ILRI COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER JOB VACANCY IN KENYA

Vacancy Number: CO/BECA/08/11
Department: BecA-ILRI Hub
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Duration: 2-year term with possibility of renewal

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) works at the crossroads of livestock and poverty, bringing high-quality livestock science, communications and capacity building to bear on poverty reduction and sustainable development. ILRI is one of 15 centres supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). ILRI has campuses in Kenya (headquarters) and Ethiopia, with other offices located in other regions of Africa (Mali, Mozambique, and Nigeria) as well as in South Asia (India, Sri Lanka), Southeast Asia (Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam) and East Asia (China). ILRI also manages the Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA) Hub at ILRI, a new centre for excellence in modern plant and animal biology in Africa. BecA is an initiative developed within the framework of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)/ African Union African Biosciences initiative. It consists of a Hub based on the ILRI campus in Nairobi, Kenya and a network of regional nodes and other affiliated laboratories and organizations throughout the region. The BecA Hub facilities are world class, including a range of molecular, plant transformation, and genomics laboratories and equipment (e.g. 454 sequencing, Biosafety level 3 laboratory, plant growth facilities). The Hub hosts and conducts research in crop, microbe and livestock areas where new developments in science offer promise to address previously intractable problems constraining Africa’s development.  Capacity building is a major goal of all activities. The scope covers agriculture and food security and their intersections with human health and nutrition, and the sustainable use of Africa’s natural resources.  Further information is available at http://hub.africabiosciences.org/.

The BecA-ILRI Hub seeks to recruit a Communications Officer to develop and implement its communication strategy and to provide communications support to research scientists and technical support staff at the Hub. The person reports to the Director of the BecA-ILRI Hub and will work closely with and liaise with the ILRI Communications Unit.

Responsibilities:-

• Design and oversee production of BecA-ILRI Hub publications, including print, CD and web materials in the form of articles, reports, briefs (policy), multimedia products, posters, and information packets.

• Oversee the design, management and content of the Hub website and provide web-friendly content to keep the site interesting and up to date.

• Provide communication/information advise and assistance for BecA-ILRI Hub teams, either by doing the work required or by contracting the work to consultants.

• Edit, proof read and summarize Hub documents, and write articles about BecA-ILRI Hub work, as requested.

• Liaise with local printers and publications’ specialists (e.g., Graphics and Public Awareness staff) for producing/publishing/printing BecA-ILRI Hub materials.

• Maintain a BecA-ILRI Hub publications inventory and keep the publications archives and website pages up to date.

• Keep up to date about current trends in research communication and methods used by ILRI’s knowledge management, publications and public awareness departments so as to advise BecA-ILRI Hub management of ways to improve Hub communications cost-effectively.

• Support other BecA-ILRI Hub communications activities as requested.

Requirements

• A Bachelor’s degree in journalism, advertising, communications or related subject area.

• At least three years experience in writing, editing, design, web work database management, web content management, blogging, use of Web 2.0 and new media tools.

• Experience in supporting communications and/or media relations in the area of agricultural/environmental research for development is an added advantage.

• Ability to read, understand and assimilate complex technical information to produce clear, well-written summaries.

• Ability to present and package scientific information into various formats to suit specialist and non-specialist audiences.

• Proficient in Microsoft Office packages.

• Basic knowledge of and skills in desktop publishing, HTML, photography and photo editing.

• Demonstrated ability to work independently and well within teams.

• Fluent English language skills, both written and spoken.

• Excellent communication, organizational and documentation skills.

Terms of appointment: This is a Nationally Recruited Staff (NRS) position based at ILRI’s Nairobi campus and is on a 2-year contract renewable subject to six months probation period, individual performance and availability of funding.

Job Level and Salary: This positions is level 2D and starting salary is KES.130,833.00 per month.  This is exclusive of other benefits provided within ILRI’s National Recruited Staff scheme.

Applicants should send a cover letter expressing their interest, detailed CV, names and contact details (Telephone, E-mail) of three professional referees to e-mail: recruit-ilri-Ken@cgiar.org by 31st August, 2011.

The position title and reference number “COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER – CO/BECA/08/10” should be clearly indicated on the subject line of the email application. We regret but only online applications will be considered and only short listed candidates will be contacted.

To find out more about ILRI and the BecA-ILRI Hub, visit our websites at http://www.ilri.org and http://hub.africabiosciences.org

ILRI is an equal opportunities employer