Communication & Graphic Design Officer
Internal/External Vacancy Announcement #088/2018
GIZ Support to the African Union
1. BACKGROUND
As a provider of international cooperation services for sustainable development and international education work, GIZ - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit – is dedicated to building a future worth living around the world.
We have over 50 years of experience in a wide variety of areas, including rural and economic development, education and employment, energy and the environment, and peace and security. Together with our partners, we work to deliver flexible, effective and cost-effective solutions that offer people better prospects and sustainably improve their living conditions. Of our 18,260 employees in some 120 countries, almost 70 per cent are national personnel working in the field.
As a public-benefit German federal enterprise, we are committed to meeting our clients’ high standards with regard to transparency and accountability. German and European values are central to our work. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is our main commissioning party. European Union institutions, the United Nations, the private sector and national governments benefit from our services, too.
In Ethiopia GIZ has been implementing development programmes on behalf of the German government for over 40 years jointly with our national partners. The focus of our work in the country is on vocational education, sustainable use of natural resources, land management and food security, biodiversity and forestry. Further programmes enhance the development of a sustainable textile sector and renewable energies.
GIZ has been supporting the African Union (AU) on behalf of the German Federal Government since 2004. In line with the AU's stated goals, the GIZ AU portfolio is now active in 33 countries across the continent in Africa. The nearly 150 employees of the GIZ AU programmes are based in the GIZ AU main Office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and other locations, such as in Pretoria, South Africa. A central goal of the cooperation is to make the institutions of the AU more efficient and to support the implementation of their strategies and programs. The focus is on the areas of peace and security, good governance and migration, regional economic integration, education/youth/employment, agriculture and land governance and on the overall strengthening of the management capacity of the AU Commission (AUC). The GIZ programmes adopt a multi-level approach, accompanying the implementation of continental agendas in the Regional Economic Communities (such as ECOWAS, SADC or EAC) and in the Member States of the African Union.
In this context, the GIZ AU Office Addis Ababa is offering a position as a Communication & Graphic Design Officer for the duration of two years and seven months with a possibility of extension.
Position: Communication & Graphic Design Officer
Place of Work: GIZ African Union Office, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Remuneration: as per the GIZ scale
Closing date: May 11, 2018
1. General tasks
The Communication & Graphic Design Officer will provide technical support in the field of Public Relations (PR) and Communications regarding the following tasks:
a) Strategic tasks
· Supporting the GIZ AU Director and the Programme Coordinator in the strategic orientation of communications, in developing, consolidating and communicating GIZ AU Portfolio’s image to internal and external target audiences
· Implementing GIZ standards and guidelines in all PR & Communication activities
· Updating and refining the GIZ AU Portfolio communication strategy
· Systematically planning and managing communication activities
· Cooperating/Coordinating communication activities with the German Development Cooperation Office Ethiopia (GDCO) and the German Embassy
· Coordinating and, where applicable, monitoring communications activities (including quality of content and form, quantity and effectiveness).
· Cooperating/Coordinating communication activities with the African Union Commission
b) Advisory services for the GIZ AU Programmes
· Cooperating with GIZ AU Programmes and managing the internal flow of information between the GIZ AU Office and GIZ worldwide
· Participating in the Communications Network, organised by GDCO and conducting Communications Network Meetings with Communication Focal persons from the GIZ AU Programmes on a monthly basis
· Advising the GIZ AU programmes/projects and any communications officers employed there on their communications activities (e.g. on corporate design issues, producing publications and planning events)
· Undertaking quality assurance checks of articles submitted by projects/programmes (e.g. for publications, press events, internet)
· Preparing and executing best practices/success stories from the programmes (infographics, documentary texts, etc.) and supervising the printing and/or dissemination process
c) Media relations
· Coordinating press and media activities of the GIZ AU Portfolio
· Production and distribution of press articles, like reports on AU Summits or research papers on specific topics
· Establishing and maintaining contacts with national, regional and international media representatives
· Monitoring and documenting press coverage, keeping track of the internal and external press announcements and articles concerning the AU Portfolio.
d) PR of the GIZ AU Portfolio
· Continued development of suitable PR instruments (e.g. GIZ AU Image paper, fact sheets, promotional material, PowerPoint presentations based on GIZ corporate presentation template, newsletter, info sheets etc.
· Spearheading the planning and the production of a GIZ AU short image video
· Frequently updating the GIZ AU portfolio presentation, the onboarding package and other information material
· Developing ideas for new communication formats that depict the portfolio programs and their activities
· Updating the GIZ AU-Intranet and -Internet website
· Coordination/advisory services for programmes' and projects' webpage
· Organisation of events
· Support for visitors and high-level delegations
1. Requirements
We are looking for an enthusiastic, creative, and open-minded team player with great interpersonal skills, ability to handle multiple tasks and work in intercultural environment. The candidate should be organised, structured and have a strong attention to detail. Technical requirements include:
· University degree in Communications, Journalism or a related field (MA or equivalent)
· At least five years of professional experience in one of the respective fields
· Excellent written and verbal communications skills and a confident journalistic style
· Good knowledge of development policy issues, the work performed by GIZ, and its position within the German and international structures of development and international cooperation is an asset
· Proven track record in communications (press relations and PR, journalism, internal communications
· Editorial experience/experience in writing articles and press releases (work samples may be requested)
· Good contacts to (local/regional) media; experience in maintaining contacts to journalists
· Experience in internal communications (dissemination of information and promoting dialogue within an organisation)
· Experience in media production, possibly including publishing or graphic design software such as Adobe InDesign or Adobe Photoshop;
· Experience with video editing programmes, e.g. Adobe Premiere Pro, is an advantage
· Experience in implementing corporate design guidelines
· Excellent knowledge / mother tongue English, Good knowledge of German or French is an advantage