Principal, Corporate Communication Officer at Universities Fund (UF)

Qualifications, Skills and Experience Required:

Academic Qualifications

1. Bachelor’s degree in Journalism or mass communication, public relations or its equivalent from a recognized institution;
2. Master’s degree in Journalism or mass communication, public relations or its equivalent from a recognized institution is an added advantage

Professional Qualifications / Membership to professional bodies

• Management course lasting not less than four (4) weeks from a recognized institution;
• Professional qualification in public relations, communications, customer experience or marketing or relevant field;
• Membership to Institute of Customer Experience (ICX) or Marketing Society of Kenya (MSK) or Public Relations Society of Kenya (PRSK) or any other relevant professional organization in good standing.

Previous relevant work experience required.

• At least eight (8) years relevant work experience in Public Service or Private sector, three of which must be in a supervisory position
• Functional Skills:

Proficiency in IT

• Knowledge of best practices in Customer Experience
• Brand & Product Marketing
• Digital Media Management
• Project management
• Communication skills
• Reporting skills
• Competitive analysis
• Analytical skills

Behavioral Competencies/ Attributes:

• Leadership skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Reliability & Dependability
• Innovative
• Emotional Intelligence
• Creativity and tenacity
• Fulfilment of the Chapter 6 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010.

Responsibilities:

The job holder is responsible for conceptualizing, planning and overseeing implementation of corporate communication [Public Relations activities], product marketing and customer experience strategies, policies, systems and initiatives that translate into brand value enhancement, Institution’s visibility and superior customer experience at the head office. Drives the Institution’s Sustainability Agenda, Corporate Social Investment, Stakeholder Engagement, Service Quality Assurance and Reputational Risk Management.

Managerial / Supervisory Responsibilities

1. Leading the development, implementation and evaluation of department’s strategic, tactical, and operational customer engagement plans, programs, and initiatives in line with the institution’s Strategic Plans;
2. Overseeing the development and roll-out of innovative strategies and initiatives that translate into quality customer experience;
3. Overseeing the formulation, implementation and monitoring of Service Quality Compliance framework to streamline service quality management;
4. Leading the development and review of Customer Journey Maps for continuous service improvement to achieve the customer experience promise and satisfaction index;
5. Overseeing the development, implementation, and periodic review of the Board’s Citizen Service Delivery Charter for consistent customer experience;
6. Establishing and maintaining a proactive constructive and cooperative working relationships with internal and external stakeholders to ensure seamless service delivery at the customer touch points;
7. Spearheading the Institution’s Corporate Social Investment and Sustainability Agenda and providing leadership in the development, maintenance and implementation of proactive socio-economic and environmental management processes and procedures through sustainability reporting and tracking;
8. Overseeing the formulation and implementation of the annual sectional action plans whilst ensuring alignment to set annual performance contracting deliverables in order to achieve the section's strategic objective;
9. Building and maintaining a performance-oriented team of 2 staff, focused on delivering on the customer promise while creating an environment of trust, mutual respect and concern for individual growth and development;
10. Driving key roles in various committees in the Institution to realize corporate objectives;
11. Leading the conceptualization, planning and implementation of corporate communication and public relations strategies geared towards attaining and sustaining a positive public image of the institution;
12. Spearheading all the media campaign engagements for the Fund in liaison with respective sections to drive brand visibility and uptake of the institution's products and services.;
13. Overseeing all internal and external communication for the institution to ensure information consistency;
14. Oversee tracking and monitoring of the institution's media mentions in order to promote a favorable media tonality;
15. Overseeing the preparation, utilization and monitoring of the sectional budget while ensuring value for money;
16. Spearheading the preparation of informative press releases, newsletters, and institution’s branding/marketing materials to ensure accurate information dissemination to the stakeholders;
17. Overseeing the formulation and implementation of the Institution’s corporate, stakeholders’ and sectional policies to provide guidelines on internal and external stakeholder engagement;
18. Overseeing the preparation and submission of all periodic and ad hoc reports for the section geared towards informed decision making;
19. Providing sectional leadership in extracting value from datasets to produce innovative and data-driven solutions, solve focused analytical problems; develop a data strategy and oversee the end-to-end execution of identified opportunities;
20. Inspiring and mentoring the section’s staff on career progression and personal growth to ascertain succession planning;
21. Driving the section’s Business Continuity Management activities to ensure human and other sectional assets are protected for continuity of operations in the event of disruptions or a disaster;
22. Overseeing the review of divisional policies and Quality Management Framework to ensure effective service delivery and as best practice demands.

Operational Responsibilities / Tasks

1. Overseeing the management of over 20 annual events to promote smooth stakeholder engagement and publicize activities of the institution including stakeholder engagement forums;
2. Driving the development of a customer experience culture across the organization, supported by effective policy and process frameworks and responsive customer service systems as per the best practice customer-centered leadership behaviors;
3. Spearheading resolution of customer complaints lodged through the Commission on Administrative Justice (Office of the Ombudsman), compiling, and submitting the periodic reports to the Office of the Ombudsman;
4. Overseeing compliance and adherence to the institution’s Citizen Service Delivery Charter and signed Service Level Agreements for efficient service delivery;
5. Spearheading the smooth running of operations in of one customer touch point and ensuring that services offered meet the Institution’s promise to its customers;
6. Overseeing the management of media engagement including interviews, press briefs, press releases and publications to be disseminated to external and internal stakeholders to enhance accurate information dissemination to the public;
7. Leading the implementation of communication and marketing strategies for new products, launches and events;
8. Spearheading the management of the relationship between the institution and external Brand and PR communication agencies assigned to the institution;
9. Overseeing the management of the implementation of all artworks, production of branding or marketing materials and media campaigns to enhance brand affinity;
10. Spearheading the development, packaging and production of communication briefs and publications for internal and external use;
11. Overseeing the development, production, and execution of all the Institution’s advertising strategies to enhance brand visibility;
12. Overseeing the implementation of business intelligent data-driven service improvement initiatives to enhance efficient customer service delivery;
13. Overseeing the development and management of the section’s budget of over 20 million to ensure cost efficiency.

Financial Responsibility:

1. Responsible for the Development and management of the section’s budget in excess of Kshs.20 Million;
2. Responsible for section’s growing the funds target in excess of Kshs. 23 Billion;
3. Overseeing the approval of Bulk messaging [SMS and Email] Communication;
4. Responsible for the development and implementation of sectional approved procurement plan;
5. Approval of the section’s expenditures in line with approved work plans.

Responsibility for physical assets around the area of work:

1. Responsible for physical assets assigned by the institution;
2. Responsible for the sectional physical assets e.g. computers, laptops, branding materials, furniture e.tc. valued at over Kshs.100 Million.

Decision Making/ Job Influence:

• Makes strategic decisions to improve on the customer experience, corporate public image, advertising, and stakeholder relationship with the Institution;
• Makes operational decisions geared towards the consistent service delivery and a favorable customer satisfaction index;
• Assigns work to direct reports;
• Monitors reports on the section’s productivity for service improvement decisions;
• Appraises/evaluates direct reports on performance

Working Conditions:

• Works predominantly in an office environment with regular local travel for the Institution’s related events as well as occasional international travel.