Program Communications Lead 12 views

1. About the Program

The Mastercard Foundation in partnership with Hybrid Designs and its consortium partners- Icog any one can code, R& D Group and Qua Qua Capitals as well as D & T Ethiopia Management Consulting PLC are launching a five- year program entitled ‘Entrepreneurship in the Digital and Gig Economy (EDGE)’ with the aim of unlocking over 300,000 dignified and fulfilling employment opportunities for economically disadvantaged young people across Ethiopia through an innovative digitally enabled and mediated domestic outsourcing market and enabling a thriving offshore outsourcing ecosystem. This national program will be scaling five outsourcing platform (digital) enabled products for both the offshore and onshore market that will empower young women and vulnerable groups. The program will also support 1,041 MSEs across Ethiopia to streamline their internal processes and organizational excellence to expand and grow their business, which will contribute to the development of a pipeline of competitive outsourcing enterprises that will serve and take advantage of the outsourcing market, both locally and globally. Through the ecosystem level collaboration with key strategic partners such as the IT park and the Ethiopian Outsourcing Association, the program anticipates contributing to the development of a strong outsourcing ecosystem, which will enable system level changes and position Ethiopia as an attractive outsourcing destination. The program will work to transform the outsourcing ecosystem to better serve the needs of financially disadvantaged young women and men. The program anticipates achieving its goals through its three interconnected program components which include i) Enhancing youth awareness in outsourcing and skill development; ii) Enterprise development and iii) Improving enabling environment through ecosystem Support. Through these interventions, the program will contribute to the achievement of the goals of the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy, Ethiopia’s country roadmap and country success story by the end of the program period and beyond.

1. Job Profile

Job Title: Program Communications Lead

Duty station: Addis Ababa with travel to the regions from time to time

Type of employment: Program (2025 – 2029)

Duration: One Year with possible extension up to five years

Reports to: Program Director

Required Number: One

Application Deadline: 30-01-2025

1. Short Description of the Position

The Program Communications Lead is expected to play an important role in providing leadership to carry out communication activities and ensuring quality of communication materials produced that informs and contributes towards influencing and educating partners and stakeholders. The Communications Lead will work closely with and review the work of a professional media service provider, who will deliver communication products according to contract. Besides, the Communications Specialist will design , leaflets, briefs, press releases, and publications on demand, ad hoc basis. She/he will liaise with the Program Director and MEAL Lead supported by Mastercard Foundation’s Communication team. She/he will be responsible for creating, managing, and communicating the EDGE program thoughts, plans, outputs and results, successes to the wider public, Mastercard Foundation, and other stakeholders through closely working with the program team and sub implementing partners.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead and collaborate with program team members to develop and implement an effective communication strategy.
• Write, edit, and distribute contents, including publications, press releases, website content, annual reports, speeches, and other marketing materials that communicates the program’s activities, approaches, and results in line of the communication policies and procedures of Mastercard Foundation and the organization.
• Create engaging content across a range of communications platforms, including social media, email, newsletters, articles, graphics, and videos – ensuring an effective communication means to reach the intended audience, including hard to reach groups under the umbrella of the communication policies and procedures of Mastercard Foundation and the organization.
• Promote and lead other alliances, events, and networks on behalf of the EDGE program.
• Prepare EDGE program communication and visibility guideline, share for review to the donor and sub implementing partners, consider the comments and share the final version to all relevant stakeholders.
• Develop an annual plan for communications, aligning with the seasonality (right period), and the right platform of the topics to be communicated to the audience.
• Be responsible for the branding of the program- creating internal templates for program team’s use and ensuring consistent and accurate branding taking the branding policy of the donor and the organization into account.
• Respond to media enquiries, arrange interviews, and act as a spokesperson for the program taking the media policy of the donor and the organization in to account.
• Establish and maintain effective relationships with journalists and media outlets of different forms.
• Maintain records of media coverage about the program.
• Take/collect standard photos with high resolutions and maintain a photo library for EDGE program’s use, ensuring appropriate consents in compliance with the donor requirements.
• Prepare case and success stories of the program based on standard templates of the donor or the organization and document them accordingly.
• Prepare and submit periodic communication and media related reports to the program director based on standard and approved reporting template.
• Collaborate with the Gender specialist and Safeguarding officer to communicate the safeguarding policy and reported concerns.
• Search for networking opportunities and work with stakeholders and partners together for advocacy and influencing.
• Collaborate with consortium members to ensure consistent application of the communication policy
• Closely collaborate with the MEAL team to capture impact stories of program participants
• Conduct other activities as deemed necessary.

IV. Competencies

Required Academic Qualifications and Experience

• MA in Communications, Journalism, Public Administration, or related fields
• Minimum of 10 years and a minimum of 7 years of relevant experience.
• Two years of experience in managerial positions.
• Experience in leading the development and implementation of communication strategies, with clear theories of change, specific, measurable and time bound objectives, and performance indicators.
• Experience in building strong relationships with traditional and social media entities and using media relations and channels to engage public audience.
• Proven experience in deploying a range of advocacy and communication tactics based on a clear theory of change.
• Strong communicator with emphasis on being able to present complex messages in succinct, engaging ways through campaign narratives and creative tactics.

Required Knowledge, Skills and Competencies

• Proficiency in design and publishing software
• Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal skills.
• Strong communication and facilitation skills.
• Excellent organisational and record keeping skills
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, content management systems, and social media platforms.
• Knowledge of SharePoint, and Microsoft Teams in addition to core Microsoft packages
• Excellent report writing in English and in Amharic.
• Ability to prioritize, implement, and deliver high-quality work within tight timelines and with minimal supervision
• Affinity in working with youth , young women persons with disabilities and / or refugees.
• Strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to work and build relationships with team members and partners from diverse backgrounds.