, civil society, private sector, and governments to chart their own pathways for addressing conflict, improving livelihoods, and/or reducing the risks of shocks and stresses. The CBCR Activity works to foster local ownership of development investments by supporting local leadership in work planning, implementation, and monitoring.

The Communications Officer will have a matrix management relationship with the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Manager, but ultimately report to the Chief of Party (COP). The Communications Officer will oversee the Activity’s communications strategy. He/She will provide quality control on communication publications, marketing materials, social media platforms, and other communication materials generated.

This role will be based in Nairobi, Kenya, with frequent travel to Mandera, Moyale, and Karamoja cross-border cluster areas as required.

Chemonics International Inc. is a US-based international development consulting company, operating in over 95 countries. We are looking for individuals who have a passion for making a difference in the lives of people around the world.

Responsibilities:

• Develop, and execute, the Activity’s communications strategy and branding and marking in line with the Activity’s contractual guidelines
• Work closely with the MEL Manager, COP, other Activity project staff, and implementing partners to identify strategic communication channels for key messages
• Collect information from Activity team members and grantees to draft success stories and articles, including appropriate photographs to share with USAID
• Create and manage the Activity’s social media presence on appropriate social media platforms and contribute to USAID communication platforms by working with the Mission’s communications team
• Support the organization, communication, and branding of Activity events and workshops, press conferences, and other activities for the successful implementation of CBCR activities
• Collect content for the Activity’s progress reports by attending meetings with the client and implementing partners on an ad hoc basis regarding reporting, outreach, and media-related tasks
• Strengthen and enhance the communications capacity of the Activity’s backbone local development organizations (LDOs) and grants under contract (GUC) grantees, including assisting backbone LDOs and grantees to effectively communicate with citizens and stakeholders through training and capacity development
• Maintain a database of Activity videos and photographs in Microsoft SharePoint
• Provide editing and formatting assistance for reports as well as internal and external communications in line with USAID reporting templates and guidelines
• Work closely with the MEL Manager to track grantee reports and deliverables related to the Activity’s approved MEL Plan and contractual obligations
• Undertake other special projects and tasks in support of the Activity as assigned by the MEL Manager and COP

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, Communications, Publishing, or similar area required
• Minimum of five (5) years of relevant professional experience in roles with increasing levels of responsibility
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Fluency in English required
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and Adobe applications
• Working knowledge of USAID branding and marking guidelines and regulations preferred
• Team player with excellent organizational and communication training capacity and in time delivery
• Demonstrated leadership, versatility, and integrity