Director, Communications at Bridge International

About The Role

As Director, Communications, you will be assisting in the formulation and management of business wide reputation management strategy that safeguards organization’s integrity and image; you will assist with the formulation of business wide internal and external communication and engagement strategies; develop and sustain relationships with key advocates for the business and to leverage influence for the benefit of the organization. While supporting the organization’s chief spokesperson, you will also represent the organization and its partnerships. You will be responsible for developing platforms for critical stakeholder engagement /corporate communication and information dissemination. You will be at the forefront of expectation management whilst eliciting public support for the organization. You will develop corporate content and manage information for relevance and resonance.

What You Will Do

• Utilize cross functional approach to align corporate and marketing messaging and engagement.
• Influence organization’s brand positioning and engagement through cross functional coordination and cooperation.
• Allocate importance to organization’s business wide content from time to time and derive maximum exposure from finite internal and external media space/platforms.
• Be the go–to person for the media and develop strong relationships with key Technology, Education, Development and Business media.
• Lead conceptualization and production of digital, media and other relevant content.
• Assist with strategic direction, and oversight for internal and external communications planning, digital and media management, media advocacy, specific issue and crisis management
• Develop strong cross functional relationships and influence in all external facing Departments/Groups to ensure consistency of communication and information.
• Co-own internal /external communication and engagement with critical stakeholders across the organization.
• Proactively identify critical opportunities to direct/own organization’s narrative thereby averting public relations crises and building goodwill for the organization.
• Suggest alteration of strategy and tactical actions when relevant.
• Maximize efficiency of Corporate Communications budgets and media influence.
• Adapt Organization’s shared services Corporate Communications Strategy to work effectively within local context.
• Develop and implement territory specific Corporate Communications Strategy in conjunction with Organization’s Shared Services Corporate Communications Strategy.
• Provide local context and input to the Shared Services team’s development of the overall organization’s Corporate Communication Strategy.
• Analyze and measure results of communications initiatives.

What You Should Have

• Masters' degree with superior academic performance.
• Experience in East Africa of working at a senior level for political, campaigning, non-profit, or social enterprise. Experience with a multinational organization is a plus.
• Experience working within a matrixed global organization.
• Experience developing communication for a campaign or movement, rather than a product.
• Experience developing and delivering comprehensive media strategies and complex media campaigns across a range of platforms for a range of audiences.
• High profile crisis communications experience.
• Experience successfully developing and managing effective working relationships with internal and external senior stakeholders including senior journalists, broadcasters and editors.
• Highly developed and proven creative skills to lead a significant communications team with flair, innovation and new ideas.
• Able to present in person, as an organization spokesperson, to large audiences in a highly engaging way.
• Highly developed verbal, written, and oral skills to promote and represent the organization.
• Experience of offering media advice and guidance to colleagues at a senior level.
• Experience building relationships and managing external partnerships from a communications perspective.
• Knowledge of national government issues related to the provision of primary education.
• Broad grasp of Kenya and Uganda media and political context and full understanding of all media disciplines and external media environment and experience in crisis communications.
• Excellent project management and organisational skills in a communications context.
• Experience of successfully managing budgets.
• Prior experience within a fast-paced, metric driven consulting or educational organization is a bonus.

You’re also

• A detailed doer – You have a track record of getting things done. You’re organized and responsive. You take ownership of every idea you touch and execute it to a fine level of detail, setting targets, engaging others, and doing whatever it takes to get the job done. You can multi-task dozens of such projects at once and never lose sight of the details. Likely, you have some experience in a start-up or other rapid-growth company.
• A networking mastermind – You excel at meeting new people and turning them into advocates. You communicate in a clear, conscientious, and effective way in both written and oral speech. You can influence strangers in the course of a single conversation. Allies and colleagues will go to bat for your ideas. You have an existing network from prior experience in the country, preferably in the regulatory, education, or business sectors.
• A creative problem-solver – Growing any business from scratch comes with massive and constant challenges. On top of that, Bridge works in often fragile, sometimes volatile low-resource communities and with complex government systems. You need to be flexible and ready to get everything done effectively, quickly, and affordably with the materials at hand.
• A relentless advocate – The children we serve and teachers we empower never leave your mind. You know them, get them, have shared a meal with them (or would be happy to in the future). You would never shrink back from shaking a parent’s hand or picking up a crying child, no matter what the person was wearing or looked like. Every decision you make considers their benefit, experience, and value.
• A malleable learner – You believe you can always do better. You welcome constructive criticism and provide it freely to others. You know you only get better tomorrow when others point out where you’ve missed things or failed today.
• A data-driven decision-maker – When making decisions, you don’t rely on your intuition alone. You collect data, you analyze it and make decisions with clear justifications.
• A curious investigator – You ask why a lot. You don’t just take what you see and accept it. You wonder why it is that way, and are aware that the world we see is created by human choices and actions – and it could be different. You wonder, and see the world as wonderful even when you want to change a part of it that is unjust.