Position Tile: Senior Manager Communications – CWS Africa

Reports To : RSC Africa Director and Deputy Director Program Development and Quality

Supervises : Public Information Supervisor

Division : CWS Africa

Department : Program Development and Quality

Team : Regional

Job Location : Nairobi, Kenya

Grade Level : 9, National

Introduction:

Church World Service (CWS) is a not-for-profit, faith-based organization transforming communities around the globe through just and sustainable solutions to hunger, poverty, displacement and disaster. CWS does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, gender identity, genetic information, age, disability or veteran status in employment or in the provision of services.

Primary Purpose:

This position, with close supervision and guidance from the Deputy Director Program Development and Quality, is responsible for the management of the Public Information unit and manages refugee messaging and materials. This position ensures the timeliness and accuracy of all RSC Africa strategic communication with stakeholders. This includes responsibilities such as improving internal communication, managing responses to Public Information inquiries, developing public information campaigns, facilitating official visitors to RSC Africa, and ensuring USRAP informational materials (for both partners and USRAP applicants) are standardized and in line with PRM branding requirements.

Contracting for this position is subject to budgeting approval

Key Relationships:

Internal to CWS

  • RSC Director
  • Deputy Director Program Implementation
  • Deputy Director Program Development and Quality
  • Associate Directors
  • All staff
  • CWS HQ

External

  • PRM Program Officer
  • Refugee Coordinator
  • UNHCR
  • IOM
  • Other NGOs (HIAS and RefugePoint)
  • Resettlement Agencies

Working Environment

  • Office and/work from home environment.
  • Periodic travel to the field as may be required.

Core Job Responsibilities:

Leadership and Management (20%)

  • Support Senior Management in developing and implementing a comprehensive communications plan to support organizational objectives, improve internal communication related to program delivery, branding and organizational development.
  • Engage in effective team management as per CWS expectations, including: ensure policies, procedures, and culture are understood and abided by; provide clear expectations, managing performance, yearly performance evaluations, and coordinating proper use of benefits; providing coaching and corrective action plans as needed; effective communication; maintaining accurate job descriptions; ensuring a safe and professional work place; and promoting safe-space, open door, and escalation policies.
  • Coordinates programmatic inputs to the annual RSC budgeting process by working with Program teams to anticipate staffing and resource needs based on PRM processing targets, monitors spending throughout the year against budget targets.
  • Monitor and assess effective and appropriate use of resources across the team within the approved budget by determining and applying cost saving measures to ensure program sustainability.

Program Administration (30%)

  • Oversee the Public Information Unit, this entails, development of work plans, their implementation and reporting, coordination of the deployment of staff and resources to ensure timely and efficient work output, in coordination with Programs Management.
  • Serve as the secondary point of contact for Public Information mailboxes in the absence of the unit Supervisor and train all staff on the key areas under the Public Information unit.
  • Ensure email protocol for Public Information mailboxes are updated and shared as appropriate.
  • Ensure all staff are utilizing best practices for professional communication and representation.
  • Manage the production of creative and compelling communication and information materials, success stories, photos, videos, fact sheets, brochures, infographics, and publish communications newsletter for various audiences, including USRAP beneficiaries, partners and staff, and others as needed.
  • Track progress towards achievement of established annual goals and objectives.
  • Coordinate effective public information campaigns within assigned countries/teams with logistics, finance, and security including travel projections, site clearances, security updates, news from the field, expense reports and financial management.
  • Lead an effective process of hosting visitors and senior leaders at the office and in the field that includes key stakeholder engagement and create schedules.
  • Enhance our program informational materials to be sure they are accurate and present well to the audience.

Compliance (20%)

  • Ensure all refugee case processing functions within the team strictly adhere to DOS/BPRM, USCIS, RPC, CWS and RSC Africa policies, guidelines, and procedures.
  • Ensure implementation of PRM and CWS branding guidelines across all country offices.
  • Ensure that the Public Information unit meets its targets as set out in the Objectives and Indicators.
  • Develop, implement, and disseminate internal standard operating procedures (SOPs) for communication across RSC Africa.
  • Ensure timely and accurate reporting of suspected fraud, malfeasance, and data breaches and report any identified areas of significant compliance risk for the RSC Africa program.
  • Coordinate regular departmental process reviews to compare requirements vs. current processing and outputs and implement process changes based on the outcome of the process reviews.
  • Conduct QCs and job function observations of staff, and oversee team QC efforts, to ensure compliance is met and identify areas of improvement or training needs. Provide feedback to staff and/or other departments.

