Officer, Communications at Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (EdoBEST)

The Edo State Government, led by Governor Obaseki, implemented the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (EdoBEST) programme to improve basic education across the state. Through EdoBEST, the government is transforming learning outcomes for the 300,000 children across 1,029 public primary and 471 junior secondary schools in Edo State. EdoBEST is a Government designed and lead programme that is re-training all 15,000 government teachers – novice and experienced – to be technologically supported and empowered teachers.

Under EdoBEST, The Edo Supporting Teachers to Achieve Results (Edo STAR) programme is a hands-on government teacher training initiative forming a core pillar of the State’s reform agenda for basic education. The programme is developing a more highly skilled teaching workforce by training, supporting and motivating Edo State teachers to succeed in the classroom of tomorrow.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Officer, Communications

Location: Edo, Nigeria

About the Department

• The Communications team is housed in the corporate affairs group. It collaborates across departments and programmes to create and execute compelling strategies; locally and globally. Corporate Affairs has a wide portfolio of responsibilities including external and internal relations, advocacy, strategy, digital, reputation management and media relations.
• The communications team is focussed on ensuring that the exceptional achievements being made across a wide portfolio of programming are effectively and impactfully communicated. We lead, develop and support strategies in multiple programmes and continents simultaneously; shaping and influencing the external environments in which we work. We pride ourselves in being able to respond quickly and effectively at all times

About the Role

• We are looking for a proactive team player to support EdoBEST through external and internal communications.
• You will support the objectives of the program and our government partners in the creation and delivery of proactive narrative, ensuring its broad based delivery to stakeholders via multiple platforms.
• You will be telling the EdoBEST story across all channels, creating content, and strengthening our interactions.
• Our ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of all mass communications channels and the ability to design impactful content that optimises news and social media.
• The candidate should be capable of running digital media and handling websites.
• They will be an extremely effective written communicator, a planner, and creative.
• They should possess a  keen sense of ownership and quick execution.

What You will Do

• Build and maintain active relationships with media partners (i.e. education desk correspondents and editors, bloggers etc.)
• Monitor and report media trends and  activities of EdoBEST, key stakeholder and key issues coverage in the media.
• Develop multimedia content and collateral generated from across our EdoBEST schools that tell the powerful story of what EdoBEST does and importantly how it does what it does.
• Support management and updating of the website regularly by creating rich and engaging content.
• Support, maintain and upload digital communications to social media platforms sharing relevant content, photographs and videos on a regular basis.
• Develop a content calendar for all electronic delivery channels including websites (internal and external), social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.);
• Support and build our events and public speaking platform within Beni and across Nigeria.
• Support the team in delivering the agreed departmental strategy, plans and standards.
• Carry out research to drive communications and engagement initiatives and plans using a range of sources, including the Internet, Intranet, publications and other external contacts, including government bodies, and other organisations.in order to obtain relevant information that can contribute to communications strategies.
• Work within short term and long-term communications plans as conveyed by the Director of Communications
• Carry out stakeholder mapping and stakeholder lists management
• Draft and produce written correspondence such as press releases, quotes, operational notes, letters, reports and other documents as required, using word processing, databases and spreadsheets to required standards.
• Undertake specific other communications projects and activities as necessary.

What You Should Have

• Minimum of First Degree in Communications or related field.
• 3 years experience in a core communications role (in house or agency)
• An awareness of the media and political landscape both locally and nationally.
• Familiarity and experience of using digital editing tools such as Premier Pro,  Adobe and WordPress.
• Understanding of state and  local government public office structures.
• Ability to build and maintain stakeholder relationships within a productive working context.
• Proven ability to produce compelling material and stories for external audiences.
• Proven ability to collate, produce and edit multimedia content.
• Well-developed written and verbal communication skills to deal effectively, efficiently and appropriately with internal and external stakeholders including the media.
• Ability to successfully influence and negotiate with individuals and achieve objectives through excellent relationships.
• Experience of collecting data from various sources, and ability to analyse and present findings clearly for internal and external communications including for press releases.
• Proven ability to prioritise and organise own workload effectively and efficiently and meet deadlines.
• Well-developed ability to work well with others as part of a team, providing support as required, and build and maintain effective working relationships.

You’re also:

• A detailed doer – You have a track record of getting things done. You’re organized and responsive. You take ownership of every idea you touch and execute it to a fine level of detail, setting targets, engaging others, and doing whatever it takes to get the job done. You can multi-task dozens of such projects at once and never lose sight of the details. Likely, you have some experience in a start-up or other rapid-growth company.
• A creative problem-solver – Educational transformation programmes come with massive and constant challenges. On top of that, EdoBEST works in often fragile, sometimes volatile low-resource communities and with complex government systems. You need to be flexible and ready to get everything done effectively, quickly, and affordably with the materials at hand.
• A relentless advocate – The children we serve and teachers we empower never leave your mind. You know them, get them, have shared a meal with them (or would be happy to in the future). You would never shrink back from shaking a parent’s hand or picking up a crying child, no matter what the person was wearing or looked like. Every decision you make considers their benefit, experience, and value.
• A malleable learner – You believe you can always do better. You welcome constructive criticism and provide it freely to others. You know you only get better tomorrow when others point out where you’ve missed things or failed today.
• A data-driven decision-maker – When making decisions, you don’t rely on your intuition alone. You collect data, you analyze it and make decisions with clear justifications.
• A curious investigator – You ask why a lot. You don’t just take what you see and accept it. You wonder why it is that way, and are aware that the world we see is created by human choices and actions – and it could be different. You wonder, and see the world as wonderful even when you want to change a part of it that is unjust.

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online