COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER- TWAWEZA

Twaweza, a dynamic East Africa wide organization, is looking for a competent, effective and energetic Communications Officer based in Dar es Salaam

Job Title:   Communications Officer

Salary Grade:   5

Department:    Communications

Reports to:   Communications Manager  

Supervises:   Interns, Learning and Communications Assistant (partially)

Overall Responsibility:  

You will serve as the first point of information contact for Twaweza, and respond in a manner that is clear, timely, and effective, and that projects a positive image of the organization. You will be responsible for supporting the effective communication of Twaweza (including Uwazi) across different mediums, as well as through the design, writing, production and distribution of communication materials. 

Specific Responsibilities

1. Learn, develop, coordinate and maintain an effective social media presence for Twaweza in Kiswahili and English, including through blogs, facebook, twitter and other means as appropriate;

2. Write and produce high quality communication materials, including website content, and effectively communicate these across key audiences in Kiswahili;  

3. Edit materials (papers, briefs, power point presentations, etc) in Kiswahili and undertake full quality assurance to ensure that they conform to Twaweza standards and will promote the image and objectives of the organization;

4. Ensure that all Twaweza websites (Kiswahili versions) are up to date, accurate, compelling and functional, liaise with website developer and tech support as needed, support Communications Manager to ensure English websites are also up‐to‐date;

5. Support Communications Manager to develop and foster high quality standards and guidelines for Twaweza’s communications across different media and formats;  

6. Communicate clearly and in a timely fashion with external audiences, face‐to‐face, through email and telephone; conferences where appropriate, and other forms;

7. Develop and maintain good links with the media; support press conferences and other engagements with the media;

8. Support Communications Manager to work with partners to document and publish their work and lessons;

9. Ensure timely and effective dissemination of information outputs from all Twaweza Units.

10. Support management in communication, advocacy and representation needs as required

11. Organise events as required, with support from Communications Manager, including publication launch events

12. Review all Kiswahili translations to ensure resonance with English and quality as well as compliance with the vision and values of Twaweza

13. Liaise and work with external suppliers and partners including, but not limited to designers, printers and production companies

14. Support management in communication and representation needs as needed.

General Responsibilities

1. Conduct occasional research and writing assignments on Twaweza key areas for use in diverse ways supportive to program goals, including internal learning, policy debates, opinion articles;

2. Undertake the activities above in line with the associated budgets and with work plans, in ways

that are consistent with Twaweza  policies;

3. Contribute to the preparation of quality and timely plans, budgets and reports ;  

4. Keep abreast of new ideas and materials in the area of organizational learning, M&E and

communications ;  

5. Participate in meetings and sessions and sessions as needed;  

6. Undertake any other lawful tasks as may be assigned by your manager or the Head of Twaweza

Education, skills and experience

1. Experience in development and/or communications work ;

2. A university degree in a relevant field;

3. At least two to three years’ relevant working experience, specifically in communications ;

4. Excellent writing and communication skills in Kiswahili and English; an eye for detail;

5. Strong analytical and organizational skills;

6. Computer proficiency including web‐based applications;

7. Flair for working with visual materials; a powerful creative eye; design skills are desirable;

8. Keen understanding of traditional media, social media and uses of new technologies for

communication in East African context;

9. Ability to be on top of issues and deliver quality on time.

Changes and Amendments:

This job description may be amended by Twaweza after consultation with the employee and the supervisor.

Application process:

To apply for this position, please submit your CV (max 4 pages) to twaweza@empower.co.tz, including a cover letter explaining your interests/motivations to work for Twaweza, and 2 samples of your written work and names of 3 referees, in MS Word or PDF file. In the subject of your email write your name and the position you are applying for.

Adapted from the Twaweza website