Somalia: Communication Officer (LEAD, Somalia)

Position:

Communication Officer (LEAD, Somalia)

Location:

Hargeisa

Application Deadline:

28 May 2017

Duration:

Part time (24 hrs weekly) for 6 months with possibility of extension

Start Date:

01 June 2017

SPARK develops higher education and entrepreneurship, so that young ambitious people are empowered to lead their conflict affected society into prosperity. SPARK is a dynamic and growing not-for-profit development organization with 80 staff members which supports young entrepreneurs to start or grow their own businesses. SPARK provides displaced youth with access to higher education in fragile areas. Moreover, SPARK assists post-secondary education institutions to reform their curricula to better meet the needs of the labour markets. Based in Amsterdam, SPARK has offices in among others Abidjan, Amman, Beirut, Belgrade, Bujumbura, Gaziantep, Erbil, Hargeisa, Juba, Kigali, Mitrovica, Monrovia, Ramallah, Sanaa and Tunis.

SPARK and its partners have implemented the LEAD programme since January 2016. The overarching objective is to contribute to the reduction of irregular economic migration and radicalization by improving the socio-economic position of young people in Libya, Somalia/Land and Tunisia. As such the programme strives to create sustainable youth employment in growth sectors with special attention to young women, by assisting existing - (70%) and new entrepreneurs (30%) with coaching & training and facilitating SMEs access to finance and markets. An integral part for achieving these goals is the promotion of entrepreneurship among young people by integrating entrepreneurship education in secondary and higher education; and additionally by providing a platform for successful young entrepreneurs.

Programme activities are aimed at young people in Tunisia, Libya and Somalia/Land between 15 and 35 years old, with an emphasis on people between 15 and 24 years old (60%) and women (40%). Young males are the highest risk group when it comes to irregular economic migration. The increase of income for young women also diminishes migratory pressures because family income increases and thus decreases the incentive of men to leave.

SPARK is currently looking to fill the position of:

Communication Officer

Under the guidance of the Somalia/Land Programme Manager, the Communications Officer will assume primary responsibility for planning, developing and implementing communication strategies to promote SPARK Somalia LEAD program. The incumbent will also be responsible for developing partnerships with other relevant organizations and with the Somalia/land entrepreneurship ecosystem to disseminate information and create awareness about entrepreneurship and Spark’s LEAD programs and activities.

Main Tasks and Responsibilities:

1.Program Communication for advocacy and awareness

The Communications Officer will work closely with the LEAD Program team and local partners to ensure that relevant program materials such as Human Interest Stories, reports, factsheets, infographs brochures etc. are developed and disseminated to stakeholders and target groups through relevant media and network channels.

2.Media Relations

Develop and maintain contact information, materials and relationships with journalists and media outlets (print, TV, radio, web etc.) within and outside Somalia/land to increase coverage of entrepreneurship in the media (print, broadcast and digital). Specific activities may include:

· Draft and edit articles, press releases, human interest stories and other advocacy/information materials.

· Collaborate with the media by organizing project site visits, facilitate photo coverage and TV footage and utilizing both web-based and traditional media as appropriate.

· Monitor and evaluate the use and effectiveness of media materials. Maintain a library of media coverage, clippings etc.

3.Digital Communications/Social media:

With close coordination with Spark HQ Communications team, provide updated information and stories to maintain the LEAD Somalia country website and social media sites (Facebook, Twitter and YouTube) such as daily monitoring, posting and content

4.Stakeholder Relations

Support preparation of background materials, briefs and information kits for visiting donors, stakeholders and high profile guests/visitors

5.Events/campaigns

Assist in organizing and generating public support for special events and campaigns to promote LEAD. Support organization of workshops, seminars, campaigns, events and project review meetings including agendas and meeting minutes.

6.Monitoring and evaluation

Monitor and evaluate impact of communication materials and advocacy events/campaigns to target audiences.

Working relationships

The Communications Officer will have to work closely with all LEAD program staff on a daily basis. He/She will maintain close interaction with communications and program staff of the Spark HQ team, and with local partners and other stakeholders, including the local media.

Requirements and Skills:

Education: Bachelors Degree in communications, journalism, public relations or a related field.

Experience: At least five years of similar work experience is required. Candidate should be able to work independently – with minimum supervision and guidance from supervisors. Demonstrated and extensive social media experience is an added advantage.

Skills: Excellent written and oral English communication skills and proficiency in Somali are required. Knowledge of other languages/dialects is an asset. He/she should have advanced working knowledge of MS Office (Word, Powerpoint, Excel and Publisher). Candidates with basic design and layout skills and adept in using Adobe Photoshop is an added advantage. Demonstrated and extensive social media experience is an added advantage.

To apply:

If you are interested, please email your letter of motivation and your CV and Cover Letter in English to vacancy@spark-online.org by 28^th of May 2017 (Reference: LEAD Somalia Communication Officer).

For questions about the vacancy, send an email to vacancy@spark-online.org

Only the most suitable applicants who meet the selection criteria will be contacted.

Due to a large volume of applications, we cannot respond to every applicant. After the deadline for application we will screen all applications and will invite selected applicants for the first round of interviews. Only the short listed applicants will hear from us within two weeks after the deadline.