Communications Officer

About the Greenbelt Movement

The Greenbelt Movement is a non-governmental organization founded in Kenya by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Prof Wangari Maathai. Since 1977, the movement’s work has focused on conserving the environment by empowering rural women and local communities through environmental education, supporting ecosystem restoration through tree planting, advocacy and movement building, and creating livelihood safety-nets at household level.

To learn more about the work of The Greenbelt Movement, please refer to http://greenbeltmovement.org/who-we-are

What are we looking for?

The Greenbelt Movement is in an exciting growth phase, expanding its work in Kenya and increasing its influence across Africa. GBM is looking for a Communications Officer with experience in environment sustainability, human rights and/or other social justice work. Reporting to GBM’s Head of Advocacy and Communications and working in collaboration with GBM staff, the officer will develop and implement traditional and social media plans and content about GBM’s key priorities including: GBM’s forest restoration projects, national and global advocacy including public interest litigation; relevant national law and policy; and campaigns at regional and global multilateral process on climate change and biodiversity protection. The candidate will also coordinate immediate and ongoing communications needs related to GBM’s website, newsletters and maintain databases for GBM members, regional media, allies and donors.

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain GBM’s website, social media and fundraising sites through daily monitoring, posting and content development in collaboration with programme staff
• Working closely with the GBM programme team to ensure relevant programme materials are developed and disseminated through social media channels and/or to partner organisations directly
• Support the programme staff in development of blogs, reports, and other publications and manage regular internal and public newsletter
• Stay up-to-date on relevant news on traditional and social media and distribute among relevant staff members
• Archive all communication materials, including digital, such as publications, press releases and clippings, photographs, audio- visual materials, web resources etc
• Develop a communications calendar and contribute to the development of a media and communications strategy
• Support the Head of Advocacy and Communications to coordinate special events, media engagements and campaigns through relevant communications tools, and to manage relationships and develop a database of media contacts
• Support the Head of Advocacy and Communications to produce timely and quality production of advocacy and branding materials such as newsletters for internal and external distribution, annual reports, picture stories, videos
• Support the Executive Director during fundraising or project design phases to identify appropriate communication activities for respective projects

Qualifications and Experience:

• Bachelor’s Degree in communications, journalism, public relations or a related field
• At least three years post-qualification experience doing similar work is required.
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills required, and experience with print, audio and film story telling for advocacy
• Demonstrated social media experience (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok use and analytics)
• Excellent skills in website and social media management and analytics, design and layout skills and experience (Adobe Photoshop, PageMaker, Canva etc) and newsletter distribution
• Fluent in written and spoken English and Kiswahili.
• Be a team player, driven self-starter who is reliable with excellent time management skills, ability to prioritise, pay attention to detail, and shows initiative at work
• Demonstrated interest in advocating for social and environmental justice
• Ability to travel locally and internationally and, when required, to work outside normal office hours.

How to apply

How to apply:

Applications should be submitted via email to recruit@platinumadvisory.co.ke on or before Friday 26th January 2024 with ‘Communications Officer Application’ in the subject line.

Applications must include: 1) a motivation letter that indicates: a) why you are interested in this position and what inspires you about environmental protection and social justice; and b) aspects of your background that demonstrate the required competence for this role; 2) A detailed CV with three contactable references; and 3) Three samples of your past published work (for example, articles, research reports, podcasts, documentary, etc, in traditional and/or social media).

Please ensure that your application as a whole speaks to the required qualifications, experience, personal profile and key roles and responsibilities. Please do not apply if you do not meet the required experience. Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis and the position remains open until filled. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

By submitting your application, you confirm that the submitted information is true and authorize the use your personal data, to further process your engagement for lawful purposes related to the organization’s vision
Disclaimer: Please note that we do not charge any fees at any stage of our recruitment process. Our client is an equal opportunity employer. Due to the high volume of applications we receive, only shortlisted candidates who qualify for the next recruitment stage will be contacted.