Vacancy Position for Communications Coordinator at African Protected Areas Congress

Job description

The IUCN African Protected Areas Congress (APAC) is the first-ever continent-wide gathering of the African people, citizens, leaders, governments, and interest groups to develop and drive their agenda for protecting the full diversity of Africa’s vital natural resources. It aims to position Africa protected and conserved areas within the broader goals of economic and community well-being and increase the understanding of their vital role in conserving biodiversity, delivering ecosystem services that underpin human welfare and livelihoods.

This inaugural congress will establish APAC as Africa’s pre-eminent platform for thought leadership and engagement of various actors on issues related to protected areas, people, and biodiversity. The goal of APAC is to work to ensure Protected and Conserved Areas deliver benefits for people and nature.

The objectives of APAC are to:

  • Make a strong case for African leaders to commit to a conservation vision that supports the aspirations of Africans based on the Africa Union’s Agenda 2063, and the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework goals, Sustainable Development Goals, and Climate change agreements.
  • Develop practical actionable messages to promote the value and role of protected and conserved areas for nature, sustainable development, and human well-being.
  • Agree on practical measures to recognize, elevate, and uphold the roles, rights, and responsibilities of local communities, indigenous people, and young people in conserving nature.
  • Agree on key messages and effective platforms that drive conservation beyond APAC, and places Protected and Conserved Areas high on the agendas of governments, society, local communities, the private sector, and partners through effective networks and partnerships.
  • Launch effective Pan African Protected and Conserved Areas cooperation mechanisms to support and ensure their long-term sustainability including a Cooperation Agreement, a Directors Platform (APAD), and a Conservation Trust (APACT).

The Congress will be one milestone in a journey that should start with some actions suggested by the different stakeholders and interested parties and continue towards future commitments in engagement and action.

The APAC Communications Committee seeks to outsource the Communications Coordinator role to facilitate the planning process of this first-of-its-kind Congress. The Communications Coordinator will work directly with AWF and IUCN to execute the APAC Communications Strategy to ensure the success of the event.

Responsibilities

The coordinator will undertake the following tasks:

  •  Consultation and input during all stages of planning and execution of the APAC communications strategy.
  • Develop content for the news section on the APAC website, blogs, news articles, and press releases.
  •  Work with the Communications Committee to execute the social media strategy, develop a social media content plan, manage related social media accounts and create reports on the performance of the accounts.
  •  Lead media relations on behalf of the Communications Committee and plan media interviews and press conferences as well as write articles to be published on mainstream media.
  • Assist the Communications Committee in developing key messages for different APAC stakeholders.
  •  Point person for questions from media and other key stakeholders.
  • Work with Communications Committee to plan events to create awareness of the Congress to attract stakeholder interest and enhance understanding of the conservation agenda in Africa.
  •  Coordinate communication between the Communications Committee and other APAC Committees.
  •  Any other tasks assigned by the Communications Committee

Methodology

The Communications Coordinator will start immediately and end upon the delivery of all the documents post-APAC. They will be involved in the APAC communications strategy implementation process, planning and execution of the Congress in 2022. The coordinator will also provide timely reports of the progress of the implementation process.

Reporting

The coordinator will work directly with Director, Public Relations and Corporate Communications at AWF and IUCN Regional Communications and Constituency Officer.

Job requirements

  •  Bachelor’s Degree in Communication, Business Administration, Journalism or a related field;
  •  At least three years of relevant, demonstrated experience in media, public relations, or a
  • related field;
  •  Commitment to teamwork, and demonstrated willingness to provide help and support when
  • others are in need; to lead or follow, depending on the needs of the team;
  •  Strong writing and editing skills;
  •  Strong written and interpersonal communication skills;
  •  Creative social media skills;
  •  Ability to operate under strict time limits;
  •  In-depth understanding of biodiversity conservation in Africa, the challenges and the
  • opportunities;
  •  Knowledge of the Convention on Biological Diversity;
  •  Strong research and analytical skills.

Other Requirements

The contractor undertakes to maintain confidentiality on all information that is not in the public domain and shall not be involved in another assignment that represents a conflict of interest to the prevailing assignment.

For application: https://careers.awf.org/o/african-protected-areas-congress-apac-communications-coordinator

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