Communication Manager at Rainforest Alliance

Position summary:

The Communication Manager East and Southern Africa is responsible for developing and implementing a communication strategy for the East and Southern Africa region, with a particular focus on Kenya. The post holder is the first point of contact for the global Marketing & Communications team and works with the East and Southern Africa team to meet regional communication needs. The incumbent will advise and support local staff in the design and implementation of programs and communication initiatives, aligning with global communication strategy as well as institutional and donor requirements.

This position does not supervise any staff member.

Responsibilities: 

• The Rainforest Alliance’s Core Values are Impact, Change, Collaboration, Openness and Trust and as such they form the basis of the behaviours we demonstrate:

Management, strategy and content generation

• Working in collaboration with the global Marketing and Communications team and other departments, in support of our global, regional and sub-regional strategic plans, the incumbent will lead the development and implementation of East and Southern Africa regional communications strategy with a particular focus on tea and coffee sectors in Kenya;
• Support communication needs of Country Directors and Project managers, take lead in development of   key messages, storytelling assets, branded items and other communication materials;   
• Work with the global Marketing and communications team to ensure the work of the Rainforest Alliance in East and Southern Africa is well represented in all global communications (external and internal), gathering storytelling collateral, and advising on priorities;
• Monitoring media coverage in the region, being the first point of contact for local journalists and proactively cultivating and maintaining relationships with key regional media outlets;
• Work with reputation and media teams to monitor and manage reputational risks in the region;
• Actively contribute to and participate in internal management processes to evaluate and improve our communications approach, enhance internal knowledge transfer, and coach local staff to build capacity to communicate effectively;
• Represent the Rainforest Alliance as needed in meetings with collaborating businesses, organizations and other stakeholders when meetings relate to the communications and marketing strategies; and
• Participate and develop project proposals related to communications

Qualifications: 

• MSc or BS Degree in Communication, Marketing, Journalism or a similar field;
• Minimum of 7 years’ work experience in communications, including media relations and reputation management;
• Excellent writing, editing and verbal communication skills;
• Written and verbal proficiency in English, French/Kiswahili is an added advantage;
• Knowledge of Agricultural/NGO sectors, sustainability and human rights issues is strongly preferred;
• Strong organizational skills to manage multiple priorities in a time sensitive manner;  
• Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to interact culturally, linguistically, and diplomatically with diverse internal and external individuals;
• Initiative, self-motivated, resourceful, detail-oriented, dependable; and
• Available and willing to travel at least 20% of the time nationally and internationally.