Location: Geita, Tanzania
Company: Plan International
BACKGROUND
Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. Plan has over 80 years’ experience and works in more than 75 countries across the world. We strive for a just world, working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners.
Plan International has been working in Tanzania since 1991. Our work supports marginalised children and youth, especially adolescent girls, to grow up physically and mentally healthy and ready to shape their future. We create an enabling environment and empower girls to be active drivers of change in realising their rights. We prioritise working with partners, and ensuring all of our work is evidence based
Keeping Adolescent Girls in School (KAGS) project is a 5 years Global Affairs Canada’s (GAC’s) funded project, aiming at addressing key barriers inhibiting adolescent girls from realizing their right to safe, quality and gender-responsive education, with a particular focus on their unique needs and barriers associated with participation in primary and lower-secondary school. The project’s Ultimate Outcome is whereby ‘Adolescent girls realize their rights to safe, quality, gender-responsive education’ will be achieved by employing a three-pronged, rights-based, gender-transformative approach to tackle demand- and supply-side barriers, while strengthening local level governance and building improved linkages between education, health and child protection systems
ROLE PURPOSE
The post holder is responsible for implementing KAGIS program communications strategy. In coordination with program leads and implementing partners, she/he will be supporting and maintaining internal and external communications and prepare, implement and monitor KAGIS visibility and branding plans. She/he will be writing, gathering, documenting, archiving, packaging and sharing program contents, best practices and lessons learned, coordinate media, events and campaigns. She/he will be acting as a liaison between Plan International, the public, and the media to ensure that the brand remains top of mind and contribute to the Plan International influencing and advocacy strategy. This position report to the Project Director.
Dimensions of the Role
- Coordinate and maintain an effective partnership with all implementing partners, government departments and beneficiaries.
- Ensuring that implementing partners are supported in the designing of key messages for IEC materials and proper distribution to reach the targeted audiences.
- Developing communications annual operational plans and budget allocated and ensuring that agreed results are delivered in time and within the budget available.
- Coordinate influencing and advocacy activities and ensure their execution is in compliance with the country strategy
- Coordinate to ensure compliance of program activities with program communication strategy and make sure donor guidelines are followed.
- Assist in coordinating communication activities including campaigns and events of the program, and of implementing partners
- Undertake field visits to support visitors or for collection of information to be used for documentation purposes (photography/Video/Audio)
- Participate in donor visits for showcasing project progress and achievements
- Conducts regular visits to the implementing partners to provide technical support for effective implementation of communications strategy.
- Develops and maintains good relations with media at Regional and national levels.
- Ensures all productions of materials and information shared, safeguard children and young people.
- Undertake other reasonable tasks as directed by the Project Director
ACCOUNTABILITIES
- Coordinate Planning and Routine Monitoring
- Coordinate and supervise all communications activity plans (of both partners and Plan) and ensure donor and Plan’s standards and compliance are followed.
- Coordinate with program team and implementing partners in the dissemination of IEC materials, best practices and lessons learned.
- Routinely update and track all communication outputs indicators to monitor progress.
- Support the program team to apply program results and lessons learned to refine activities and implementation.
- Relates well with all partners and support them to effectively deliver communications strategy
Branding and Visibility:
- Support and guide program staff and implementing partners on communications, visibility and branding plans
- Media Coordination & engagement:
- Prepare media kits
- Develop and maintain data base for media engagement at National, Regional and District level
- Support and Coordinate media engagement to support program and partners
Content development:
- Compile content and develop program one pager and fact sheets,
- Compile and develop content for Social media and traditional media
- Work with Program leads to compile and develop Photo bank, Lessons learnt and Case Studies for use at various platforms to showcase our work
- Coordinate procedures for content development, this may include; Filming Permit, Photography, Filming etc
- Prepare case studies and success stories and share lessons learnt for both internal and external audiences
Internal Communication:
- Support program teams and partner to establish an innovative, user friendly, reliable, and up-to-date internal information database for experiences sharing, knowledge sharing, information sharing and make it accessible
- Disseminate information about the organization’s information and knowledge sharing programme to internal and external audiences
- Ensure that regular online, print and video production materials are properly and systematically archived and shared both for internal and external consumptions
- Compile content to develop and share a regular newsletter and weekly highlight to staff and stakeholders
Making effective decisions
- Tailors own work practices
- Willing to take decisions within the accepted parameters of the role
- Shares appropriate and timely information with others
- Recognises when to refer any problem up to the more senior colleagues
Knowledge Management
- Translate project learning and results into a success stories.
- Encouraging staff to form relationships that encourages knowledge sharing.
