Land O’Lakes Venture37

Background:

Land O'Lakes Venture37 is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit helping communities around the world build economies by strengthening agriculture from farm-to-fork, helping businesses grow, and linking farmers to markets. Since our start in 1981, we have been leveraging nearly 100 years of expertise in dairy, animal nutrition, crop inputs and agricultural insights from our close affiliate, Land O’Lakes, Inc., a farmer-owned agribusiness committed to fulfilling its purpose of feeding human progress.

Our team is made up of nearly 350 employees who are committed to market-led approaches, and passionate about collaborating locally to create lasting inclusive economic growth. By unlocking the potential of agriculture for the last 36 years, the lives of more than 3 million people have been transformed through nearly 300 programs in more than 80 countries.

Project Description:

The Feed the Future Rwanda Orora Wihaze (Raise Animals for Self-Sufficiency) Activity is a USD $15.4M five-year (October 2019 - September 2024) Market System Development project that works with local partners and private sector actors in Rwanda to strengthen the animal sourced foods (ASF) market system. Implemented under a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) contract, the project works across 8 districts of Rwanda including Burera, Gakenke, Nyamagabe, Nyamasheke, Rutsiro, Ngororero, Kayonza and Ngoma Districts. The goal of Orora Wihaze is to sustainably increase the availability of, access to, and consumption of ASF through the development of a profitable market. This is achieved by a selection of interventions under two broad objectives i) Private Sector-Led ASF Value Chains Strengthened; ii) Increase Demand for ASF Consumption for Women and Children. To accomplish this goal, Orora Wihaze seeks to remove production, marketing and consumption constraints affecting dietary diversity of households, especially for women of reproductive age and children of 6-23 months. For households that do not produce or sell ASF, Orora Wihaze works to enhance access to safe ASF through development of the existing market system.

The Orora Wihaze activity uses a private sector oriented, market facilitation approach to achieve the intended goal. The approach aims to sustainably increase livestock productivity, improve relationships across actors in the ASF value chains, build capacity of enterprises in the ASF sector, facilitate access to finance and increase private sector investments in ASF value chains.

Position Summary:

The Communications Specialist is responsible for the design and implementation of the USAID Feed the Future Rwanda Orora Wihaze Activity’s communications strategy during the final 15 months of the Activity. The Communications Specialist will be responsible for developing, managing, and leading implementation communications strategies and plan(s) to promote the activity to external audiences including USAID, the Government of Rwanda, private sector stakeholders, and other local and international implementing partners. The position will be based in the Venture37 office in Kigali Rwanda and will report to the Chief of Party.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Develop communications materials and/or promotional materials for the activity; and design compelling success stories, communications and outreach material to varying audiences (e.g. clients, donors, private sector stakeholder, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), CSOs, etc.);
• With guidance from the Activity Leads and the Senior Learning Advisor, organize and facilitate learning and knowledge sharing activities for Orora Wihaze. Learning events may be in-person events in Rwanda or online webinars
• Develop activity infographics, factsheets, one pagers, blog posts, success stories, press releases, presentations, case studies, etc;
• Develop an appropriate branding strategy adapted to the network of partners of Orora Wihaze and further aligned with USAID and Feed the Future Branding Guidelines
• Develop and disseminate activity impact and "so what" communications materials targeted at specific stakeholder groups (e.g. citizens, youth, tech innovation, NGOs, etc.) for purposes of additional activity buy-in, scale-up, and sustainability;
• Ensure all developed communications materials are aligned with the activity’s branding and marking plan aligned with USAID requirements;
• Develop digital content for social media use by USAID and Venture37;
• Identify opportunities for media outreach and enhanced audience engagement. Develop content (including storyboarding) external communications channels including digital, print, intranet, and social media platforms;
• Work with business units at headquarters or in Rwanda to improve information flow and foster improved understanding of the activity’s work with relevant partners, donors, and existing potential supporters;
• Review, analyze, and report the effectiveness of the activity’s communications efforts;
• Support the broader Venture37 Communications Team to develop publications, thought pieces and marketing materials for Venture37;
• Provide periodic reports to help assess the effectiveness of various media communications strategies. Stay abreast of media trends to identify opportunities to strengthen messages and build awareness to key audiences; and,
• Support closeout activities and recordkeeping related to Orora Wihaze communications systems and records
• Perform other duties as required.

Required Skills and Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in journalism, public relations, communications, development studies or other relevant area.
• At least five (5) years of professional experience in public relations, media, journalism, and/or online communications.
• Excellent writing and editing skills with strong attention detail.
• Ability to effectively communicate complex information and develop impactful success stories and external facing communications materials.
• Strong organization, project management, and prioritization skills.
• Excellent time management skills and ability to adapt in a fast-paced, changing environment.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Ability to work with and communicate effectively with peers and staff from a variety of backgrounds.
• Capacity to work collaboratively and productively with professionals and subject matter experts.
• Relevant computer software skills, including standard applications within MS Office, Adobe, etc .
• Fluency in oral and written English and Kinyarwanda.

Preferred Skills and Qualifications:

• Experience in web design and content production
• Experience in copywriting and editing
• Working knowledge of photo and video-editing software
• Previous experience with USAID funded projects is highly preferred.