Communications Officer at Amref Kenya

Job Description

POSITION SUMMARY

• The Communications Officer supports effective, accurate, and timely communication of programme impact, progress, and learning within the country programme. The role ensures that programme narratives are locally relevant, evidence-based, and aligned to broader organisational positioning while strengthening visibility, stakeholder confidence, and community trust.
• This role will work closely with country programme teams, MEL, and leadership teams at country level. The Communications Officer translates technical programme content into accessible, credible communication products across appropriate platforms and channels. The role contributes to reputational stewardship, risk awareness, and institutional consistency within the country programme context.
• This role requires strong storytelling ability, professional judgement, adaptability, and the capacity to operate effectively within dynamic country programme and policy environments.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Country Communications Planning and Execution

• Support development and implementation of country-level communications plans aligned to programme priorities and organisational guidance.
• Translate programme activities, milestones, and learning into clear, compelling communication outputs for diverse stakeholders.
• Ensure country messaging aligns with approved programme narratives and avoids misrepresentation or overstatement.
• Ensure communications outputs are accurate, ethical, culturally appropriate, and aligned with Amref and programme values.

Content Development and Channel Management

• Develop high-quality communication materials including briefs, impact stories, social media content, reports, visibility materials, and event documentation aligned to donor and organizational guidelines.
• Support management of country digital platforms and media channels, ensuring consistency and quality standards.
• Coordinate editorial processes, approvals, and brand alignment for country-level outputs.

Stakeholder Engagement and Support

• Support fulfilment of donor visibility and communications requirements at country level.
• Collaborate with programme and MEL teams to translate evidence and results into accessible narrative products.
• Contribute communications inputs to donor reports, proposals, and stakeholder updates.
• Support local stakeholder engagement events and media interactions in coordination with country leadership.

Cross-functional Coordination

• Work closely with leadership, country programme, and MEL teams to ensure communications reflect delivery realities and learning.
• Support alignment between programme reporting cycles and communications outputs.
• Participate in planning discussions to anticipate communications needs related to programme adaptation or policy engagement.

Continuous Improvement & Capability Strengthening

• Contribute to strengthening country-level programme communications systems, templates, and workflows.
• Share lessons learned and feedback to improve clarity, reach, and resonance of communications outputs.
• Support structured documentation of messaging to maintain institutional memory at country level.
• Stay informed of emerging communications trends and digital tools relevant to country operations.

Crisis Communication Support:

• Identify potential communications sensitivities or reputational risks within the country programme and escalate appropriately.
• Support the implementation of prescribed crisis communication to manage country programme risk, enable timely responses to issues that may affect country programme delivery, integrity, donor confidence, or community trust.
• Comply with defined escalation pathways, roles, and decision rights (RACI Matrix) for media and external engagement.

Branding and Visibility

• Strengthen country programme visibility and coherence through consistent application of a unified programme brand identity, narrative, and purpose across all communications outputs.
• Adhere to brand and communications guidelines, ensuring effective implementation for country programme teams.
• Support the implementation and maintenance of a communications knowledge repository at country level to support institutional memory, learning, and consistent use of approved messaging and assets across the programme lifecycle.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (SUCCESS MEASURES) – Building the right platform and creating lasting impact

• Clear and credible country narrative: Country programme messaging is consistent, accurate, and aligned with organisational guidance. Communications outputs reflect programme realities and evidence without misrepresentation. Stakeholders demonstrate improved understanding of country programme objectives and impact.
• Stakeholder and Donor confidence: Donor visibility requirements are met on time and to agreed quality standards. Communications contributions strengthen donor reporting and stakeholder engagement. Media and public-facing content reinforces programme credibility and professionalism.
• Timely & High-Quality Content Delivery: Communication products are delivered within agreed timelines and meet editorial standards. Digital and offline platforms reflect updated, relevant, and engaging content. Documentation and archiving processes ensure continuity of messaging.
• Communications risk management: Communications risks are identified early and managed appropriately. No significant reputational issues arise due to inaccurate, misaligned, or poorly coordinated messaging
• Cross-functional collaboration:  Strong working relationships established with programme, MEL, and leadership teams. Communications is integrated into planning and reporting cycles rather than treated as an afterthought.
• Continuous improvement: Communications approaches demonstrate increasing clarity, audience relevance, and measurable engagement. Feedback and lessons learned are incorporated into subsequent communications planning.

Qualifications

EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Journalism, Media Studies, Development Communication, or a related field.
• Membership in an accredited local, regional or international professional body such as International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), Public Relations Society of Kenya (PRSK), Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), Media Council of Kenya (MCK), etc

EXPERIENCE

• Four (4) to six (6) years of experience in strategic communications, public relations, journalism or international relations with at least one (1) year of supervisory experience within development, social enterprise, or mission-driven organisations;
• Proven track record in media relations, stakeholder engagement, change and crisis communication;  
• Experience developing and executing communications strategies and plans aligned to programme goals;
• Exceptional storytelling, content development, editorial and interpersonal communication skills;
• Experience translating technical and MEL data into accessible narratives;
• Experience in strategic advisory, crisis communication, digital communications, media relations, and communication risk management in regulated or donor-driven environments; and
• Proficiency in Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Canva, Illustrator, and other data visualization or graphic design software is an added advantage.
• Fluent in written and oral English.

CORE COMPETENCIES

• Strategic Planning: Establishes an action plan for self and others to complete work efficiently and on time by setting priorities, establishing timelines, leveraging and optimizing resources. Commits to a course of action to accomplish a goal after developing alternatives based on logical assumptions, facts, available resources, constraints and Amref values..
• Entrepreneurial mindset: Adapts messaging in response to emerging country developments, risks, or opportunities; tests and refines communications approaches to improve reach and engagement within local context. Applies creativity to strengthen country-level storytelling, digital engagement, and audience reach within established guidelines.
• Ownership and accountability: Demonstrates initiative in identifying inefficiencies, compliance risks, and process gaps within day-to-day grant administration. Proposes practical improvements and adapts quickly within evolving donor and programme environments. Balances flexibility with accountability by applying sound professional judgement in routine grant decisions.
• Enabling change: Encourages self and others to implement better approaches to address problem and opportunities; leads the implementation and acceptance of change for self and team. Supports programme teams through messaging related to programme adaptations or policy developments, ensuring clarity and credibility during transitions.
• Driving results: Takes personal accountability for accuracy, timeliness, and completeness of sub-grant documentation and reporting. Monitors assigned deadlines and follows through proactively to ensure milestones are met. Maintains high standards for quality, timeliness, and accuracy of communications outputs; follows through persistently on content development and approvals.
• Influencing: Uses clear, persuasive communication approaches to support stakeholder understanding, collaboration, and alignment within the country context.
• Creating an inclusive environment: Makes decisions and initiates action to ensure that programme policies leverage the capabilities and insights of individuals with diverse backgrounds, cultures, styles, abilities and motivation. Ensures communications respect diverse community perspectives, cultural norms, and safeguarding standards.
• Proactive Learner: Identifying own strengths and shortcomings that impact organizational and programme results; actively pursuing development experiences that will enhance own impact on long-term organizational outcomes.