Company Overview

The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) strengthens democracy around the globe through private enterprise and market-oriented reform. CIPE is one of the four core institutes of the National Endowment for Democracy and an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Since 1983, CIPE has worked with business leaders, policymakers, and civil society to build the institutions vital to a democratic society. CIPE’s key program areas include enterprise ecosystems, democratic governance, business advocacy, anti-corruption & ethics, and trade.

CIPE has an East Africa Regional Office in Addis Ababa, with programs focusing on inclusive growth, public-private dialogue, peace building, anti-corruption governance, inclusive digital economies, regional trade, and economic reforms. CIPE projects are implemented in collaboration with local partners such as chambers of commerce, business associations, economic think tanks, entrepreneurs and journalists. These projects are funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and other donor organizations.

Position: Communications Officer, East Africa Regional Office

Reports to: Deputy Country Director, East Africa Regional Office

Scope:  

CIPE is seeking a full-time Communications Officer for the East Africa Regional Office in Addis Ababa. This position is responsible for managing communications and public relations around CIPE’s portfolio of programs in Ethiopia and Sudan. He/she will work with colleagues to develop and implement communications strategies and plans that demonstrate CIPE’s impact and thought leadership, tell the stories of our partners, and engage target audiences. Key areas of activity: content creation, events support, social media, and media relations. This position will report to the Country Director of Sudan, Deputy Country Director based in Ethiopia and CIPE Communications leadership at headquarters to ensure alignment with organization-wide strategies, messages, and approaches. Travel may be required.

Responsibilities

• Develop, lead, and execute the East Africa Regional Office external outreach and communications strategy, including communications planning, external stakeholder mapping, and other targeted efforts to identify and engage key audiences. This may include interaction with media in two languages that incudes Amharic and English.
• Coordinate with Communications colleagues to manage and grow social media accounts. This will include posting in both languages Amharic and English. This involves working closely with social media administrators throughout the organization, as well as partners, to cross-promote content around key themes and messages.
• Manage the Sudan Anti-Corruption Resource Center (SARC) website and update the content on a regular basis, ensuring that e-learning materials and other resources are posted in a timely manner.
• Ensure the East Africa Regional Office website and country pages on CIPE.org contain fresh, relevant material and provide support as needed to program-related websites.
• Coordinate all anticorruption coalition events and meetings and manage the post-event reporting and marketing materials.
• Generate and edit a variety of digital and print materials, including some project deliverables. Examples: writing blogs or scripts, video production, flyer creation, and proofreading reports to ensure text is error free and adheres to CIPE editorial policies.
• Curate program team updates and images for newsletters, flyers, and other materials.
• Produce or help produce public and private events (both virtual and hybrid) to raise awareness about program activities. Related duties may include invitation creation, event promotion, guest tracking, and event execution/streaming via Zoom, Teams or other platforms.
• Compile analytics for monthly reports to track the reach and impact of communications efforts in order to determine growth, audience specifics, and inform future content creation.
• Collaborate with colleagues to create polished marketing materials and products, both digital and print, that reflect the spirit of the department and its programs, while also ensuring consistency with CIPE branding and messaging guidelines.
• Contribute regularly to CIPE’s editorial and events calendar to ensure all staff and content planners are aware of key events and activities that should be amplified or shared publicly.
• Travel to different parts of the country or region to engage directly with program teams and partners. 

Qualifications

The Communications Officer should be committed to strengthening democracy, supporting private enterprise and market-oriented reform, and also sharing CIPE’s success stories with audiences in Sudan, Ethiopia, and Africa. Background knowledge of CIPE’s areas of work is helpful. The Communications Officer should be comfortable in cross-cultural interaction across language barriers and should be personable and work well with a team. Other qualifications include:

• Bachelor’s Degree or higher in International Relations/Studies, Communications, Journalism, or relevant field.
• Minimum of five years of professional experience in external communications roles.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Extensive experience in media relations, journalism experience preferred.
• Demonstrated success as a social media account administrator.
• Strong skills in video scripting and production, broadcast experience preferred.
• Solid organizational skills: adaptability, flexibility, attention to detail, and deadline oriented.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, desktop publishing software, and Premiere Pro.
• Languages: proficient in Amharic and English languages, and ability in another language such as Arabic, French, Spanish, or Russian(desired but not required).

Applications will be accepted and interviews will be conducted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. No phone calls, please.

Applications will be accepted and interviews will be conducted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled. Only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. No phone calls or emails, please.

CIPE offers a salary competitive with other international non-governmental organizations

CIPE is an Equal Opportunity Employer.