Communications and Learning Specialist At CARE International

CARE is a leading humanitarian organization dedicated to fighting poverty and social injustice with a special emphasis on women and girls. CARE began working in Zimbabwe in 1992 in response to severe regional drought and has since expanded programming to address longer-term development issues. The organization seeks to recruit outstanding candidates who are known for their excellence, professionalism, integrity and who are committed to providing support to the country office. Interested candidates are encouraged to apply for the position posted below:

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Takunda is a five-year (October 2020 to September 2025), USAID-funded Resilience Food Security Activity in Zimbabwe. The program complements government efforts in building resilience to repeated shocks amongst vulnerable communities. It is being implemented by a consortium of NGOs led by CARE International together with its partners: Bulawayo Projects Centre (BPC), Environment Africa (EA), Family Health International (FHI 360), International Youth Foundation (IYF), and Nutrition Action Zimbabwe (NAZ). The Program is supported by technical partners FANRPAN and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). The primary goal of Takunda is to achieve Sustainable, Equitable, and Resilient Food, Nutrition, and income security in the Buhera, Mutare, Chivi, and Zaka districts.

This program aims to achieve its goal through 3 purpose areas, namely,

• I. Increased gender equitable income among extremely poor and chronically vulnerable households, women, and youth.
• II. Improved nutritional status among children under 5 years, adolescent girls, and women of reproductive age.
• III. Reduced impact of shocks and stresses for extremely poor and chronically vulnerable households, women, and youth.

POSITION SUMMARY

As a Communication and Learning Specialist, you will be responsible for developing and implementing effective communication strategies that promote TAKUNDA’s overall goal and activities. You will build and maintain relations between TAKUNDA, the media, the donor, and the public and private sector, working closely with stakeholders to ensure that information about the program, key interventions, progress, and updates is widely disseminated to the right audience through various channels including social and digital media platforms. The Communication and Learning Specialist will work within the Collaboration, Learning and Adaptation (CLA) team, whose thrust is to effectively capture knowledge, document it as well as disseminate it.

RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Developing and executing communication plans – You will be responsible for developing and executing communication plans that align with the organization’s goals and objectives. This includes:
   1. Maintain an up-to-date communication strategy and workplan.
   2. Ensuring that the staff can capture and draft images and stories of impact on a day-to-day basis.
   3. Ensuring that the program has the resources to ensure they align with the brand guide and promote high level content that reflects the ambitions of the program participants and stakeholders.
2. Creating multimedia content and maintaining project & consortium brand identity
   1. You will be responsible for creating multimedia assets that effectively communicate the organization’s message to a wider audience.
   2. Creating engaging content for various social and digital platforms.
   3. working with other members of the USAID Takunda team to develop creative concepts and storyboards.
   4. Lead the design of all branding resources for USAID Takunda in support of commemorations and other events complementary to the program’s work. This includes designing apparel, presentations, and signage and supporting procurement processes with the relevant materials and quality assessment.
3. Monitoring Media Coverage and Digital Engagement and stakeholder relationships – You will be responsible for all program social media channels and first respond to all web inquiries. This includes:
   1. Managing the program’s website, front-end, and back-end. You will be responsible for managing stakeholder relationships to ensure that they are informed about the organization’s activities and initiatives.
   2. Researching and writing press releases, and content for the program website, infographics, blogs, and newsletters.
   3. Developing engaging communication materials that effectively communicate the organization’s message, such as reports and presentations, newsletters, press releases and technical documents for various platforms (social media and the program website).
   4. Monitoring media coverage of the organization to identify opportunities for positive coverage and to mitigate negative coverage. This includes developing media relations strategies and building relationships with media professionals.
4. Reporting – You will be responsible for the consolidation of stories and photo galleries on a quarterly and annual basis. This includes creating thematic compilations as and when needed.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in communication, visual communication, journalism, public relations, Information Science, Knowledge Management, or a related field.
• 3+ years of experience in communications, journalism, visual communication, or marketing.
• Experience with design thinking principles.
• Demonstrated use of the Adobe Creative Suite and/or other similar software.
• Demonstrated use of a content management system.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Confidence in presenting ideas to stakeholders.
• Strong project management skills.