Head of Communications at HEVA

Key Responsibilities
Lead HEVA’s Strategic Positioning and Brand

• Develop and lead HEVA’s long-term communications, brand, and visibility strategy,ensuring it advances the organisation’s strategic priorities and strengthens its influence across Africa and globally.
• Position HEVA as the leading voice on financing the creative and cultural industries by identifying opportunities for thought leadership, public engagement, and strategic visibility.
• Continuously evolve HEVA’s brand positioning, ensuring it remains relevant, distinctive, and credible with investors, policymakers, development partners, creatives, and the wider public.
• Serve as a trusted strategic advisor to the Managing Partners and senior leadership on communications, stakeholder positioning, reputation, and public engagement.
• Develop annual communications strategies, budgets, KPIs, and performance frameworks that measure not only outputs but organisational influence and brand impact.

Shape HEVA’s Storytelling and Narrative

• Lead the development of a compelling organisational narrative that clearly communicates HEVA’s purpose, impact, and vision for Africa’s creative economy.
• Build an editorial strategy that transforms investment, research, policy, and programme work into stories that inspire, influence, and mobilise action.
• Create systems for identifying, documenting, and amplifying stories from across HEVA’s portfolio, ensuring that the voices of entrepreneurs, artists, and ecosystem actors remain at the centre of the organisation’s communications.
• Oversee the production of high-quality publications, reports, campaigns, multimedia content, and thought leadership that consistently reinforce HEVA’s brand and strategic priorities.
• Ensure every piece of communication reflects HEVA’s standards of excellence, authenticity, and impact.

Build Visibility and Thought Leadership

• Develop and execute strategies that significantly increase HEVA’s visibility across regional and international platforms.
• Proactively identify opportunities for media engagement, speaking opportunities, strategic partnerships, publications, awards, and convenings that strengthen HEVA’s profile.
• Build relationships with journalists, editors, producers, influencers, and industry leaders to position HEVA as a trusted source of expertise on Africa’s creative economy.
• Lead public relations strategies that generate sustained visibility rather than one-off media coverage.
• Position HEVA’s leadership as recognised thought leaders through speeches, opinion pieces, interviews, podcasts, and high-profile engagements.

Lead Digital Strategy and Brand Experience

• Develop and oversee an integrated digital communications strategy that strengthens audience growth, engagement, and organisational influence across all platforms.
• Ensure HEVA’s website, social media channels, newsletters, and digital products consistently reflect the organisation’s brand, values, and strategic priorities.
• Guide creative direction across photography, videography, design, multimedia, and emerging digital formats.
• Champion innovation by exploring new platforms, technologies, and storytelling approaches that increase reach and engagement.

Strengthen Strategic Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement

• Lead communications for HEVA’s strategic partnerships, consortiums, and collaborative initiatives, ensuring alignment of messaging across diverse stakeholders.
• Build trusted relationships with communications counterparts across partner organisations, donors, investors, and ecosystem actors.
• Ensure HEVA consistently meets contractual donor visibility, branding, and reporting requirements while protecting the integrity of its own brand.
• Develop communications approaches that deepen engagement with government,development partners, investors, and private-sector stakeholders.

Protect and Strengthen HEVA’s Reputation

• Serve as the custodian of HEVA’s brand, reputation, and public identity.
• Develop and implement proactive reputation management strategies and crisis communication protocols.
• Ensure consistency of messaging, tone, and visual identity across every programme, initiative, publication, and public engagement.
• Anticipate reputational opportunities and risks, advising leadership accordingly.

Executive and Institutional Communications

• Partner closely with the Managing Partners and senior leadership to develop speeches, presentations, strategic messaging, and executive communications for key engagements.
• Lead communications planning for major institutional milestones, fundraising initiatives, annual reports, investor materials, and Board communications.
• Support organisational advocacy and policy engagement through strategic messaging and communications planning.

Lead and Grow the Communications Function

• Build a high-performing communications function that combines creativity with strategic thinking and measurable impact.
• Mentor, coach, and develop communications staff while fostering a culture of curiosity, innovation, collaboration, and excellence.
• Manage relationships with agencies, consultants, designers, photographers, videographers, and other creative partners to deliver exceptional work.

Measure Influence and Organisational Impact

• Establish communications metrics that go beyond reach and impressions to assess organisational visibility, stakeholder engagement, brand perception, and influence.
• Use data and audience insights to continuously improve communications strategies and decision-making.
• Regularly report communications performance, learning, and strategic
• recommendations to senior leadership and the Board.

Resource Stewardship

• Develop and manage the communications budget to maximise organisational impact and value for money.
• Oversee procurement, contracts, and quality assurance for all communications-related services and suppliers.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Journalism, Marketing, Public Relations, Media Studies, or a related field. A Master’s degree is an advantage.
• At least 8–10 years of progressive experience leading strategic communications, brand, or reputation functions, with significant experience in a senior leadership role.
• Demonstrated success building brands and positioning organisations as influential voices within their sectors.
• Exceptional storytelling, editorial, and content strategy skills, with the ability to simplify complex ideas into compelling narratives.
• Experience leading communications within multi-stakeholder partnerships, donor-funded programmes, or consortium environments.
• Strong understanding of media relations, digital communications, audience engagement, and reputation management.
• Experience working within impact investing, international development, entrepreneurship, the creative economy, or related sectors is highly desirable.
• Proven experience managing multidisciplinary teams, agencies, consultants, and communications budgets.