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Job Title:   Communications Manager

Organisation: Technoserve (TNS)

Duty Station:  Kampala, Uganda

Reports to: Country Director

About US:

TechnoServe (TNS) is an international non-profit international development organization founded in 1968. Its mission is to help entrepreneurial men and women break the cycle of poverty by building businesses that create jobs, income, and economic opportunities for their families, their communities, and their countries.

Job Summary:   We are seeking a highly diligent, confident candidate with substantial management experience for the role of Communications Manager. S/he will lead the design and implementation of all the Technoserve project communications which includes the development and production of communications strategies, events, press relations, information products and publications, social media management, photography/videography and writing.  S/he will be in charge of ensuring consistency of messaging and brand identity compliance across all the programs and providing a solid framework for all colleagues and members to effectively communicate with external stakeholders

Additionally, s/he will play a key role in advising and building the communications skills and capability of the senior team, staff and clients to help deliver our work. In particular, the role will support staff to engage effectively with external stakeholders to advance our implementation efforts.  The role will also work alongside other communications colleagues in TechnoServe, and the donors to articulate and bring to life what we do in a simple, consistent and compelling way both internally and externally.

The Communications Manager will work across client activities to develop and implement comprehensive external engagement and communications campaigns to tell the stories. Through direct engagement with the project’s clients and country teams, s/he will plan and coordinate the dissemination of announcements; research and recommend media engagement opportunities; write and edit copy for reports, websites, announcements, fact sheets, and other materials for a variety of internal and external audiences. This position reports to the Country Director.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Design and deliver communications plans

• Develop, plan and implement the program communications and influencing plans, ensuring alignment with TechnoServe’s overall communications strategy.
• Provide efficient and effective communication strategy for every project from conception through delivery, evaluation and assessment using repeatable and adjustable models reflecting donor, and non-governmental organization best practices.
• Partner with TechnoServe Corporate Communications to create and maintain content management and collaboration engagement calendars.
• Update and enforce consistency of a program-wide style guide that provides site standardization across the programs for all content editors in accordance with the program Marking & Branding plan
• Lead on facilitating relevant training on effective communications for program staff, including writing, creating and delivering presentations. This will help build capacity of program teams on how to use communications to enhance program credibility and influence different stakeholders.
• Lead the engagement of program clients to understand and meet the communication needs of the various projects. Liaise with field staff to incorporate story collection into planned field visits
• Lead key information gathering – such as conducting stakeholder interviews and collecting stakeholder testimonials – and present results to position TechnoServe activities
• Champion internal communications platforms and encourage staff to use them to share news.
• Maintain relationships with Donor Communications teams to ensure easy access to information.
• Identify threats and opportunities in user-generated content related to the Donor/TechnoServe brand, mission and core values plus provide analysis reports to program leadership.
• Supervise the work of publishing contractors and vendors, including editors, graphic designers, printers, transcribers, translators and writers.

External communications

• Cultivate and manage relationships with country and regional media that will increase coverage and understanding of TechnoServe work, including developing and managing media contacts and providing newsworthy information to inform communications approaches.
• Reach out to influencers, media and beyond in order to arrange story placement on a national and global level
• Ensure systematic collaboration and information gathering with communications colleagues from other implementing partners through regular meetings and check-ins.
• Represent the organization at media events and press conferences
• Perform other duties in order to fulfill visibility, communication, and liaison objectives as requested by the Donors.
• Work with the central Communications Team to monitor the media, gathering and sharing sector intelligence and relevant articles to help inform program teams and external stakeholders

Creating engaging content

• Provide preparation, supervision and leadership in the development and production of all materials, specifically fact sheets, activity calendars, regional brochures, PowerPoint presentations, internal newsletter, blogs, press releases, photo and success stories and daily social media content. Pay close attention to the maintenance of the individual Donor’s preferred style.
• Assist with the creation and launch of creative social media campaigns, measuring and tracking effectiveness of digital communications, adjusting content as needed to improve performance.
• Contribute to management of TechnoServe’s external-facing media, including website, LinkedIn page and Twitter accounts.
• Design and conduct technical trainings on social media, digital marketing, digital campaigns and technology for program staff, including support program staff to use our internal communications platforms e.g. recording, editing, and uploading of video and audio updates.
• Manage external consultants including editors, graphics designers, translators, interpreters, photographers and videographers, contribute to major writing projects and serve as a chief writer where necessary. Ensure consistency across all areas of editorial production. Lead the conception and production of new publications.
• Create content such as videos, webinars, podcasts and infographics in order to improve readership and engagement with the content.
• Support the team with content development and editing for the quarterly bi-annual and annual project reports
• Manage webinars to ensure quality of content and presentation

Social Media

• Manage social media messaging calendar
• Develop social media processes for post creation, scheduling, monitoring, and platform specific KPIs tracking
• Create compelling content to grow, engage, cultivate, and nurture Technoserve’s online communities
• Create concepts, wireframes, and designs that deliver a compelling user experience, drive user behavior and communicate key ideas
• Develop marketing materials; copy for the Donor and TechnoServe websites; blog posts; newsletter articles; and social media posts (specifically Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram).
• Stay up-to-date on emerging platforms, technologies and industry best practices
• Develop, document, and manage content database for photos, video, and stories

Sharing Learning

• Scan country specific landscape for opportunities and relevant events we should engage in, and work with colleagues to organize roundtables and other events to share our experiences and learn from others.
• Contribute significantly to project reporting, including writing reports; provide required communications inputs to project reporting
• Oversee and encourage the utilization of project data and communication materials in decision making.
• Work with the M&E and Quality Managers to ensure that data collected is relevant and feeds back into program improvement. Ensure areas of concern are spotted early and remedied.
• Work with field office staff to incorporate learning into quarterly and annual reports.
• Any other duties assigned by your supervisor.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• The applicant must hold a Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree preferred/an added advantage
• At least eight years of relevant experience working on communications in innovation and/or private sector-focused activities or programs, including demonstrated experience implementing communication strategies and outreach campaigns that successfully raise the profile of projects or commercial companies;
• Five or more years of digital communications experience
• Five or more years of writing, implementing and tracking campaign plans
• Five or more years’ experience with social media and collaboration platforms
• Five or more years of editorial experience
• Required Languages; Fluency to speak, read and write in English is essential;

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Team Work/Relationships
• Effective Communicator
• Integrity and honesty
• Results Oriented/ High Quality Deliverables
• Decision-making/ Problem Solving
• Learning Attitude
• Organizing/Planning/Time Management
• Diversity/Inclusiveness
• Analysis, Research, Report Writing

NB: We encourage all qualified individuals who share TechnoServe’s vision of improving the lives of others through proven business solutions to apply.

How to Apply:

All applicants who wish to join Technoserve in this capacity should apply online at the link below.

Click Here

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