Communications Manager at the African Philanthropy Forum (APF)

The African Philanthropy Forum (APF) is a strong and vibrant community of partners who, through their strategic giving, investments, and influence, foster shared prosperity on the African continent. Through its resources and high impact convenings across the Continent and beyond, APF raises awareness about the important role that strategic philanthropy can play in society. It is committed to creating an enabling environment to transform the culture of giving on the Continent to the extent that it exceeds development aid by 2030. To date, it has reached approximately 2,500 stakeholders in fourteen African countries including Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

We are currently seeking to engage a dynamic, passionate, result oriented and self-motivated individual to fill the position below:

Job Title: Communications Manager

Location: Lagos, Nigeria
Employment: Full Time

Job Summary

• APF is currently seeking to engage a dynamic, passionate, result oriented and self-motivated individual to fill the position of Communications Manager.

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and evaluate an integrated, strategic communications plan [media relations, social media, events, communication collateral annually
• Assess communications needs and priorities for the organization
• Manage APF’s brand as a leader within the philanthropic space
• Develop and maintain contacts with members, partners and key stakeholders and identify opportunities and vehicles to communicate with these constituencies
• Lead the design and maintain APF websites, including generation, preparation and editing of content
• Research, write, and edit a broad range of communications that promote APF activities
• Manage content gathering, development, and posting for social media, blogs e-newsletters
• Manage the development, distribution, and maintenance of all print and electronic publications
• Develop promotional and informational materials for internal and external outreach activities
• Produce reports summarizing performance and impact for external and internal audiences
• Develop relationships with key media outfits to secure and grow media coverage both online and offline, and ensure maximum publicity for the APF brand
• Research and write press releases, coordinate press conferences and plan events
• Provide effective and timely responses to public information inquiries
• Provide timely strategic advice and creative solutions for dealing with sensitive communications issues and stories

Candidate Profile
Qualifications & Experience:

• Master’s Degree in Social Sciences or related discipline
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience in communication and information management, marketing and/or PR
• Excellent writing/editing and verbal communication skills
• Good knowledge of media analysis & monitoring tools
• Proven ability to skillfully develop and manage relationships with a diverse audience
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including excellent PowerPoint presentation skills, and strong analytical capabilities
• Creative strategic entrepreneurial thinker and problem solver
• Experience managing corporate communications
• Proven-ability to manage a variety of key initiatives across locations concurrently
• Demonstrable experience of dealing with the media (print, broadcast, social and digital)
• Ability to speak French will be an added advantage

Skills & Competences:

• Self-starter, entrepreneurial and able to work as part of a team and independently
• Ability to work in a start-up, fast-paced environment and handle unexpected events
• Ability to work collaboratively with all stakeholders
• Commitment to high integrity, ethics, and professionalism
• Commitment to excellence and experience in leading others to new levels of effectiveness and impact
• Proficiency in the use of graphics or publishing software
• Ability to stay up to date with current technologies and trends in social media, design tools, and applications
• Ability to operate effectively both as part of a team and independently
• Ability to work under pressure and prioritize competing tasks
• Good time-management and organizational skills
• A result-oriented person passionate about making a real impact and change in Africa and naturally driven by that pursuit

Technical Skills:

• Experience working with Adobe Powerpoint
• Experience with Adobe Creative Cloud i.e., InDesign, Illustrator, XD, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Filmora
• Experience with CMS i.e., WordPress
• Experience working in social media, online publishing or digital marketing and its tools e.g. Mailchimp, Canva, Adobe Spark
• Experience working with analytics tools e.g., Google Analytics, Hootsuite, and Keyhole

Attitude:

• Energetic, proactive approach to work
• An enterprising attitude that is quick to search out alternative solutions to needs or problems
• Exhibits a helpful behaviour beyond strict job requirements
• Flexible, positive attitude towards working in a small but growing organization
• Confident

Application Closing Date
4th June, 2022.