COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR-DONUTS PROGRAMME At Fairtrade Africa

ABOUT FAIRTRADE AFRICA

Established in 2005, Fairtrade Africa (FTA) is a member of Fairtrade International and the umbrella network organization representing Fairtrade-certified Producer Organizations in Africa and the Middle East. It has four (4) regional networks – Eastern & Central Africa; Southern Africa; West Africa; and the Middle East & North Africa. FTA currently represents 1,354,294 farmers and workers in 660 producer organizations spread across 28 countries in Africa and the Middle East by providing services to them that contribute to the improvement of their livelihoods.

ABOUT THE ROLE

DONUTS programme is a four-year-long (2022-25), human rights-based development programme. The programme comprises 12 projects in Africa in the value chains of cocoa (CDI and Ghana), coffee (Ethiopia and Kenya), flowers (Ethiopia and Kenya), wine (South Africa), vanilla (Madagascar), and sugar (Malawi). The programme is financed by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and several private sector companies.

This role will promote the DONUTS projects with the aim of contributing to the programme’s visibility towards external audiences, in line with funding partners’ requirements. This will require providing support to project teams in developing project-specific communication & visibility materials and following up on project-related communication implementation.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Key Performance Areas

• Assist the project teams to develop appropriate communication and visibility strategies and budgets for relevant projects;
• Support and guide project teams in the implementation of project-related communication and visibility activities based on best practices;
• Support project teams with timely and quality production of programme & project communication materials in compliance with visibility guidelines.
• Follow-up on project-related communication in compliance with donor requirements
• Develop effective internal communications mechanisms to ensure that news and events are known internally and publicised externally as appropriate.
• Develop project-related articles, press releases, human interest stories, audio-visual content (pictures, videos) and other information materials required in the framework of the projects in line with communication objectives and requirements;
• Contribute to updating and feeding the Fairtrade Africa communication tools such as website and social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube etc in coordination with the FTA Communications Team;
• Archive project related communication materials, including digital, such as publications, press releases and clippings, audio-visual materials, web resources etc. in the relevant project/ program repositories
• Support project teams where needed to collaborate with media
• Organizing project site visits including background materials, briefs and information kits as well as support on travel planning and administrative arrangements as required;
• Support the development and editing of the narrative reports in liaison with the DONUTS programme team.
• Coordinate project communication committee meetings to ensure effective collaboration with other project partners in communication strategy development and implementation;
• Monitor and evaluate the impact of communication and visibility actions conducted within the DONUTS programme;
• Support the organization of special events (conferences, meetings, forums, etc.) as required
• Establish and maintain positive working relationships with other institutions involved in the projects. This should include regular contracts to ensure they are fully and appropriately involved in the projects.
• Any other tasks requested by the Line Manager regarding support to the DONUTS programme.

SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s degree or diploma in Communications, media or related field.

Experience and Knowledge

• At least 3 – 5 years of work experience in a communication position in an NGO.
• Candidate should be able to work independently with minimum supervision and guidance from supervisors.
• Demonstrated and extensive social media experience is an added advantage

Skills

• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Candidates with experience using design software are an added advantage.
• Strong coordination and interpersonal skills
• Ability to work in a multicultural and fast-paced environment
• Ability to work autonomously
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, content management systems and social media platforms.