Job Title: Communication Advisor

Department: Programming/INECD

Band: 9

Reports To: Chief of Party

Country/Location: Rwanda (Kigali)

About CRS 

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. CRS works to save, protect, and transform lives in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion, or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, nutrition, agriculture, education, microfinance, and peacebuilding.

Catholic Relief Services has been present in Rwanda since 1960, and currently implements projects in nutrition, WASH, agriculture, youth entrepreneurship, and peacebuilding. The Country Program has over 40 staff and implements its projects through local and international partners, with strong coordination/collaboration with Government of Rwanda structures.

Job Summary:

The Inclusive Nutrition and Early Childhood Development (INECD) activity will promote nurturing and responsive care practices, especially in the areas of health, functioning, nutrition, and early childhood development (ECD) for caregivers and children. Specifically, the activity aims to improve health and nutrition outcomes among women of reproductive age and adolescents and improve infant and young child feeding practices. It also aims to address child development gaps and significant unmet physical rehabilitation and assistive technology (rehab/AT) and social inclusion needs for infants and children. The activity will focus on community-level service delivery, community-health facility linkages, and district-level capacity development, as well as address issues of inclusion and participation, including access to programs and services for children and adults with disabilities, in line with Government of Rwanda priorities.

As Communication Advisor You will be responsible for the development and dissemination of effective documents, reports, and communication materials and increasing the visibility of the program among key stakeholders. A key component of this will be the development and implementation of a INECD communication’s strategy. The position holder will also monitor compliance with the program’s USAID-approved branding and marking plan. In addition, the Communication Advisor will also be responsible for building the capacity of CRS and partner staff on communications and documentation; use of appropriate tools and technologies to capture human success stories, lessons learned, and promising practices; and effective reporting for different audiences (e.g. donor, government, etc). The Communication Advisor will report to the Chief of Party and will work closely with the Deputy Chief of Party, technical experts of INECD, and other relevant colleagues of the CRS/Rwanda Country Program.

Roles and Key Responsibilities:

• Lead development and implementation of INECD’s communications strategy targeting both internal and external audiences
• Prepare and regularly update project briefing packet (talking points, photos, brochures, etc)
• Strengthening capacity of CRS and partners’ staff in key skills and competencies of developing communications materials, including compliance with branding & marking plans, writing success stories, communicating with external audiences, etc.
• Coordinate the development and dissemination of success stories highlighting program impacts

• Design and develop appropriate materials for major events of INECD’s program and its partners, including project milestones, dissemination workshops, major donor visits, annual planning and review meetings, campaigns and major district level events

• Develop high quality quarterly newsletters in coordination with INECD’s technical staff to communicate the status of the program to the donor, relevant government stakeholders, other peer organizations, and internally for CRS staff. Draft and issue press releases, information notes, and written materials for dissemination to key stakeholders

• Develop strong relationships with local media, social media outlets and utilize appropriate channels to portray INECD’s program as per the agency’s guideline
• Ensure effective knowledge management by archiving photos, videos, fact sheets, training materials, and other communications documents on CRS’ Sharepoint site or other formats and ensure they are accessible to program staff in a timely way

• Manage the project branding and marking strategy. Take leadership in ensuring that all project communications are consistent with the agency’s branding and publications guidelines, global best practice, the donor compliance requirements

• Assume other duties relevant to the position and that might be enforced by the line manager from time to time

Basic Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Development Studies, Journalism Communications, Social Science, Literature, and other related disciplines.
• Minimum of 7 years work experience in media, marketing, public relations, or journalism; experience working for an INGOs is preferred

Required Language: Oral and written fluency in English and Kinyarwanda. French is a plus.

 Travel – The position is Kigali-based.

Must be willing and able to travel to the field, INECD districts, up to 40 % of the time.

 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills with the ability to make sound judgment.
• Strong relationship management skills and the ability to work effectively with local stakeholders including government agencies, non-government organizations, donors, media groups, faith-based organizations, and CRS staff. Representation abilities.
• Ability to write and contribute to written reports and some basic skills of research and systematic documentation using both qualitative/ quantitative approaches.
• Proactive, results-oriented, and service-oriented
• Attention to details, accuracy, and timeliness in executing assigned responsibilities
• Understanding of the principles and techniques of effective communications

• Proven organizational skills and ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously and independently

Preferred Qualifications

• Relevant knowledge on USG’s rules and regulation related to branding, marking, and communications policy is a plus
• Staff supervision experience.
• Experience working with stakeholders at various levels and strengthening community partnerships.
• Ability to contribute to the development of technical proposals, a plus.
• Experience analyzing data and contributing to evaluation reports.
• Highly experienced using MS Windows and MS Office packages (Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and desktop publishing skills

 Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS Staff)

These are rooted in the mission, values, and guiding principles of CRS and used by each staff member to fulfill his or her responsibilities and achieve the desired results.

• Integrity
• Continuous Improvement & Innovation
• Builds Relationships
• Develops Talent
• Strategic Mindset
• Accountability & Stewardship

 Supervisory Responsibilities

None

 Working Relationships:

• External: USAID communications focal person; relevant NGO & government partners; consultants; research and academic institutions; district government structures
• Internal: INECD/CRS technical and operations staff, CRS/Rwanda program and operations staff, INECD consortium members and local implementers technical staff,

***Our Catholic identity is at the heart of our mission and operations. Catholic Relief Services carries out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. We welcome as a part of our staff people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values and our commitment to serving those in need. CRS’ processes and policies reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

Disclaimer:  This job description is not an exhaustive list of the skill, effort, duties, and responsibilities associated with the position.

 CRS’ talent acquisition procedures reflect our commitment to protecting children and vulnerable adults from abuse and exploitation.

CRS is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Interested and qualified candidates should complete the attached application form, Self -Declaration Clause and submit them together with one page Cover letter plus updated CV (maximum three pages) all in/as one document - via email only to: [email protected] not later than Friday, September 17, 2021, at 5:00 pm.

Please, include the below statement in your motivation letter:

“By applying to this job, I understand and acknowledge that CRS requires its staff to treat all people with dignity and respect and to actively prevent harassment, abuse, exploitation, and human trafficking. Further, I understand that if I am a successful candidate, I will be subject to a comprehensive background check, and my personal/professional references will be asked to evaluate my behaviors related to the above safeguarding-related topics”

Also, include your full names and title “Capacity strengthening” in the subject line. Due to the anticipated high interest in this post and the expected number of applicants, only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Kigali. September 6, 2021 

                                                                 

 Jude-Marie Banatte

 Country Representative

CRS/Rwanda Program