Wangari Maathai Institute Communications Manager Job in Nairobi Kenya - wPOWER Hub

Scaling up the wPOWER Hub at the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace & Environmental Studies 

University of Nairobi

Position title: Communications Manager

Background: The Green Belt Movement International (USA) has received a grant from the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Oceans & International Environmental & Scientific Affairs (OES) to support the creation and scaling up of the wPOWER Hub at the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace & Environmental Studies (WMI) at the University of Nairobi. 

The WMI wPOWER Hub will employ facilitation, technology support, data collection and reporting, as well as handle the myriad logistical and administrative details needed for the initiative to function smoothly. 

The Hub will amplify the impact of the existing partnership and partner organizations, make it more sustainable in the longer term, and help raise the public and political profile of clean energy, gender, and climate change issues across Africa and globally.

Specialized trainings and wPOWER Africa and wPOWER India exchanges at the Hub will increase the business and technical capacity of women entrepreneurs related to clean energy technologies and solutions, including an understanding of linkages to climate change and reducing deforestation.

The Hub will empower women entrepreneurs from around the world by training on best practices on clean energy entrepreneurship, creating a platform for exchange visits with wPOWER international partners, and monitoring and evaluation of clean energy technologies in use within the network.  

The Green Belt Movement (GBM) seeks a Communications Manager (CM) for the wPOWER Hub at the Wangari Maathai Institute for Peace & Environmental Studies (WMI) to be based in Nairobi, Kenya. 

The CM will be a part-time position that is responsible for day-to-day logistical support to the Hub, communication and partner networking functions.

The CM will be responsible for ensuring the Hub’s impact is shared broadly, in close collaboration with the OES Grants Officer Representative, through strong communications both internally and externally.  

The CM will also be responsible for setting up an annual communications strategy and targets and contributing to, and monitoring, their implementation. 

In particular, s/he will produce and disseminate materials for communicating information about wPower and its projects; coordinate the content and posting of information on Wpower for the WMI & GBM website and social media accounts; and the production of a quarterly newsletter and annual report. 

In order to achieve our long-term goals of taking concrete action to unlock women’s potential to combat climate change and increase energy access, and maximizing wPOWER sustainability, the CM will provide the following support, across the following four strategic program components: Development of the wPOWER Hub and Resource Center; Curriculum Development; Targeted training reviews, exchanges and partnership building on clean energy & entrepreneurship; and, Sustainability.

Strong candidates will have performed served in similar roles and have extensive experience with U.S. Government contracting rules, regulations, processes and procedures, preferably on clean energy technology projects in Kenya and/or Africa.

Specific Responsibilities: 

The CM will work closely with WMI and GBMI to promote coherence in WPower Hub communications.

1. Production of communications materials: 

The CM will have overall responsibility for developing and maintaining a suite of materials – using diverse media – to effectively communicate wPower’s mission, vision and main messages to key audiences and stakeholders.

• Oversee a communications calendar for timely production of materials, which include, but are not limited to blogs, social media and printed materials.
• Produce communications material for WMI

2. Website:  

The CM will have overall responsibility for managing the Wpower website content for WMI and sharing the necessary information with GBM

• Review the website on a regular basis and provide content development support and ensure website promotion on a regular basis.
• Ensure continued promotion of WPower through online tools such as social media.

3. Relations with media: Manage media related activities

• Prepare press releases in relation to key developments in the work of  the Wpower Hub
• Organize media events such as press conferences, interviews of key staff and stakeholders for TV, newspapers, magazines, journals, etc.

4. Editorial support: 

Provide editorial support to colleagues, specifically for:

• Selected articles and case studies
• Presentations and training modules
• Other external materials for public dissemination.

Qualifications: 


Education and Experience Requirements: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Management, International Affairs or related field.  
• Experience in the area of clean energy technologies and entrepreneurship will be an added advantage.
• Master’s degree preferred;
• At least 5 years of experience working in international development, with at least three years working in grants management;

• Extensive experience working with US Government grants including compliance with federal rules and regulations;

Other Qualifications: 

• Experience managing social media and web content;  
• Strong computer skills, as well as strong written/oral communications skills;
• Proven success in navigating complex and high pressure operating environments.
• Ability to efficiently work in teams and coordinate between various stakeholders;
• Prior relevant work experience in Kenya or other African country preferred.

Enumeration for this position is competitive

To apply for this position, please visit the Green Belt Movement International Website (www.greenbeltmovement.org) and send your application to jobs@greenbeltmovement.org