Africa Media Officer

Hours: Full time, 40 hours per week

Reports to: Director of Policy & Communications in London and MRGA Regional Manager in Kampala

Location: based in Africa, preferably at the MRG Africa Office in Kampala, Uganda; will include regular travel within Africa, and occasionally will require visits to Europe. Travel is expected to take up to 3-5 weeks a year (COVID restrictions permitting).

Contract: until 31 December 2021, with the possibility of an extension

The role

We are looking for a Media Officer for Africa who can lead our media work on the continent as part of our overall communications strategy. You will be developing media contacts, undertaking media outreach and supporting our other programmes in Africa.

We also aim to have the funding to conduct capacity building training events for two key target audiences.

If you have at least 2 years’ experience as either a journalist or a media officer with a successful track record of designing and implementing media capacity building programmes, and are fluent in English, then we would love to hear from you.

You should have or be able to obtain permission to live and work in Africa, preferably Uganda and to travel to events across Africa as necessitated by the programme of work (COVID restrictions permitting).

The role involves such tasks as:

• Research and maintain contacts with locally based journalists
• Respond to queries from journalists
• Advise other colleagues on media and social media.
• Ensure that social media is used effectively by the Africa office
• Organise press conferences and other media launches
• Keep records of media coverage of MRG
• Develop contacts with minority and indigenous communities across Africa
• Produce own media materials where urgent minority or indigenous issues arise
• Support partners and programme beneficiaries if they are threatened, through developing security plans with partners and incorporating security as a topic in all the training activities