- Be transparent by sharing what you are doing and why, and ask for feedback.
- Coordinate the documentation of best practices and success stories
Security and Upholding Plan Values
- Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.
- Proactively ensure that team members operate in a secure environment and are aware of Safeguarding policies.
- Create and sustain a work environment of mutual respect where team members strive to achieve excellence.
- Be champion of Plan values
- Handles constructive criticism and learns from it
- Shows respect for and sensitivity to protected characteristics, cultural and religious differences
Compliance to Global Polices
Ensures that Plan International’s global policies for safeguarding children and young people and Gender Equality and Inclusion (GEIP) are fully embedded in accordance with the principles and requirements of the policy including relevant Implementation Standards and Guidelines as applicable to their area of responsibility. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring Plan and Partner’s staff and associates are aware of and understand their responsibilities under these policies and Plan International’s Code of Conduct (CoC), their relevance to their area of work, and that concerns are reported and managed in accordance with the appropriate procedures
Communications and Working Relationships:
Internal:
- This position works closely with Programme staff including all PUs staff (high)
- This position works closely with Thematic heads (CO level) (medium)
External:
This position works closely with sector leads and local partner organizations (high)
Key relationships
- PU & CO
- Head of M&E, CP, and Education
- Gender and Inclusion, Communications & Influencing
- Functional networks within Plan
Technical expertise, skills and knowledge
Required experience and Qualifications
- Minimum of a basic degree in Mass Communications, Journalism, or its equivalent.
- Minimum of at least three (3) years of relevant experience in communications roles
- Experiences in working with Education and/or Child protection and ASRH projects.
- Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
- Ability and willingness to travel intensively in the fields
- Proficient in Microsoft Office, content management systems, and social media platforms, Proficiency in design and publishing software, is an added advantage.
Essential
Knowledge
- In-depth knowledge of girl’s education challenges in Tanzania
- Knowledge of gender transformative approach in programming
- Demonstrated knowledge in writing gender-transformative stories and news
- Knowledge in coordinating multiple stakeholders with complex relationships
- Knowledge of Associated stories and press release writing.
Skills
- Analytical and problem solving skills
- Proficient computer skills in Microsoft applications including Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint.
- Ability to work under multidisciplinary and multicultural environment
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
- Strong public speaking skills.
- Demonstrated versatility, and integrity
- Fluent spoken and written English and Kiswahili
- Excellent interpersonal skills.
- Good problem solving and decision making skills.
- Excellent negotiation and networking skills with media and relevant stakeholders
Behaviours
- Hardworking with capacity to work independently with minimum supervision
- Honest, integrity, open and transparent personality.
- Working towards achieving a team goal
- Be able to Respect all groups of people in the community and culturally sensitive
- Persuasive and able to work with different cultural settings
- Motivated, energetic and strives to develop and support others
- Result oriented and a team player
- Working for the best interest of the organisation and children
- Appreciate of child rights and gender equality
Desirable
- Experience managing and knowledge of project that support girls’ education.
- Strong presentation, team-building and interpersonal skills
- Advanced critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
- Commitment to girls’ development and a values-driven work environment.
- Operate in a high-pressure deadline-driven environment with professionalism
- Working with the project team and ensure project results are achieved timely without compromising with quality
- Good command over conflict resolution while maintaining important relationships:
- Plan and schedule own work, interpreting instructions and selecting appropriate methods/tools for delivery.
Plan International’s Values in Practice
We are open and accountable
- Promotes a culture of openness and transparency, including with sponsors and donors.
- Holds self and others accountable to achieve the highest standards of integrity.
- Consistent and fair in the treatment of people.
- Open about mistakes and keen to learn from them.
- Accountable for ensuring we are a safe organisation for all children, girls & young people
We strive for lasting impact
- Articulates a clear purpose for staff and sets high expectations.
- Creates a climate of continuous improvement, open to challenge and new ideas.
- Focuses resources to drive change and maximise long-term impact, responsive to changed priorities or crises.
- Evidence-based and evaluates effectiveness.
We work well together
- Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
- Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
- Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
- Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.
We are inclusive and empowering
- Seeks constructive outcomes, listens to others, willing to compromise when appropriate.
- Builds constructive relationships across Plan International to support our shared goals.
- Develops trusting and ‘win-win’ relationships with funders, partners and communities.
- Engages and works well with others outside the organization to build a better world for girls and all children.
Physical Environment
Working environment will include both typical office environment and field environment
The position requires regular field travels, at least 70% of the officer’s work
Level of contact with children
- Mid contact: Occasional interaction with children during reflection meetings, evaluations, and research