Data Management and Analysis (20%)

  • Review and approve all presentations and information materials as created by the Public Information Unit.
  • Develop and implement department specific workload projections to inform budget projections, staffing and to anticipate future workloads.
  • Ensure Public Information contribution to the CWS Internal Monthly Reports for Correspondence is reviewed and submitted in a timely manner.
  • In coordination with IT Software Development Supervisor, oversee the designing and outlook of the RSC Africa refugee-facing website and content that is appropriate for increased USRAP experience.
  • Work with the Senior Manager, Data Analysis & Visualization and team to create the most effective materials possible.

Representation (5%)

  • Maintain effective relationships with RSC Africa/USRAP partners, including PRM, USCIS, IOM, UNHCR, RPC and domestic Resettlement Agencies.
  • Occasionally travel to field sites to meet with/accompany PRM/USRAP partners and represent CWS/RSC Africa on processing or other programmatic matters.
  • Ensure staff are professional when representing CWS/RSC Africa to refugees, partners, the funder, and colleagues.
  • Represent RSC Africa in pertinent refugee related implementing partner meetings in Nairobi including but not limited to Urban Refugee Protection Network (URPN) and other relevant resettlement subgroups in the network.
  • Develop a media engagement policy and strategy if anyone at RSC/CWS Africa was contacted by the media and train staff on this approach.

Additional Responsibilities (5%)

  • Any other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Experience:

  • 8 years of relevant paid work experience is required.
  • 3 years of direct supervisory experience with responsibility for hiring, evaluating performance, administering corrective action and directing day-to-day work is required.
  • Demonstrated management experience, to include administrative and program management, with a refugee serving/processing agency(s) preferred.
  • Previous experience with USRAP preferred.

Skills:

  • Strong analytical skills and excellent report-generation skills with the ability to understand, process and document information for a variety of audiences.
  • Strong supervisory skills and understanding of performance management systems.
  • Excellent organizational and time management skills.
  • Advanced computer knowledge, specifically with MS Access, MS Outlook, MS Excel and other statistical analysis programs.
  • Strong English communication skills, both oral and written.

Education & Certifications:

  • Bachelor’s Degree in a related field required, or four (4) years of paid work experience in lieu of a bachelor’s degree required.
  • Master’s Degree preferred.

Abilities:

  • Work and make decisions independently and contribute to overall operations of RSC Africa at management levels.
  • Maintain a high-performance standard with attention to detail, completing tasks within set timeframes.
  • Exercise good judgment and seek guidance as appropriate when confronted with unanticipated problems.
  • Deal effectively and courteously with a large number of associates, outside agencies, refugees and members of the general public.
  • Manage large and diverse workload under pressure with competing priorities.
  • Maintain the integrity of official records.
  • Analyze and solve complex problems and make sound decisions.
  • Work with minimal supervision.
  • Be flexible with changing of daily duties as needed.
  • Demonstrates inter-cultural awareness and inclusivity
  • Actively participate in the implementation of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP).

Important Requirements:

  • Strong English communication skills, both written and oral.
  • Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment required.
  • Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and willingness to support CWS’ Platform on Racial Justice as a CWS employee required.

Special Requirements:

  • COVID Vaccination is required for all successful candidates.
  • The candidate should be in good health, willing and able to travel extensively in often difficult conditions and have a high degree of flexibility. Must have proof of Yellow Fever vaccination before traveling for RSC Africa.
  • This position is based in Nairobi, Kenya
  • This position requires the use of laptops at all times; competence in Microsoft Office packages is required.
  • This position may require travel in sub-Saharan Africa on short notice and under sometimes difficult conditions to meet the demands of a dynamic operational program.
  • A background check which includes references, and an educational and criminal check is required before the start of employment for International applicants.
  • A valid passport and the ability to maintain a valid passport throughout the entire appointment is required, which includes having enough passport pages for travel.
  • (Internationals – International applicants must be legally eligible to work and obtain a work permit in Kenya OR A valid U.S. passport and the ability to maintain a valid U.S. passport throughout the entire appointment is required, which includes having enough passport pages for travel.
  • The US Embassy rates Kenya as both HIGH in crime and HIGH in terrorism. Incumbents should fully understand the insecurities present within Kenya and the region.
  • This position is Full time.
  • All employees should be prepared to work from the CWS office within their location of hire. Remote work arrangements may vary depending on location and the governing rulings regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please Note – CWS recruitment is free of charge.

Church World Service (CWS) does not charge fees of any kind during the recruitment process (Submission of application, interviews, assessments, training, etc.). Any solicitation of funds should be reported to Fraud@CWSAfrica.org.

To apply: https://local-careers-cwsglobal.icims.com/

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