Position: Communication Officer

Duty Station: Kigali

Job type: Full time

Reports to: Program Manager

Background

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Prison Fellowship Rwanda (PFR) is a non-profit organization that works in partnership with the government of Rwanda and its relevant agencies, local and international partners and volunteers to foster restorative justice, unity and reconciliation, peace building, psychosocial healing initiatives, promotion of human rights and provision of legal assistance and development in Rwanda. Prison Fellowship Rwanda was founded on 01/07/1995, affiliated to the Prison Fellowship International in 1997.  It was officially registered and recognized by the ministerial law no 037/17, of 23/10/2002 as a non- profit organization and published in official gazette of the Republic of Rwanda in 2002.

Every organization relies heavily on communication. It helps to create an effective working environment, cements working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, and sets the tone for the entire organization when employed properly. Good communication entails more than just exchanging information, data and messages; it also encompasses one’s attitude and behavior. The Communications Officer is in charge of Prison Fellowship Rwanda’s communication, strategy, planning, flow, and messages.

The Communications Officer is in charge of informing, developing, and delivering a variety of communications channels to assist PFR in meeting its objectives. The Communications Officer ensures that institutional messages are transmitted appropriately across all communication channels for best impact, based on a thorough responsiveness of the local environment and significant sensitivities associated to PFR engagement. This role is based in Kigali and may require regular travel throughout Rwanda.

Prison Fellowship Rwanda is currently seeking a skilled and highly motivated candidate with a strong moral character and professional integrity to fill the position of Communication Officer.

Key responsibilities.

Communications strategy and plans

  • Develop a thorough understanding of PFR’s overall communication strategy, including the vision, purpose, and goals;
  • Develop a communication plan that complies with the PFR’s Communications Strategic Objectives as well as the needs of external stakeholders (donors, national partners);
  • Identify possibilities to improve PFR’s positioning and plan publicity activities as needed;
  • Using the entire range of modern communication technologies, including social media and digital publication, plan, develop, and implement successful communications to support the projects and initiative branding and messaging priorities;
  • Develop clear communications guidelines that will be used by the organization.

Content creation

  • Draft and edit a wide array of written and audio-visual content, including web stories, press releases, media alerts, blog posts, content for Vlogs, speeches, Op-Eds, human interest stories, key messages, talking points, and video scripts;
  • Conduct research and create content for the PFR and social media platforms, as well as develop presentations and infographics;
  • Developing short stories/change stories and articles to be published in newspapers/ magazines/ online platforms;
  • Ensure regular content creation for newsletters, and prepare monthly alert messages to announce the monthly updates of the web;
  • Edit and adapt file formats of photographs for web and social media use;
  • Adapt video and multimedia files in the required formats and upload to YouTube, when requested;

Events, media, and public relations

  • Provide support to the Executive Director on media engagement. This includes the creation of a network with relevant national and international journalists and media to increase visibility for the work;
  • Liaise with national and regional media for press releases and events, establish media connections and aim to get maximum media attention for press releases, special events, press interviews either through broadcast or print media;
  • Create the tone and content of drafting media materials whilst ensuring it is in line with PFR’s institutional positioning;
  • Select graphic content for media outputs and develop or obtain graphic/visual content when required from stock image platforms;
  • Take the lead on the development of new communications activities aimed at expanding PFR’s digital reach and engagement;
  • Develop and pre-test appropriate messages, tools and materials. This will include the development of advocacy kits for policy- and decision-makers, senior program managers, various key influencers; materials for different media/target audiences, infotainment scripts, TV/radio spots, illustrative leaflets, posters, generating audio-visual stories from the field, and other materials.

Analysis, Monitoring and reporting.

  • With the help of the Program Manager, keep track of web and social media statistics and generate reports on a regular basis;
  • Develop key performance indicators with the help of the Program Manager to track the success of the communications strategy’ implementation;
  • During the implementation of program activities, keep track of lessons learned and best practices;
  • Maintain records of media coverage and collate analytics and metrics;
  • Effectively monitor and analyze various communication methods and activities in order to assess their impact on the ultimate goal;
  • Conduct research and data collection for publications, articles, blogs, reports, etc.;
  • Participate in meetings with authorities, donors, partners and communities to share the outcomes, best practices and lessons learned.

Education/ Experience

  • Minimum of 3-5 years of experience in journalism, Public Relation agency, corporate communications, or non-profit outreach;
  • University degree or its equivalent in communications, journalisms, advertising, or another relevant field;
  • Excellent proven writing capabilities in English and Kinyarwanda. Knowledge of French will be an advantage.
  • Excellent knowledge of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google+, and other social media best practices;
  • Ability to turn technical information into compelling stories;
  • Demonstrated expertise in producing high-quality audio-visual content;
  • Ability to work collaboratively and effectively across multiple teams;
  • Solid understanding of news media and public relations and strong content strategy and development;
  • Highly organized/structured and able to manage multiple projects and understand and adjust to changing priorities;
  • Strong IT skills, including familiarity and a track record of social media content development, planning and web management;
  • Commitment to continuous learning.

 How to apply

 A copy of each of the following in document of PDF format should be sent on recruitment.pfrwanda@gmail.com not later than 18th February 2022.

  • Degree and National ID;
  • CV (maximum 3 pages);
  • Three recommendation letters from previous employers;
  • Signed and stamped letter of recommendation from the church.

The application should be addressed to the Executive Director Prison Fellowship Rwanda with subject “Communication Officer”.

For more information about Prison Fellowship Rwanda, consult: www.pfrwanda.com

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