Worldwide, there are now over 60 million forcibly displaced people – the highest number ever recorded. Of those, approximately 20.2 million are refugees who have fled their home countries as a result of conflict and violent persecution. Of the 20.2 million, over 11 million have been refugees for more than 5 years and some as long as 60. The average length of refugee exile today is 17 years, a time-span that has increased over the past two decades due to the intractability of many conflicts. In Sub-Saharan Africa, where RefugePoint focuses its efforts, there are more than 3 million refugees fleeing violence and persecution in the Congo, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, and other countries experiencing conflict and instability.
Position Overview
Support RefugePoint’s external relations activities by serving as a communication liaison between the Nairobi Urban Refugee Protection Program (URPP) and the organization’s headquarters in the United States. Support RefugePoint Communications team by highlighting the work of the URPP and the stories of refugee clients in Nairobi.
Primary Areas of Responsibility
Writing and general communications
- Interview refugee clients and RefugePoint staff and partners in order to create content (written, images, videos), targeted to a US audience, for various RefugePoint publications and projects, including the website, newsletters, grant proposals, fundraising appeals, and reports. Stories will be focused on clients and RefugePoint’s programs.
- Respond to immediate requests from headquarters for updates on programs, clients, or events.
- Draft content and statistics related to the Urban Refugee Protection Program for quarterly and annual reports.
- Track refugee resettlement departures and update Communications Manager during weekly calls.
- Manage internal platforms for staff communication (internal staff website, internal staff newsletter).
- Assist in preparing for and carrying out donor visits, which will include working with the team to identify clients to visit, and preparing a comprehensive visitor packet and visitor experience for donors.
- Maintain an extremely organized system of tracking stories and collected content (photos, videos, consent forms) that is updated weekly.
- Participate in frequent (at least weekly) calls with the Communications/Development team in the US.
Social media and website support
- Take the raw material collected from the field and create on-brand stories for the website, reports, newsletters, and social media posts. Support the Communications Manager in developing content for RefugePoint’s web, printed, and social media platforms.
- Provide assistance in managing and evaluating social media platforms.
- Conduct media monitoring on issues related specifically to urban refugee protection and alert headquarters to relevant stories (Google Alerts, etc).
Video and Photography
- Photograph clients, programs, and the environment in Nairobi for RefugePoint’s publications, website, and social media.
- Film, and at times arrange for videographers to film, material for RefugePoint’s audio/visual needs.
- Organize and manage Nairobi’s image library, ensuring that all releases are signed and accessible.
Event Management and Training
- Lead internal communications trainings and motivate staff to engage in external relations activities, including sharing stories and highlights from their departments.
- Orient newly hired staff to RefugePoint’s Communications policies.
Qualifications
- A strong interest in the mission of RefugePoint and refugee protection.
- Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field (communications, journalism, marketing, public relations, etc). Degrees in human rights or international affairs will also be considered.
- A minimum of three years of successful experience in a related communications position.
- Exceptional interpersonal and interview skills and the ability to create rapport with refugee clients.
- Exceptional English writing skills, with the ability to craft language targeted to a US donor audience.
- Exceptional editing and proofreading skills.
- High-level organizational skills to track each new client story, along with accompanying photos, videos, and consent forms.
- Ability to take raw content (interview recordings/notes, photos, videos) and turn it into a finished product on a tight timeline. All products should be on-brand and ready to be shared externally for reports, website content, social media content, with minimal editing required.
- Respect for individuals regardless of their race, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, age, or legal status.
- Proficiency in: Microsoft Suite, Google Suite.
- Must be legally able to live and work in Kenya.
Preferred Skills
- Proactive team player who will coordinate closely with HQ (Communications and Development) and Nairobi staff to identify what types and how many stories are needed for specific projects, and proactively getting leads for new stories from staff in Nairobi.
- Takes the initiative to co-create their work plan and follow-through on all aspects without requiring frequent reminders.
- Photography and videography skills preferred. Knowledgeable about working in low-light environments, capturing portraits, composing interesting and engaging shots
- Has experience creating social media content for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and is able to create compelling content that is on-brand.
- Has a strong desire to take a client-focused approach to capturing and telling client stories, always ensuring the comfort, safety, and privacy of our clients.
- Ability to travel frequently within Nairobi to visit refugee clients (about 30-40% of the time).
- Serve as a leader/ambassador for Communications in the Nairobi office, occasionally leading Communications trainings for staff and Experts.
- Bring your own ideas, voice, creativity, and unique skills to the job.
- A sense of humor, patience and diplomacy.
- Proficiency in: Adobe Creative Suite.
Special Requirement
- A police clearance certificate is required prior to issuance of contract.
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