Communications Officer - One Acre Fund

Application Deadline: 11-11-2016

 FARMERS FIRST | www.oneacrefund.org

 Communications Officer

Based in Iringa

One Acre Fund is an agricultural NGO in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania that is innovating a new way of helping farm families to achieve their full potential. One Acre invests in farmers to generate a permanent gain in farm income. We provide farmers with a complete market bundle that includes seed and fertilizer, financing for farm inputs and insurance, modern farming trainings, and market facilitation and harvest storage techniques. Our program is proven impactful – every year, we weigh thousands of harvests and measure more than 50-100% percent average gain in farm income per acre.

We are growing quickly. In six years, we have grown to serve more than 180,000 farm families in East Africa with 1,000 full-time field staff in Kenya alone.

One Acre Fund is a rapidly growing organization; increasing the number of sub-locations, districts, and members we serve in each year. We are seeking a communications officer to help document our impact, progress and growth through photos, videos, interviews, and reports in our new Tanzania office.

We are seeking an experienced individual to assist our communications team in sharing the stories of our farmers and hosting guests out in the field.

This role will report to the One Acre Fund communications associate in Kenya and work closely with her to produce written and visual content.

This position requires strong written and oral communication skills, as well as strong inter-personal skills and a willingness to learn a variety of story-telling techniques. Photography experience is desired, but is not required (although if a candidate lacks photography experience, a genuine interest in mastering photography is required).

The successful candidate will be a clear and confident communicator, comfortable in interviewing farmers, staff, and large groups on a wide array of topics, and comfortable photographing clients and staff on a regular basis.

The role also requires excellent time-keeping and organizational skills and the ability to coordinate schedules and logistics for guests of the organization, as well as logistics for trips to visit all of the districts in Tanzania where One Acre Fund operates.

This position will be working under remote management the majority of the time, so a successful candidate will be someone who excels in working independently, is self-motivated to complete tasks, communicates proactively with their supervisor, and who thrives in a structured work planning environment.

Your Role

 Farmer interviews and reports

o Identify farmers to showcase in presentations, written communications, and visual media

o Conduct in-person interviews with farmers and record details in written reports

o Collect testimonials for field marketing

o Maintain local database of farmers interviewed and story angles

 Hosting Support

o Identify farmers for guests of One Acre Fund to visit, as directed by Corp Ops

o Maintain local database of “go-to” farmers for Corps Ops as needed

o Liaise to farm family for permissions and scheduling

o Host select guests during farmer visits, serving as a translator as needed

o Be comfortable thinking on feet when visits go differently than planned

 Photography

o Acquire basic photography skills and serve as a back-up field photographer

o Take photos of all seasonal field and operational activities and archive them appropriately.

o Photograph products for annual product catalogs

o Photograph clients for blog stories and time-sensitive requests

 Media monitoring and relations (as guided by One Acre Fund’s media relations associate)

o Monitor local news and produce a weekly media report on relevant news and mentions

o Cultivate local media relationships

o Host visiting media in the field

o Gather quotes and testimonials for press releases and inquiring media

o Draft enrollment press releases

o Pitch stories to local media

 Content Brainstorming

o Brainstorm possible story ideas and pitch them with proposed angles.

If you have skills or experiences in these areas, please highlight them on your cover letter and resume.

Career Growth and Development: One Acre Fund invests in building management and leadership capacity. We provide constant, actionable feedback delivered through weekly mentorship and regular career reviews. We also have regular one-on-one meetings where we listen to and discuss career goals, and work collaboratively to craft roles that each person can be passionate about

Our Requirements

We are seeking exceptional professionals with a strong background in communications work, and a demonstrated long-term passion for sustainable agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa. We are looking for extraordinary candidates that are proactive; please only apply if you fit these criteria:

Required:

 Passionate about serving smallholder farmers

 Language: fluent in English and Kiswahili, ability to speak local languages.

 Demonstrated basic computer skills, including typing and email

 Clear communicator in-person and on the phone

 Proactive problem solver

 Integrity and a positive attitude

 Demonstrates high-quality work with a strong attention to detail

 Willingness to commit to living in rural Tanzania for a long-term position

 Independent worker with strong ability to manage own schedule and tasks

 Confident communicator who is comfortable talking with many people on a variety of topics

 Ability to work as part of a larger team

Desired:

 Top-performing undergraduate degree in communications, journalism or other relevant fields from a recognized University

 Language: conversational in Kibena or Kihehe

 Leadership experience at work, or outside of work

 Proven ability to set and meet targets on the job

 Photography experience

 Writing experience

If you feel motivated to work for One Acre Fund as the Communications Officer and if you fulfill our requirements for this role, we look forward to receiving your application.

How to Apply

To apply, please click on this link

You will be prompted to a form that must be completed. At the end of the form you will have the opportunity to write a motivational letter and upload your CV by 11th November, 2016.