Communications Specialist Job Opportunity

Launched by President Obama in 2013, Power Africa works with African governments and private sector partners to remove barriers that impede sustainable energy development in sub-Saharan Africa and unlock the substantial wind, solar, hydropower, natural gas, biomass, and geothermal resources on the continent.

A unique private sector led model, Power Africa draws on the combined expertise and abilities of 12 U.S. Government agencies, the World Bank Group, the African Development Bank, the Government of Sweden, African governments, and private sector partners. Power Africa’s “Toolbox” approach offers a range of resources and tools to advance key projects on the electricity grid, or beyond it.

By leveraging U.S. expertise in energy technology and regulatory reform, combined with U.S. Government and private sector financial resources, Power Africa helps drive quick-impact interventions and policy reforms to push for sustainable energy development.

Power Africa’s goals are to increase electricity access by adding more than 30,000 megawatts of cleaner, more efficient electricity generation capacity and 60 million new home and business connections across sub-Saharan Africa. Power Africa also includes the Beyond the Grid sub-initiative, which works to expand rural electrification and access to small scale and off-grid technology.

 

Principle Outcomes

The Communications Specialist will provide support to our client on the Power Africa Transactions and Reforms Project, based in Pretoria.

The communications specialist will support the Development, Outreach, and Communications team in the Power Africa (PA) Coordinator’s office in Pretoria. The successful candidate will assist in the implementation of the full range of public information, communication, and outreach activities in support of PA’s programs and objectives as designated in the Strategic Communications Plan.

 

Person Specification

The candidate should have the following qualification:
* A bachelor’s level degree. Relevant fields include – but are not limited to – journalism, communications, information and communication technology (ICT), public relations or affairs, marketing, international relations, international development, public administration, development/area studies, and social studies.
* Strong, working knowledge of technical aspects involved in the production of different public platforms, such as production of videos, televised programs, and social media campaigns.

The candidate should have the following experience:
* 2-3 years of experience in developing professional graphic and web content, with basic html and web development knowledge. If possible, provide a portfolio demonstrating professional graphic design capability
* Experience and training in following fields is advantages: outreach and communications, writing, journalism, web site content management, web site development, presentation skills.
* Extensive experience with Google Drive, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Publisher, Apple Final Cut Pro X, iMovie, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, etc.
* Experience managing social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and RSS feeds.

 

Competency Requirements

The candidate will also have the following skills:
* Demonstrated ability to exercise sound, independent, professional judgment.
* Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a demonstrated ability to translate highly technical material into easy to understand narrative.
* Exceptional interpersonal skills with the ability to influence relationships positively.
* Ability and willingness to work independently or as part of a team.
* Ability to take ownership of projects, creatively solve problems and see tasks through to completion.
* Able to manage multiple tasks in parallel in a fast-paced, results driven environment
* Strong and demonstrated knowledge of the principles and practices of public relations, media relations, and journalistic writing and reporting techniques.
* Willingness to assume duties and responsibilities in all communications areas, as needed.
* Maintain superior levels of professionalism while working under pressure in a fast-paced and sometimes difficult environment.
* Strong understanding of multichannel digital strategy including current Internet technologies, browsers, and usability principles
* Comfortable using photography / video equipment, and iMac editing tools to produce high quality finished multimedia products for outreach activities

 

How to Apply

Click here to apply online

Closing date: 2015/05/15