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Job Title:    Communications Officer

Organisation: Agricultural Business Initiative Group

Duty Station:  Kampala, Uganda

About US:

The Agricultural Business Initiative Group is a social enterprise with the overall vision to contribute to ‘a competitive and sustainable agriculture and agribusiness sector in Uganda in support of equitable wealth creation in Uganda’. The aBi Group consists of two companies Limited by Guarantee; aBi Development and aBi Finance.

The main focus of aBi Development is to increase agricultural production and value addition by extending matching grants and business development services (BDS) to agribusinesses, farmer organizations, and intermediaries. The grants and BDS enhance planning and management, production and business infrastructure, and upstream and downstream market linkages of producers and agribusinesses. aBi Finance expands access to business finance for agricultural producers and agribusinesses by offering to Financial Institutions (FIs), financial incentives and infrastructure that make lending to the agricultural sector more attractive and less risky. Under the Financial Services Development (FSD) program aBi Finance provides matching grants to FIs to build institutional capacity for enhancing the provision of financial services and increasing outreach in rural areas.

Job Summary:  The role is to provide support to the aBi Advocacy & Communications Unit in planning, development, and implementation of aBi’s strategies for communications, marketing, branding, public relations, advocacy, reputation management, and stakeholder engagement, to position aBi as a critical actor in the agribusiness sector.

Key Duties and Responsibilities: 

Events Management

• Plan, organize and coordinate aBi’s communication & advocacy events and campaigns as part of implementing the Advocacy and Communication strategy.
• Develop events, calendar, plan, and execute the plan in line with Communications Strategy.
• Develop the implementation plan for all signed-off events ensuring that all logistics, promotion, budgets, etc is managed in a timely manner.
• Organize other events, meetings, or field trips to generate understanding and support from policymakers and other influential groups and individuals.
• In liaison with marketing suppliers, ensure that branding material meets the standards and specifications of aBi.
• Work with the internal technical team to develop and maintain a database for media contacts and other influencing stakeholders.
• Provide support and facilitate aBi’s participation in various stakeholder engagements like conferences, workshops, and meetings.
• Online Communication Platform (Including website and social media)
• Manage the day-to-day updating of aBi’s website and social media platforms, working with the technical team to ensure accurate & timely information is uploaded and queries/comments are responded to, to enhance aBi’s digital and social media presence.
• Participate in the generation of website and social media content (both text and pictures) in support of aBi’s strategy; support staff members to develop compelling content for online communications and blogposts especially to elevate the voices of our end beneficiaries.
• Support the development of aBi communication culture especially social media usage by consistently engaging with staff; building relationships with bloggers and other online influencers; and actively managing and growing the reach of aBi’s Facebook page, Twitter account, and Youtube channel in a drive to position aBi’s influencing agenda.
• Monitor the website and social media for consistency in the content matter and graphic design; lead the continuous development of the website, ensuring up-to-date and engaging content and relevant resources on key advocacy priorities.
• Track audience response/utilization by logging accurate and useful statistics for website usage, downloads, social media engagement, etc, analyze key metrics, and make recommendations for improvement.
• Promote aBi website and other social media platforms to increase traffic.
• Analyze feedback and other collected data from communication activities on website & social media platforms to facilitate decision making.
• Support Learning & Knowledge Management initiatives.
• Scan for website functionality issues and make recommendations for improvements.
• Dissemination of IEC Materials
• Support the coordination, development, and distribution of various Information, Education & Communication (IEC) materials including corporate reports and publications, case studies, and other publicity materials (Including Diaries, Calendars, flyers, garments, banners, documents, etc).
• Participate in the implementation of the communications strategy by monitoring the schedule of activities and ensuring staff participation in various communications campaigns.
• In consultation with the Communications Manager, take lead in the development of scheduled IEC outputs, including departmental reports, publications, documentaries, case studies, and other publicity materials especially calendars, diaries, infomercials, electronic promotional materials.
• Participate in knowledge-sharing initiatives involving aBi stakeholders including Implementing Partners and other Partners to achieve aBi’s influencing goal.

Content Development and Dissemination

• Support the development and dissemination of Advocacy & Communications materials(written pieces, photography, images, internal video production) across the organization; ensuring that they communicate and influence effectively.
• Develop processes for content and oversee the end-to-end content production pipeline; making sure roles and responsibilities are clear, as well as best practices.
• Review, edit and deliver high-quality content, including written materials, reports, web pages, case studies, interviews, etc, profiling impactful content from beneficiaries via strategic field trips (success stories) and supporting the Advocacy & Communications Manager with the management of media sponsorships/partnerships.
• Develop a library of relevant and reproducible images; collating pictures of suitable quality provided by colleagues &/or purchasing resources as appropriate.
• Support Senior Management in the development of technical documents including annual business plans, publications/strategies, and projects plans, ensuring the final product is consistent with technical standards, brand guidelines, and messaging is maintained across projects/programs.

Capacity Building

• Build capacity of staff and colleagues to implement the Advocacy & Communication strategy effectively.
• Participate in Implementing Partner capacity assessments; providing guidance on ways in which enhanced Marketing and Communications capacity would support the achievement of project goals.
• Develop and disseminate a communication toolkit, including templates, resources, and standardized ways of working; support colleagues to fully utilize the resources provided, popularize branding guidelines.
• Build capacity of staff and colleagues to implement the Advocacy & Communication strategy through coaching, advice, and the provision of training; ensure staff is aware of and buy-in to the messaging matrix & branding guidelines.
• Provide capacity building for implementing partners on branding, advertising, marketing, packaging.
• Train and develop a diverse pool of spokespeople/storytellers from within aBi and the wider network of project stakeholders; actively seek out opportunities to elevate their voices.
• Work with the CEO to identify information and key messages that need to be communicated to staff; support the development and roll-out of appropriate materials and platforms.
• And other duties as requested by Advocacy and Communications Manager

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• The applicant must hold a Degree in Mass Communication and any other related discipline.
• Member of Public Relations Association Uganda.
• At least five years of experience working in communications, marketing, and media.
• Proven experience of developing good public relationships and working with media houses.
• In-depth understanding of communications strategies with a bias towards digital (website) and social media communication.
• Demonstrated skills in logistics management and coordination.
• Highly developed writing and creativity skills, capable of developing content for corporate reports & publications, promotional materials in a compelling and effective way.
• Demonstrated ability to manage events and experience in executing publicity campaigns.
• Integrity & Commitment
• Learning and Capacity Building
• Proactivity & Innovation
• Getting work done
• Relationship Building
• Thinking and Problem Analysis
• Communication and Information Handling
• Resource and Business Management

How to Apply:

All interested and qualified persons are strongly encouraged to apply by email: careers@futureoptions.org clearly indicating the Position Title in the email subject line. Please note that only successful candidates will be contacted. Canvassing will lead to disqualification. Hardcopy applications will not be accepted.

Deadline: 14^th November 2021

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