Communications Officer at Sahel Consulting Agriculture and Nutrition Limited

Sahel Consulting Agriculture and Nutrition Limited (Sahel) is a leading management consulting firm focused on the agricultural and nutrition sectors in Africa. We partner with government agencies, private sector companies and leading international development organizations to conduct research, analyze policies, develop strategies and implement programs that promote sustainable food security and improved nutrition. We have worked on a variety of projects across West Africa, including in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, and Senegal.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Communications Officer

Location: Abuja (FCT)
Employment Type: Full-time

Duties and Responsibilities
General:

• Support the formulation and implementation of project communications and advocacy strategies on Sahel-led projects
• Work with the Branding & Communication Committee to increase the visibility of Sahel Consulting within the relevant networks.
• Compile and analyze communication experiences and shares findings with other Sahel Program Management Team so that best practices benefit the Sahel Consulting's communication work.
• Prepare official briefing materials, talking points, speeches, statements, op-eds, and presentations on any development-related topic as necessary.
• Develop and maintain external and internal communications platforms such as the Sahel Consulting website, official social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, etc.), Intranet and on-line collaboration platforms, etc.

ALDDN
Branding & Communications:

• Supports the ALDDN program development, focusing on achievement of the set targets:
• Assist in coordination and communication of implementation strategies among stakeholders, particularly the processor, State government officials, and the Program Lead.
• Support to increased awareness of ALDDN's mandate and goals through the dissemination of information, press release, organization of public events.
• Extract lessons learned to support program improvement, advocate for durable solutions and policies, and facilitate knowledge building and knowledge sharing; Monitor and analyze the media in the areas related to the mandates of ALDDN as well as other issues relevant to the Dairy Development brand and positioning in Nigeria.
• Identify and assess potential issues, concerns, and risks related to communications and advocacy, and suggests corrective actions to the ALDDN Program Management Team and Field or Program officers.
• Undertake regular liaison with other partners for content development, information exchange, collaborative communication efforts, and innovative communication and advocacy tools, as assigned.
• Provide substantive support to the ALDDN program team on joint publications ensuring high-quality standards and the correct application of the ALDDN branding guidelines and publishing standards.
• Provides substantive support to ensure that communication performance indicators are identified, incorporated, monitored, and reported on throughout the program cycles.
• Provides substantive support in significantly expanding public outreach on the Dairy Development Agenda and the Sahel Consulting's role and impact in Nigeria.

Minimum Required Skills & Experience
Professional Qualifications:

• Master's Degree in Mass Communications, ICT, Public Relations or related field of study
• Minimum of two years of work experience in such position with demonstrated results focus, skills and a track record of delivering beyond expectations.
• Strong communication abilities including planning and organizing events, project visibility and capturing of impacts.
• A familiarity with and commitment to advocating gender equality and inclusiveness is also required.
• Ability to shape a vision and strategy.
• Able to create positive narration of program achievements.
• Superior interpersonal and cross-cultural communication skills
• Strong negotiation and diplomatic skills to support effective work through implementing partners.
• Fluency in the English language, and excellent writing and presentation skills.
• Ability to inspire confidence and create trust.
• Excellent judgement.
• Ability to understand new issues quickly and make wise decisions.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
• Preference is for candidates who have worked as a Communications Officer in a top consulting firm.

Application Closing Date
31st December, 2021.