JOB PURPOSE:

The Communications Officer will create high-quality and engaging content to showcase the research, activities, and services of the Strathmore Agri-Food Innovation Center (SAFIC). Using various media to reach diverse audiences, they aim to enhance the Centre’s visibility, reputation, and impact as a leader in food systems transformation, agribusiness education, research, and entrepreneurship.

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Editing and Proofreading:  Edit and proofread centers research output and materials to ensure clarity, coherence, and adherence to the organization’s values.
• Audience Engagement: Understand the target audience and tailor content to effectively engage and inform them by ensuring that all internal and external communication is handled effectively towards building long-term relationships with key project stakeholders.
• Content Creation:
  • Plan and manage the design, content, and production of all communication materials and respond to communication-related issues promptly.
  • Create informative and interesting press releases, press kits, newsletters, brochures, promotional emails, videos, media articles, and related materials to showcase SAFIC project activities, success stories, and the work of Centre staff by actively soliciting story opportunities within the Centre.
  • Oversee SAFIC’s media promotion, editing, and proofreading of communication materials, texts, etc.
  • Preparing presentations and proposals for clients, including charts, graphs, images, and other visual aids.
  • Conceptualize, research, write, and edit content highlighting SAFIC’s research, training and entrepreneurial programs, as well as professional and academic accomplishments of faculty, students and staff.
  • Newsletters: Take the lead in coming up with the SAFIC annual and bi-annual and Monthly EE newsletters for internal and external stakeholders.
• Provide oversight for all Photography/Videography needs of the center: Facilitatephotography and videography within the program activities, ensuring they are edited, shared, and well-archived
• Strategies and Campaigns: Develop, maintain, review, and implement effective communication strategies that build awareness of the work.
• Monitoring sentiment analysis and preparing relevant reports: Monitor web, email, and social media analytics and report to management detailing successes and failures of communications campaigns.
• Social media: In liaison with the head of marketing and communication, manage the social media accounts and promote the project communications and marketing materials through appropriate social channels and websites.
• Media Engagement: Assist to conduct interviews with members of the media, and other project stakeholders in liaison with the SBS Marketing and communications manager when needed.
• Data Repository and Archiving: Manage the online drive which holds the program’s communication documents and other databases that will be available for the project such as photos and videos. Create and maintain an inventory of images, audio files, video clips, or other materials used in the project.
• Any other duties allocated

JOB REQUIREMENTS

The post holder will be required to have and to demonstrate evidence of the following qualifications, attributes, and skills:

• A minimum bachelor’s degree in communications, Journalism, Marketing, Public Relations, Mass Media, or related fields.
• At least three years of writing and editing experience in Communications, Marketing, Journalism, Copywriting including proofreading and editorial tasks of own and other people’s work or other role directly related to the duties and responsibilities specified.
• A portfolio that demonstrates familiarity with science, agriculture, and technology-related topics along with the ability to translate complex concepts to appeal to a variety of audiences will be an added advantage.

KEY COMPETENCIES AND SKILLS:

• Experience and knowledge in writing, proofreading, formatting, and editing.
• Must be able to work in a team environment as well as independently, exercising sound judgment with minimal supervision while effectively collaborating with peers and supervisors.
• Proven skills in managing social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.), community management, and writing reports based on analytics.
• Skilled in digital marketing strategies through social media channels, email search engines, etc.
• Excellent interpersonal communication, effective stakeholder management and presentation skills.
• Respond positively to new approaches; Ability to extract, interpret, analyze data, and resolve problems.