Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) Regional Communication Officer Job in Kenya

Aga Khan Foundation
 

Employment Opportunity
 

Regional Communication Officer
 

The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) focuses on a small number of specific social and economic development problems by forming (intellectual and financial) partnerships with organisations sharing its objectives. Most Foundation grants are made to grassroots organisations testing innovative approaches in the field. 

With a small staff, a host of cooperating agencies and thousands of volunteers, the Foundation reaches out to vulnerable populations on four continents, irrespective of their race, religion, political persuasion or gender.

AKF is part of the broader Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a group of private, international, non-denominational development organisations that work to improve the welfare and prospects of people in the developing world, particularly in Asia and Africa. 

Its programmes are designed to bring a critical mass of economic, social and cultural activities to bear on a given area. 

 

Its projects encompass many of the determinants of the quality of life, including the natural and built environments in both urban and rural areas, food security, health, education, access to financial services and economic opportunity, as well as the cultural areas of traditional music, architecture and art.

In East Africa, AKF supports programming in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda that contributes to a better quality of life for hundreds of communities. 

Working in education, rural economic development, health, and civil society, AKF leverages its global experiences and partnerships to bring new ideas to East Africa.
 

The Regional Communication Officer for AKF in East Africa will be based in Nairobi, Kenya and will report directly to the Manager of Policy and Partnerships. 

This position is part of AKF’s core regional team and would provide the successful candidate with an opportunity to develop and disseminate various communication initiatives throughout East Africa.

Specific Responsibilities Include:

• Support the Partnerships Manager in building and maintaining a broad network of external partnerships, effectively communicating AKF’s key messages and strategic direction
• Distil key lessons from programming and develop a communication strategy for policy engagement with government, donors and other partners
• Document and present results and best practices – including compiling success stories, developing presentations, workshops, other communication materials and workshops
• Develop articles and increase visibility of projects and programme results in East Africa
• Develop a media engagement strategy including newspapers, television and radio
• Work with the Partnerships Manager to develop and implement a communication strategy
• Update and maintain a photo bank and communications library
• Build the capacity of staff in AKF (EA)’s projects to contribute to the project’s and AKF’s overall communication objectives, including facilitating workshops, writing relevant articles and documenting results

Required Qualifications and Experience:

• Minimum bachelors degree or equivalent in communications, public policy, international development or relevant field
• Minimum 3 years experience in producing communication materials in a strategic and comprehensive fashion, preferably in international development
• Experience in management, leadership and mentoring staff with a willingness to visit programmes in the field
• Exceptional English communications skills with the ability to make strong presentations and produce high quality reports, publications, presentations, documentaries and other communication materials

Interested candidates should email recruitment-akfea@akdn.org with a cover letter, CV and the names and contact information of three professional referees with “Regional Communication Officer” in the subject line by 11th April, 2013 to the Regional Human Resource Manager.
 

Due to the high volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
 

The Aga Khan Foundation is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (www.akdn.org).