Development and Communications Coordinator

Summary of the Position

We are hiring a development & communications coordinator to support the advancement of Semilla Nueva’s donor stewardship and communications strategy. The ideal candidate will be skilled at content creation, emotionally powerful storytelling and social engagement. This position will work closely with our Development Director to execute Semilla Nueva’s fundraising strategy and cultivate critical donor relationships helping reach our ambitious 2022 and 2023 funding goals.

The position will have opportunities for growth and advancement based on achievements including, senior development and communications coordinator or partnerships manager.

Summary of the Organization

Malnutrition is one of the greatest barriers to the world’s poorest people escaping poverty. The 900 million people in Africa and Central America who eat corn daily are some of the most affected, with nearly half of Guatemala’s children suffering from stunted growth. Semilla Nueva launched the world’s first social enterprise dedicated to the development, production, and sale of more nutritious, biofortified corn seed directly to small farming families. Farmers buying our seed increase their yields and incomes, while improving the diets of hundreds of thousands— and someday millions—of the world’s poorest consumers. Semilla Nueva is currently expanding our model to work with other seed companies, the Guatemalan government, and partnerships in other countries. In 2021, our fourth year of sales, our seed reached 12,000 families directly and over 20,000 through partnerships.

Semilla Nueva works with some of the world’s leading scientists at organizations such as CIMMYT, HarvestPlus, INCAP, and universities like Purdue, Cornell, Tufts, and Harvard. Our donors include some of the most prestigious in impact philanthropy, including Cartier Philanthropy, Mulago and the U.S. Government. Our seeds are based on conventional breeding (non-GMO), although we are not opposed to well-tested biotechnology. Our work has led to rapid growth and international recognition, including an Ashoka fellowship, Mulago fellowship, and Forbes 30 under 30 for our founder.

Responsibilities

• Develop video, photo and written storytelling materials that help Semilla Nueva’s story, impact, and context come alive for donors and partners.
• Work across Semilla Nueva departments to collect up-to-date information and media, especially with our M&E and field teams for data and stories.
• Write fundraising appeals and implement individual donor cultivation plans.
• Process donations, enter fundraising data into our donor database (NeonCRM), and send acknowledgement letters.
• Manage Semilla Nueva’s digital presence, including the website and social media accounts.
• This individual will be based full-time in Guatemala, with up to 30% travel to the field.

Qualifications

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree and 1-2 years of relevant experience
• Exceptional communications skills and visual storytelling
• Experience working with individual or corporate donors
• Full working-proficiency in English and Spanish
• Demonstrated leadership, stress-management and flexibility in the work environment

Desired:

• Experience with graphic design and/or website design
• Experience managing social media engagement
• Experience with content creation and writing
• Advanced photography, photo-editing and videography skills
• Experience using a CRM

Beginning date: ASAP

Semilla Nueva is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to sustaining a diverse community with a work environment that is welcoming, respectful, and encouraging to all. We foster a culture of inclusion that celebrates and cultivates diversity along multiple dimensions, including race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, out of home care, age, national origin, socioeconomic status, religion, ability, culture, and experience.