Agricultural Development Young Professionals Internship Program Call for Applications-West Africa

Agricultural Development Young Professionals Internship Program

Call for Applications :

Entry to Mid -Level Communications Associates

Opening Date: December 19, 2016

Closing Date: February 15, 2017

Africa Lead II—the Feed the Future: Building Capacity for African Agricultural Transformation Program—supports the advancement of agricultural transformation in Africa as proposed by the African Union Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP). Simultaneously, Africa Lead II contributes to the Feed the Future (FTF) goals of reduced hunger and poverty by building the capacity of Champions—defined as men and women leaders in agriculture—to develop, lead, and manage the policies, structures and processes needed for the transformation process.

The scope of Africa Lead II is divided into three components, as follows:

• Component One: Establishing and Improving Effectiveness of Institutional and Organizational Architecture for African-Led Agricultural Transformation.

• Component Two: Strengthening Capacity to Manage and Implement the Policy Change and Alignment Process.

• Component Three: Promoting the Effective Participation of Non-State Actors (NSAs) in the Policy Process and Providing Capacity Strengthening Support when Necessary.

Africa Lead II’s Agriculture Internship Program aims to facilitate more efficient agricultural production, stronger agribusinesses and agricultural development institutions, a more direct link between NARS and farmers, and greater value addition in the agriculture sector across Africa. The broad goal is to support skills transfer and technological know-how that will help African agribusinesses and organizations to innovate, improve their commercial viability and catalyze agricultural transformation, thus contributing to improved food security.

The Africa Lead II Program welcomes applications from candidates interested in pursuing young professionals development opportunities. Placement terms will be for a period of 12 months with anticipated postings in ECOWAS member states: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo and Cape Verde.

Housing, monthly stipend, living allowances, round-trip airfare and related travel expenses to worksite will be covered by the program. The 12-month young professionals development opportunities are not guarantees for full time employment upon successful completion of the placement.

Entry to Mid-Level Communications Associate

Responsibilities:

• Design and create both online and in house communications materials highlighting institutional programs and achievements (flyers, handouts, posters, etc.).
• Incorporate social media platforms to the organization’s communications strategy
• Support drafting, editing, publication and dissemination of reports and scientific journals and marketing materials such as success stories, presentations, and two-page briefs, in collaboration with office and technical staff.
• Review and analyze data for reports and document progress for success stories as well as monthly, quarterly and annual reports.
• Assist with development and implementation of Communication Plan including overseeing development of communication materials and tools and dissemination to all stakeholders.
• Support design, development, and manage content of organization’s website and related electronic communications.
• Contribute to improving the organizations global communications strategy to reflect evolving communications priorities and changes in the organization’s structure.
• Present progress toward achievement of overall program objectives and outputs effectively and efficiently.
• Support department in the compilation and editing of weekly, quarterly and annual reports on the organization’s progress.
• Support the organization of events such as press conferences, meetings and forums as requested.
• Collaborate with other public relations, media, and advertising firms as required, including interface with local, regional, and national media outlets.
• Review organization’s external communications and technical reports to ensure quality control and consistency with project intellectual property agreements.
• Provide guidance and leadership for communication and information sharing between regional partners.
• Perform other tasks as needed.

Required skills:

• Bachelor’s degree in communication, marketing, social science, or related field
• Technical experience in communications and marketing
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• English Native –French written and oral strong proficiency – Bilingual in English/French preferred. Note: candidates selected for an interview will required to demonstrate language proficiency and may be asked to submit writing samples of past work, and a writing and oral assessment may also be administered

Minimum qualifications:

• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail
• BS/BA degree required, advance degree preferred (with 1-2 years relevant administrative or technical professional experience)
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Must be able to travel and be based within regional institution in West Africa during the entire duration of the placement (minimum 1 year assignment)
• Fluency in both French and English required

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience in West African regional agricultural development
• Field related experience in urban and rural African settings

Application requirements:

All candidates must submit the following required documents:

• Curriculum Vitae
• 1-page cover letter highlighting ability to contribute your skills towards enhancing capacity of a regional organization involved in food security. Kindly specify your strengths and weaknesses and ability to adapt to new multi-cultural environment.
• 3 references; 2 professional and 1 personal.