Young Professionals Program – Communications Associate

Role Purpose:

The Communications Associate will support the FON and J4S teams, the grantee partners and the Consortium partners to implement the FON and J4S Communication Plans, making sure the FON Project and IPPFAR give visibility to African grantee partners.

The Communication Associate will work closely with the FON and J4S teams (based in Cotonou and Nairobi), IPPFAR External Relations Team and the consortium partners, and will report to the FON and J4S Programme Manager Global. They will additionally interact closely with grantee partners and their communication staff.

Their most important activity will be to actively and meaningfully contribute to the FON communication campaign.

Context of Role:

The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is a leading global provider of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services and a strong advocate for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for all. It operates through a network of more than 120 Member Associations worldwide.

In Africa, IPPF works in partnership with civil society organizations, governments, the African Union (AU), regional economic communities (RECs), and the United Nations to strengthen political and financial commitments to SRHR. The IPPF Africa Region (IPPFAR) is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, with a sub-office in Cotonou, Benin. It supports Member Associations in over 40 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa, addressing the region’s most pressing SRH challenges through a robust network of Member Associations, strategic partners, and volunteers.

IPPF Africa Region (IPPFAR), in collaboration with CREA, EmpowHer, the International Federation on Human Rights, and Médecins du Monde France (MdM-FR), lead the delivery of a new project called Feminist Opportunities Now (FON). Funded by the Agence Francaise de Développement (AFD), FON’s overarching goal is to strengthen the capacity of feminist movements to address gender-based violence (GBV) through sub-grants to feminist organizations, with a focus on reaching small, often unregistered, feminist organizations. The project is implemented across ten countries in three regions: Mexico and Colombia (led by MdM), Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (led by CREA), and Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, and Niger (led by IPPFAR).

IPPF Africa Region, in consortium with Center For Reproductive Rights (headquartered in USA) and Association des femmes juristes de la Cote d’Ivoire (headquartered in Abidjan), is also leading the delivery of a new 4-year project entitled Justice for Survivors (J4S), to build the capacity of feminist movements, like the FON Project here above, in 4 countries: Kenya, Tanzania, Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire.

Deliverables:

• Preparing media statements, success stories, case studies, preparing communication messaging about the FON Project and the work of the grantee partners, preparing external communications papers and internal bulletins, editing and publishing information about the FON and J4S Projects and supporting CSOs with their public information to increase their visibility.
• Make sure that the Branding Guidelines of the Project are well understood and implemented by the grantee partners and by the FON and J4S teams in all the communications.
• Make sure the grantee partners regularly collect communication material, such as photos, videos, written articles, blog stories, case studies, and support them when needed in doing so.
• Archive all the FON and J4S Project-related communication material.
• Regularly conceive and prepare communications for the FON Landing Page and for social media on the progress and successes of the FON and J4S Projects and the CSOs’ work. This will involve copywriting and social media visual production taking into account FON branding.
• Communicate closely with all stakeholders to identify story ideas and other communication products such as social media content.
• Support the implementation of the communication campaign, by an external consultant, that will be put in place for the FON and J4S Projects.
• Perform other duties assigned by the supervisor within the scope of the role.

Reporting/Management Responsibility:

• N/A

Expertise/Skills:

• A degree (bachelor’s or masters) in the communication field, and with interest and ideally some experience in content developing and writing, media, social media, social media campaigns, etc.
• Have an interest and understanding of issues relating to feminist politics, gender-based violence, human rights, disability justice and the sexual and reproductive rights of all people, including members of the LGBTIQ+ community, along with a commitment to advancing these rights.
• Interest and good skills in taking photos and making simple videos and creating visuals for social media to support the projects’ storytelling.
• Excellent oral and written communication in either English or French and be able to communicate well with both internal and external audiences orally and in writing.
• Some knowledge or experience in web development and content production is an advantage.
• Detail oriented and thorough, with an ability to self-motivate and produce high-quality work.
• Experience in and/or willingness to learn and adapt work to online/virtual platforms keeping accessibility needs in mind.
• Committed to ongoing professional learning.
• Have excellent analytical skills, fair judgment, and a proactive, energetic approach to problem solving.
• Have excellent interpersonal skills.
• Team player and comfortable with working with a wide range of multilingual and multicultural teams.
• We particularly welcome applications from persons with experience working with or as part of feminist movements, with intersectional and decolonial approaches, and/or working at intersections of youth and gender, or gender and disability with a global South perspective

Your Ethos:

• Demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to safeguarding in a local and international context.
• Demonstrates ability and willingness to work in a diverse, multicultural, multilingual and intergenerational environment that is anti-racist and respectful of others.
• An intersectional (pro) feminist passionate about sexual reproductive health care rights + justice, including safe abortion.
• Supportive of people’s rights regardless of sexuality or gender identity/expression and supportive of workers’ rights and access to health care in sex work.

In alignment with IPPF’s vision of championing youth leadership and promoting the active participation of young people in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) initiatives, this role is designed as a professional opportunity for individuals aged under 26. This reflects our commitment to ensuring that youth are not only beneficiaries but also key actors in the programmes that serve them.