Communications Officer – Gulu – Spark MicroGrants

About US:
Spark MicroGrants launched in Rwanda in 2010 and in Uganda in late 2011 with a mission to catalyze rural, poor communities into action. Spark has developed the first proactive, group based micro-granting model. The model consists of a five month project planning process, a $2,000-$10,000 micro-grant and two years of management support and follow-up. Spark enrolls recent graduates from local universities in a two-year fellowship in facilitation where the fellow scouts up to eight villages and takes each one through the Spark process. Fellows assist villages in the design, implementation and management of their own social impact projects. Projects vary across all sectors from health, education, infrastructure, income generation to women’s empowerment, depending on what the community chooses as their project. Spark’s priority areas are promoting a ‘locally-led, expert-supported’ model for development, where local communities are the primary drivers of social change, but have the support and advice of global development experts.

Job Summary: The Communications Officer will be responsible for creating content for Spark’s communications channels including grant proposals, reports, blog posts, social media updates, graphics, and media features. The Communications Officer will have the unique opportunity to be based in a regional office of Spark, work hand in hand with field facilitators who run Spark programs and develop content from the field that will be communicated externally to build awareness and resources for Spark’s community-driven development model. The Communications Officer will develop field stories, support country teams to develop reports, support in-country partnership work and develop connections with local media. The Communications Officer will manage and maintain all of Spark’s digital communications channels including the Spark website, social media and email marketing.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:
Grant Proposals & Reports (40%): Put together content for grant proposals and donor reports. Coordinate with the M&E, Finance and Programs departments on budgets, metrics and strategy alignment.
Digital Content Creation and Channel Management (30%): Create content for Spark’s digital channels including blog posts, social media updates, email marketing campaigns and media features. Maintain the Spark website and social media outlets. Run regular web analytics and manage Spark’s Google Adwords account.
Capacity Building (20%): Develop a strong in-country communications workflow including story collection, story translation and coordination between departments. Provide hands on capacity building and trainings to country teams.
Special Projects (10%): Provide support on special projects including local media coordination, country partnership strategy build-out and unexpected opportunities.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:
The applicants for the Communications Officer Jobs should at least hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications or a Social Science
One to three years of professional experience in a writing-intensive position 5) experience living in east or central Africa is preferred
Previous exposure and experience in web development and graphic design
Excellent writing skills
Fluency in English is desired
The applicants must be able to answer “yes” to all of these questions:
1) Do you have experience writing for different audiences?
2) Do you often catch small details that others don’t?
3) Do you enjoy working with colors, fonts and photos?
4) Are you passionate about telling compelling and authentic stories?
5) Are you experienced in WordPress and one or more graphic design programs?
6) Do you thrive in a passionate and entrepreneurial organization?
7) Do you enjoy working and building relationships within a multi-cultural team?
8) Are you creative and able to problem solve independently with limited oversight?
9) Do you value the process as much as the end result?
10) Do you believe in leadership through inclusion, empathy and mutual accountability?
11) Are you excited about working to bring dignity and inclusion back to development?

How to Apply:
All suitably qualified and interested candidates are encouraged to send an updated CV, cover letter and a short writing sample to hr@sparkmicrogrants.org using the subject line format: Communications Officer <Your Name>.

Deadline: 15th April, 2016