Summary
Date Posted: Wednesday, February 09, 2022 , Base Salary: Not Disclosed

JOB DETAILS:
Regional Communications Manager, Central Africa & Gulf of Guinea
Reports To: Regional Director Central Africa & Gulf of Guinea
Expected travel: Frequent travel to Nigeria, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, and Gabon
Start date: March 2022
Duration: Full time position

About WCS
The Wildlife Conservation Society is an international NGO headquartered at Bronx Zoo in New York City working to save wildlife and wild lands and to meet global challenges in over 50 countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas and the world’s oceans. The Africa Program is the largest of WCS’s field programs, with approximately 1,100 staff in 12 country programs focused across four major regions (Central Africa, Sudano-Sahel, East and Southern Africa, and Madagascar and Western Indian Ocean).
Our MISSION is to save wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education and inspiring people to value nature. Our VISION is a world where wildlife thrives in healthy lands and seas valued by societies that embrace and benefit from the diversity and integrity of life on earth. Our GOAL is to conserve the world’s largest wild places in 16 priority regions, home to more than 50% of the world’s biodiversity. Our VALUES are Respect, Accountability and Transparency, Innovation, Diversity and Inclusion, Collaboration, Integrity.

Central Africa and Gulf of Guinea Regional Program
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Central Africa and Gulf of Guinea Regional Program is seeking a dynamic, creative and experienced Communications Expert to build and manage an important and exciting outward-facing communications portfolio. The Central Africa and Gulf of Guinea program is one of the largest of WCS’s 13 Global Regional Programs, spanning Nigeria, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, and Gabon. This is a rapidly growing program with a diverse and expanding portfolio of donors, partners and projects. The region presents a set of complex conservation challenges to biodiversity and their habitats and WCS field programs are addressing these through a number of initiatives including protected area management, community engagement, sustainable livelihoods, policy reform and sustainable financing. WCS recently formally established its regional hub in Kigali, Rwanda which hosts a growing team of technical specialists and regional management to support our country programs and field offices.

General Position Summary
The Communications Manager will be responsible for developing communications strategies that respond to the needs of country and field programs, builds and mentors a small local team of communications specialists to effectively implement this strategy across our conservation programs; and coordinates with the WCS Communications Headquarters Team based in New York. An initial focus of the position will be in developing and supporting local implementation of a communications strategy for our protected area programs in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (OWR), Ituri Province and Kahuzi-Biega National Park (KBNP), South Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Candidates need to demonstrate that they have the necessary experience and skills to manage communications within dynamic and complex programs operating in remote locations. They will need to demonstrate that they are able to grasp the complexities of situations and use a wide range of communication and behavioural change tools to respond to situations as well as having the foresight to develop materials proactively.
The position is based at the WCS Regional Office in Kigali, Rwanda with frequent travel to the WCS offices in the region.

Responsibilities
Site-based and Regional Communication Strategies
• Develop the communications and behavioural change strategy for target field sites, country and regional programs with an initial focus on OWR and KBNP in coordination with field and country program offices. This strategy will include aspects such as branding and marketing targeted at reserve/park-level, provincial, national and international audiences among a wide range of target groups, including (but not limited to) DRC national and provincial government actors, donors and partners, local civil society, communities and Indigenous Peoples.
• Develop and implement monitoring, metrics and evaluation systems to measure communications reach, impacts and change (knowledge, attitudes, behavior) and to analyze successes/opportunities of specific communications campaigns.

Implementation and capacity building
• Design a portfolio of outputs and products to support the regional and site-specific strategies by creating products, outputs and programs that lead to behavioural change among target groups of people, and to raise visibility of WCS sites.
• Developing project content to be disseminated via social media, websites, newsletters, press releases and any other distribution channels
• Assess capacity needs across the region and support the recruitment, onboarding and mentoring of a full-time Communications Manager for OWR and KBNP.

Fundraising, program and event support
• Proactively identify communications opportunities to promote the regional/country/site strategy and vision – including paid, earned, shared and owned (PESO) media channels
• Increase visibility of programs on various WCS websites and social media platforms based on strategy developed and in accordance with donor and WCS requirements
• Contribute to business development and fundraising efforts through presentations, videos, graphics and other media products
• Support country and field offices in meeting and monitoring project and donor-specific communications requirements (i.e development and/or implementation of communications plans and branding strategies)
• Support regional and country level events with targeted communication plans and event-specific content
• Support strong liaison and coordination between field programs and Global Communications and Fundraising teams in NY

Qualifications / Requirements
• More than five years’ experience developing and implementing communications and behavioural change strategies
• Significant experience engaging with international, national and local media
• Demonstrated experience engaging a diversity of target audiences using a broad range of contemporary media and tools across the PESO model
• Understanding of the tools that can be used to measure the success of communication and behavioural change a significant advantage
• Proven experience working in Africa, with experience in the DRC a distinct advantage
• Demonstrated experience, creativity and flexibility in operating effectively and sensitively in different socio-cultural environments
• Ability to work and write in both French and English fluently; sensitivity to local languages – especially in the development of communication materials
• Ability to work effectively in a large multi-cultural team
• Willing and able to travel to remote locations in Central Africa
• Interest in wildlife conservation and environmental issues

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: 60

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Job application procedure
If you meet the above qualifications, skills and experience, you should apply by emailing your cover letter and CV together with samples of recent communication products or materials of most relevance to this opportunity, and the names and contact information of three references to: AfricaApplications@wcs.org . Please include “Regional Communications” in the subject line of your email. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted for interviews. Please also apply online at our WCS Career portal: https://sjobs.brassring.com/TGnewUI/Search/Home/Home?partnerid=25965&siteid=5168#jobDetails=694038_5168  Application Deadline: 28 February 2022

All Jobs

QUICK ALERT SUBSCRIPTION