Openings at International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

Position Responsibilities

IITA is looking for a talented, creative, and dynamic Communications Manager who will play a crucial role in disseminating knowledge products to key audiences and crafting stories and content that informs and influences stakeholders.

The Communications Manager will perform the following duties, among others:

• Establishing a Communications Function for the program
• Develop a communication Strategy, a Communications Team, and source for a panel of service providers.
• Ensure coordination and alignment with One CGIAR communications strategy. Support for fundraising, resource mobilization, and proposal development
• Support proposal development with specific communication activities
• Develop materials that support fundraising activities of the region.
• Ensure that proposals are aligned with the global brand and look professional.

Communication advice and support

• Give solicited and unsolicited advice to initiative staff on how to generate awareness and publicity for their Programmes.
• Support initiative staff in developing communication materials.
• Actively involved in planning, monitoring, and executing communication activities as part of the initiative.
• Maintain a network of trusted external suppliers for more elaborate or specific communication tasks.
• Oversee translation of science products/learnings into more generally accessible language

Website and social media

• Ensure websites related to the program under your management are kept current, relevant, and up to date and in consultation with One CGIAR guidelines. (Please note: for websites with news items, this means a minimum of one news item per month).
• Regular (minimum of four per year) and timely contribution of news items from the initiative.
• Any social media channels under your management (e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter) are kept current, relevant, and up to date.
• Initiative videos should be shared with proper tagging and descriptions for inclusion in the One CGIAR YouTube channels.

Public relations and free publicity

• Monitor Global and Regional media in program operating areas and actively reach out to appropriate media to profile the same.
• Develop press releases and media events for key initiative milestones.

Branding

• Ensure the program is fully compliant with One CGIAR branding guidelines.
• Protect and promote the correct use of the program brand in all internal and external communication.
• Educate Use Case teams on the proper use of the program branding guidelines.
• Ensure that staff is aware of the communication and branding toolbox/page on the intranet.

Internal communication

• Actively participate and engage in the global One CGIAR communications team.

Educational Qualifications and Experience

• The candidate should have a master’s degree in International Communications, Journalism, or a relevant/related field with five years of work experience in Communications and/or Marketing, in a complex and international setting.

Core Competencies

• Excellent writing skills and ability to convey complex data ideas and messages in a clear and easy-to-understand manner.
• Team leadership, strategic communication planning, creativity and innovation in the comms space, results-oriented, organize high profile events
• Exceptional attention to detail and organizational skills.
• Ability to work both independently and in a team-oriented, collaborative, and decentralized environment. Self-motivated and eager to learn.
• Excellent oral communication skills in English.
• Strong interest in science and agricultural development issues with the ability to grasp new material quickly.
• Ability to work well under pressure and with short deadlines.
• Commitment to IITA’s mission and core values.

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The Program Manager, in support of Excellence in Agronomy (EiA) and associated bilateral initiatives, will perform the following tasks:

• Oversee day-to-day operations and implementation of EiA activities and associated projects and ensure that effective operational support for program activities is in place.
• Support the Initiative and associated projects in pursuing strategic opportunities to fundraise and expand its activities by contributing to the development of concept notes, grant proposals, outreach, and visibility products.
• Assist in the review of donor agreements, amendments, and development of partner contracts/sub-grants in liaison with the Proposal Development and Administration Unit (PDAU) and program team.
• Coordinate the development of the annual program work plans, Plan of Results, budgets and Monitoring & Evaluation plans.
• Design a framework and utilize tools that facilitate tracking the progress of activity implementation against milestones and monitoring the Initiative budget and associated projects.
• Oversee the reporting process, and where necessary assist the Program Administrator in communication on this, to ensure timely reporting to the donor.
• Contribute to knowledge management by coordinating the scheduling and production of formal and informal reports, outputs, success stories, and blogs, on all aspects of the program communication, and updating the content of relevant online platforms.
• Establish a risk mitigation plan for the EiA Initiative and associated projects.
• Build capacity of partners in the work plan and budget development and in monitoring and reporting of project progress and financial expenditures in adherence to donor and IITA’s guidelines.
• Coordinate capacity development activities for the EiA team (staff and partners).
• Support internal and donor-directed audit processes ensuring that all recommendations are fully implemented.
• Support the recruitment of key program/project staff, consultants, and students and motivate team members to attain program goals, adhere to their responsibilities and project/program milestones, and track contract renewals and payments.
• Organize and coordinate program meetings, workshops, and team-building events that promote program cohesion, and disseminate project outputs to diverse stakeholders.
• Supervise the Program Administrator and work coherently with the CAH administrative team to ensure effective support services for the EiA initiative and associated projects.
• Undertake any other program-related task assigned by the IITA Central Africa Hub (CAH) Director or as requested by the CGIAR leadership team.

Educational Qualifications and Experience

The desired candidate will have:

• An advanced degree preferably at the Ph.D. level in a relevant field (such as Agriculture, International Development, Business Management, Economics).
• At least ten years of extensive experience post advanced degree, related to Agriculture R&D, project management, or business development, preferably in developing countries.
• Proven experience in rural development project management, Agricultural R&D, and donor funding in developing countries or Africa setting.
• Program Management Certifications.

Core Competencies

• Proven skills in successful project coordination and management including oversight of any risks and issues that may arise.
• Demonstrated strong analytical and communication skills and capacity to present convincingly, discuss and negotiate with high-level country officials.
• Blend of analytical, observational, organizational, and networking skills.
• Familiarity with the policies and procedures of multilateral and bilateral institutions.
• Work experience in International or National Agricultural centers on the African continent.
• Experience with the development of policy, legal, and institutional frameworks as well as the financial and technical aspects of projects.
• Good planning and organizing capacity; and demonstrated ability to pay attention to details.
• Proficient in using Microsoft Office packages (including Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and other project management tools and software (Jira, MS Project, etc).
• Solid knowledge of financial planning, management, and reporting.
• Demonstrated success in working with multi-disciplinary teams and partnerships in multi-cultural environments.
• Experience in resource mobilization.
• Having worked as chief of party for a large development program is an added advantage.
• Fluency in both written and spoken English.