AGRA

Corporate Affairs Officer

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

Job Reference: CAO/COMMS/04/2024

AGRA and its Work

AGRA is an African-led institution that actively supports the drive towards inclusive agricultural transformation and sustainable food systems. We do this by empowering the continent’s 33 million smallholder farming households to transform their agriculture from a struggle to survive to profitable businesses. The continent’s farmers regularly face challenges, and we aspire to provide uniquely African solutions that respond to their agricultural and environmental challenges, leading to increased harvests for reduced hunger and more income.

Working in alignment with the development priorities of our focus countries, we enable farmers to access improved and high-yielding seeds, gain knowledge on sustainable farming, and linkages to profitable markets.

In our work, we aspire to build the alliances, partnerships, and networks required to drive an inclusive agricultural transformation. We work with our partners to create an equitable youth-friendly environment that harnesses the youth dividend on the continent to drive growth and facilitate open employment opportunities for young women and men. We achieve our key objectives through a focus on the following four areas of intervention:

1. Policy and state capability – We support governments in creating an enabling environment for private sector involvement in agricultural transformation.
2. Seed systems – We trigger higher productivity by increasing the availability and access to improved seeds by farmers allowing them to increase their harvests for food security and better incomes.
3. Sustainable farming – We support farmers in building resilient farming systems for sustained high yields through interventions such as mechanization and irrigation.
4. Inclusive markets and trade – We work to increase the linkages between farmers, and other market actors for a positive, sustained cycle of commercialization and reinvestment.

Why Join Us?

People are the heartbeat of our organization and remain the true drivers of our delivery, impact, and success.

We have cultivated a workplace that fuels Depth in Collaboration, Excellence in Execution, Constructive Engagements, and a spirit of being Increasingly Entrepreneurial; all underpinned by our cherished I-RISE Values (Integrity, Respect, Innovation, Stewardship and Equity)

We work with incredible people and partners who have roots in farming communities across the African continent combined with an inclusive, diverse, and talented workforce from over 25 nationalities. Our commitment to a call to action goes beyond ourselves as we arise to catalyze African Food Systems transformation and improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

We are looking for people who are passionate about being part of a mission-driven team that is making a real difference on the continent; love to work on cutting edge Ag technologies; and able to grow their skills, expertise, and experience career growth, while enjoying very competitive compensation and benefits.

Are you ready to embark on this exciting transformative journey with us?

The Position

Corporate Affairs Officer Job Reference: CAO/COMMS/04/2024

The Corporate Affairs specialist will be responsible for the delivery of corporate communication plans for the Presidency, Board, and other key stakeholders.

The ideal candidate will serve as the primary assistant on communications and strategic engagements for the President, Board, and key staff. The role holder will be responsible for developing and implementing key communications and external engagement plans across multi-media platforms to achieve favorable reach and engagement. He/she will be required to deeply collaborate with teams to develop impactful content, talking points, speeches, and internal and external communications, in service of the organization’s strategy.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

• Execute comprehensive corporate communication plans that align with the organization’s strategic objectives and effectively communicate key messages to stakeholders.
• Create compelling and impactful content, including speeches, sound bites, quotes, and articles, that align with AGRA’s objectives and resonate with target audiences. Ensure consistent messaging across different communication channels and platforms.
• Create and curate engaging content for social media platforms and coordinate strategic media engagements with relevant stakeholders, including the media, partners, and the public.
• Support crisis communications by tracking and coordinating the reputation management committee and support the running of this committee with timely meetings and updates during challenging situations.
• Research and analyze industry trends, public opinion, and stakeholder feedback to inform communication strategies and identify opportunities for engagement.
• In collaboration with the Communication, Innovations, Engagement, and Advocacy strategy relevant units, develop and implement the presidency’s communications plan, including an annual content plan of internal and external engagements.
• Conduct media training and guide senior leaders and spokespersons to enhance their speech-writing skills.
• Continuously evaluate and enhance processes, tools, and systems to streamline operations and improve efficiency in delivering key deliverables for the Presidency and board.
• Maintain an updated stakeholder database and events calendar that amplifies AGRA’s engagements and partner relationships and alliances.
• Oversee and build positive relationships with external stakeholders, including media outlets, industry influencers, government agencies, and community organizations.
• Perform archiving, database updates, and management to ensure updates.
• Oversee the digital presence, including website content, social media platforms, and email marketing campaigns, ensuring consistent messaging and engaging content for the Presidency and other key stakeholders.
• Develop and prepare speeches for the presidency, board, and key personnel.
• Develop and maintain a strong network of senior media contacts and proactively build relations and pitch stories and press releases to secure positive media coverage of the Presidency and board.
• Monitor media coverage and public sentiment related to the organization and provide timely insights, updates, and recommendations to senior leadership.

Key Qualifications and Experience Required:

• A master’s degree in communications, Media and Public Relations, or Journalism is ideal, or a bachelor’s degree in markets.
• Professional qualifications in Communications and Journalism will be an added advantage.
• Experience at a Senior Officer level in an international development or corporate organization is desired.
• Fluency in English; Knowledge of French or Portuguese will be an advantage.
• Must have experience in speech writing.
• Knowledge of food systems, and landscape is desirable.
• Must demonstrate excellent Communication Skills, strong speech writing abilities and experience, and strong project management skills.
• Must be culturally sensitive with a good understanding of global media platforms.
• Strong administrative skills, and digital marketing skills with excellent media relations globally.

If you believe you are the right candidate for this position, kindly submit your application with a detailed CV (including your e-mail and telephone contacts) to recruit@agra.org. Please quote the job reference number in the subject line of the application e-mail.

Applications must be received on or before May 2, 2024. Due to the large volumes of applications, we usually receive, we will only be able to contact those candidates who are shortlisted.

For more information on the AGRA, visit www.agra.org.

AGRA is an Equal Opportunity Employer