Communications Officer, Somalia M&E Project

Communications Officer, Somalia M&E Project, based in Nairobi, Kenya

Company Profile: Management Systems International (MSI) is a global international development firm based in Washington, D.C. providing specialized short- and long-term technical assistance. In 2008, MSI joined Coffey International, Ltd., becoming part of Coffey International Development, a global international development consulting firm. Together with Coffey ID, MSI now has more than 1,400 development professionals worldwide, a corporate presence in 11 countries and manages more than 200 projects worldwide. It currently manages more than 20 long-term projects in countries including Iraq, Sudan, Colombia and Russia. Broadly, MSI implements a range of analytical and field projects in its core technical areas, including democracy and governance, strategic management and performance improvement, organizational capacity building, human development and natural resource management. For more information on MSI, please visit our website at www.msiworldwide.com.

Project Summary:
MSI is currently looking for an Communications Officer to develop and manage communications strategy and materials for a USAID-funded monitoring and evaluation project for Somalia. The project will be a nation-wide activity supporting USAID’s ability to monitor and evaluate their program activities in economic growth, education, health and democracy and governance.

Position Summary:
The Communications Officer position will be a senior-level position reporting directly to the project COP. The position duties include developing a communications strategy and collateral materials for the project. The primary target audience is the Somali communities in which USAID-program activities operate as well as the USAID Regional Mission in Nairobi. The position will be responsible for developing regular updates on project activities including Success Stories. The Communications Officer is also responsible for developing innovative ideas on the application of traditional media outlets and new social media to support disseminate of program successes. The Communications Officer will work closely with the COP to provide USAID with progress reports and requests for information on an ad hoc basis. The Communications Officer position is based in Nairobi and is full-time, though travel to Somali may be required. The project is expected to begin in mid- 2011 and will run through a three-year period.

Responsibilities:
• Design and implement an Information Dissemination Plan to support USAID’s outreach on its Somalia program.
• Develop and maintain and archive of Success Stories and photos of all USAID Somalia programs.
• Coordinate with USAID and its implementing partners to track and promote project successes.
• Disseminate project activity results during targeted conferences and workshops.
• Work with the M&E Officer and COP to prepare performance results materials on a regular basis, evaluation reports and ad hoc requests from USAID/Somalia for information.
• Ensuring that all collateral materials developed by the project adhere to the USAID Branding and Marking Plan.

Qualifications:
• Degree in communications, public affairs or related field.
• 5+ years of experience in the designing and leading communications strategies for social development activities;
• Previous experience providing collateral materials to USAID and familiarity with USAID branding and marking protocols.
• Excellent contacts with Somali media outlets.
• Previous experience developing user-friendly formats for collateral materials including layout design of materials.
• Excellent English-writing skills;
• Willingness and ability to travel to Somalia, when feasible.

View the original article here