Head of Marketing & Communications at BFA (Bankable Frontier Associates)

About the Role

Are you an experienced marketing and communications leader that is passionate about storytelling and communication? Are you looking to have an impact on a more sustainable and equitable world? Do you have a vision for ways to bring together different communication channels to amplify and promote the change you want to see? Do you have experience supporting innovators in emerging markets and helping them to grow and scale solutions for the underserved?

We’re looking for an accomplished marketing and communications leader to take the reigns of the Communications and Influence team at BFA Global and its largest project, inclusive tech accelerator Catalyst Fund.

The Head of Marketing & Communications will know how to develop and execute on influence strategies that can reach target stakeholders in the development, tech, financial inclusion, and international development ecosystems, from startups to investors, banks, and funders. They will have phenomenal writing and content skills, experience working closely with design teams, understand organic and paid digital media, be able to extract and articulate insights that are meaningful to a broader audience.

The successful candidate will have experience advising or leading teams at early-stage startups in emerging markets, as well as diagnosing and advising on solutions for challenges faced by startup teams in marketing, messaging, go to market and growth strategies.

What you’ll do

Catalyst Fund

Leadership + strategy

Set the vision for and oversee marketing, communications and messaging strategy for Catalyst Fund

• With Catalyst Fund Marketing Manager, oversee the dissemination of outputs as needed and lead overall Catalyst Fund influence strategy
• Work with Head of Learning & Insights to develop learning agenda, contribute to and edit content, and increase the influence of Catalyst Fund in the wider industry
• Oversee Catalyst Fund-owned and participation in relevant external events

Startup advisory

As part of the Venture Building team, alongside other members of Communications & Influence, deliver marketing, messaging, go to market and growth advisory for Catalyst Fund portfolio startups, as needed. This may include:

• Run diagnostic for all new startups to determine areas where support is needed
• Lead and oversee sprint sessions with startups, in areas such as: target segmentation and persona development, value proposition, messaging strategy, digital marketing and content strategy, user communications journeys, collateral development, PR, feedback on existing marketing efforts, and more
• Work closely with UI/UX, technical and product venture builders to advise on messaging, tools and tracking for startup products

BFA Global

Leadership + strategy

Lead the Communications & Influence team across BFA Global as a whole, working closely with BFA’s Communications & Influence Manager and Associate, Catalyst Fund’s marketing manager, and the Design Lead. This person will also mentor members of the team as they continue to grow their respective skillsets

• Oversee and ensure delivery of all external- and partner-facing deliverables on BFA projects, as well as dissemination and promotion of BFA’s and Catalyst Fund’s work, and ensure standards are met
• Work closely with BFA’s management team and project leads to contribute to business development efforts and company strategy, and continue to iterate on BFA Global’s positioning and messaging as the industry, and BFA’s focus, continues to evolve
• Ensure proper collaboration with and approvals from respective comms teams of BFA partners and funders.

Content

• Oversee management of the BFA Global website and all owned media, ensuring continued updates and improvements as needed to continue driving traffic to our work
• Oversee creation and dissemination of relevant insights and project-related content
• Work with the wider team to produce creative content for BFA that draws on insights from across projects, per focus area, to demonstrate BFA’s learnings, insights and capabilities

Press & media

• Work with the Communications & Influence team to elevate the influence of BFA Global, Catalyst Fund, and team members in core subject areas through regular media placements and coverage
• Oversee press announcements, working with the Communications & Influence Manager, for BFA Global and Catalyst Fund, and maintain relationships with key media contacts

BFA Global project support

• Work with project leads to determine strategic opportunities for marketing and communications support as a core consulting offering for projects in BFA’s pipeline. This might include participating in project proposal development and attending project kick-off meetings.
• Oversee communications work completed by relevant members of the team for all ongoing BFA projects

In addition to support in writing, editing and disseminating project deliverables, Communications & Influence support may include:

• Communications and marketing advisory for BFA project clients and end beneficiaries
• Development of training and educational materials
• Contributions to desk research and insight gathering
• Distilling insights and next steps from first-hand research
• Development of personas and value propositions
• Larger dissemination and partner strategy for project insights and deliverables

Required skillset

• 9+ years of experience in marketing, communications, with experience leading an international team
• A detailed understanding of the full marketing funnel and ability to build a compelling messaging and positioning strategy for a variety of business types
• Experience working with key tools, including Slack, Mailchimp, SEMRush, Google Analytics, etc.
• Experience working with and advising early-stage startups, particularly in emerging markets
• Superior writing and editing skills; ability to distill meaningful insights from data-driven research
• Strong written and verbal communication skills to communicate effectively with a distributed team across several countries
• Experience with and understanding of inclusive finance in emerging markets (Africa, LatAm, Asia)
• Strong project management experience
• Experience working with the press and pitching to a broad international audience, including governments and policymakers, central banks, international development organizations, etc
• An excellent ability to create and manage content (e.g. for website, e-newsletters, social media, etc.)
• A good eye for visual branding and graphic representation
• Self-starter and team player with energy to juggle multiple responsibilities
• Strong organizational and management skills, excellent punctuality, attention to detail and professionalism
• Fluency in English required. Any other local language will be an advantage

Soft Skills:

• Applicants need to succeed in technical skills, but also need to build a strong portfolio of soft skills to achieve long-term success at BFA Global.
• Emotional intelligence, communication & empathy – You need to have a strong ability to collaborate effectively with others and work in teams, build relationships, share ideas, and manage conflict.
• Creativity & problem-solving skills – You are required to have analytical and critical thinking skills that can help them find creative solutions to problems.
• Adaptability & flexibility – You need to be agile and adaptable to effectively deal with the rapid changes (both financial and technological) occurring in the industry.

Only shortlisted candidates who provide the required information will be contacted for follow-up.

*BFA will not sponsor work permits.

**BFA will not pay for relocation expenses.