- ABOUT THE URGENT ACTION FUNDS
The Urgent Action Sister Funds are a global consortium of feminist funds that provide rapid and responsive support for women, trans, and non-binary human rights defenders in moments of need, sustaining feminist activism by supporting the resistance and resilience of frontline defenders. Grounded in our Sisterhood Feminist Principles of Philanthropy, we have a political commitment to share power and work together toward our common vision of sustaining feminist movements. Feminist activists worldwide seeded Urgent Action Funds to become a nourishing ecosystem that supports the resilience of women and transgender human rights defenders through rapid response grants worldwide.
We are collaborative, co-equal, and geographically distinct. Beginning in 1997 with UAF-for Feminist Activism (which now covers the Balkans, the Caucuses, Central Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, the U.S., and Canada), the Sisterhood grew out of the priorities of local feminist movements to include three additional and independent UAFs. UAF-Africa formed in 2001, UAF-Latin America & the Caribbean in 2009, and UAF-Asia & Pacific in 2017. Now, the Urgent Action Sister Funds (UAFs) are four independent but regional feminist funds that work interdependently globally. The UAFs represent the only global consortium of regionally rooted feminist funds that provide rapid response support to women, trans, and non-binary Human Rights Defenders.
2. SCOPE OF WORK
We seek a Strategic Communications Manager to play a key strategic and operational role as part of the Urgent Action Sister Funds’ Weaving & Activation Team (the position is hosted at UAF-Africa).
Key outcomes of this role include:
- Raise the profile of the Urgent Action Funds consortium in our core areas of impact, in particular, feminist crisis response and collective care.
- Amplify our collective analysis and learnings and our collective impact stories within the philanthropic sector.
- Generate momentum for our global initiatives among current and new feminist and philanthropic audiences.
- Ensure that the voices of women, trans and non-binary activists shape our advocacy and communications.
- Ensure our communications are disability and language-inclusive, digitally secure and aligned with our shared values and principles.
- Cohere collective messaging and narratives across the different internal working groups and all UAF Sister Funds.
Key responsibilities include:
- Supporting the development and implementation of the Sister Funds’ overall strategy and collective work plan
- Communications strategy development and implementation
- Lead in strategy planning, development, and implementation of the Sister Funds’ 3-year communications strategy anchored in our Strategic Framework on Crisis and Care
- Co-create the annual communications work plan and budget with the Communications core group.
- Brand and narrative development
- Review and improve, as necessary, our Urgent Action Funds’ brand kit through the digital media in which we have a presence (website, social media, etc.)
- Contextualize and promote content from the regions as part of Urgent Action Funds’ messaging, creating a collective narrative while highlighting regional nuancing.
- Cultivate strategic partnerships with media and other stakeholders to elicit support and maximize the impact of our communications work.
- Serve as communications liaison for the Urgent Action Funds’ consortium.
- Manage the publication of Sister Funds’ reports and drive the communications and dissemination strategy of future publications.
- Collaborate with the Partnerships Managing Officer to ensure that communications strategy supports the UAF philanthropic advocacy and resource mobilization goals.
- Organize communications and advocacy events aimed at donors and other stakeholders.
- Content and asset creation
- In coordination with the Communications core group, produce and facilitate the production of high-quality, creative, and politically sharp communications products such as statements, slide decks, blogs, newsletters, briefing papers.
- Review, improve, and manage our communications infrastructure, such as the website, database, and mailing lists, among others.
- Stay informed about emerging trends, new practices, and innovations in communications and advocacy work and integrate innovations.
- Facilitate the Communications Core Group of the Urgent Action Funds
- Plan meetings and co-develop meeting agendas with input from the Communications core group.
- Follow-up on decisions and action points
- Recruit and manage vendors.
- Facilitate and document meetings as necessary.
- Attend virtual and in-person meetings.
- Facilitate translation of essential communication products
- Provide strategic advice on anything communications-related to other staff and core groups of the Urgent Action Funds
- Identify and manage potential risks in our communications work.
- Evaluate results and impact of Urgent Action Funds’ strategic communications work, in collaboration with the monitoring, evaluation, and learning team.
- Work with the different teams to create a culture that is respectful, collaborative, agile, adaptable, accountable, transparent and centers care.
3. CORE COMPETENCIES
- Feminist in orientation
- Strategic in approach – understands and addresses interdependencies.
- Organized and efficient in work processes and systems
- Ability to adapt to changing circumstances and proactively address challenges that may arise during the planning and execution phases.
- Aware of different identities and cultural sensitivities to navigate nuances in planning and execution.
- Help manage constructively conflicts that arise during discussions.
- Consensus-building; has the ability to allow everyone to share and understand each other’s perspectives.
- Can sense and adapt to the energies and manage power dynamics in the room.
- Support the expression and exploration of different points of view, as well as the different approaches to knowledge and learning.
- Treat all people with respect and dignity.
- Ability to cultivate strategic partnerships.
- Skilled in distilling complex ideas into easily understandable, digestible, and accessible language for different audiences.
- Conscientious and efficient in adjusting priorities, meeting deadlines, and achieving results.
- Can facilitate the inclusion of different voices and perspectives.
- Can work collaboratively with a diverse and remote team and can accommodate different time zones.
- Open to innovations and experiments
4. QUALIFICATIONS
The ideal candidate should possess the following:
- Advanced university degree (master’s or equivalent) in communications and media, journalism, international development, or related fields
- 7-10 years of experience in related fields.
- Minimum of 4-5 years of professional experience in developing and implementing a strategic communications strategy at managerial level
- Professional Accreditation – Accredited Communications professional qualification required e.g. PCM, ABC, SCMP, ITIL, PMP, CSB, BCBA, PCS, G.I
5. Skills and Experience:
- Excellent writing skills with experience producing written outputs and other digital content that shows storytelling ability.
- Exceptional organizational and communication skills, with a track record of effectively engaging and managing relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
- Experience developing and driving a strategic communication strategy.
- Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with a remote and diverse team.
- Fluency in English; skills in Spanish an advantage
- Experience working with feminist organizations, human rights, and the philanthropy sector.
- Experience with different communication tools (e.g. WordPress, Canva, Mailchimp)
- Experience working with graphic designers and other vendors to develop communications products.
- Skills in graphic design are an advantage.
- Good design eye
- Knowledgeable in digital security
- Flexibility and willingness to travel.
6. REPORTING AND COORDINATION STRUCTURE
The Strategic Communications Manager will report directly to The Head of Transformative Partnerships & Philanthropy. The Manager will also report to the Leadership and Governance Core Group and collaborate with the core groups and action teams.
7. DURATION AND LOCATION
The contract is expected to commence on May 1, 2024, with an initial 3-year contract and a probationary period of six months. The candidate should be located in Africa.
How to apply
Interested applicants are invited to submit their CV highlighting relevant experience and a cover letter by registering on the UAF-Africa website & applying for this role using the below link by 31 March 2024.
http://uafahrrec.peopleshr.com/
UAF-Africa is an equal-opportunity employer and does not discriminate in its hiring practices. UAF-Africa actively seeks a diverse applicant pool to build the most robust possible workforce. The Fund is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.