We’re Hiring: Neglected Tropical Diseases Project Officer.

Neglected Tropical Diseases Project Officer

Job Description

Headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, with an office in New York, Speak Up Africa is a creative communications and advocacy organization dedicated to catalyzing African leadership, enabling policy change, securing resources and inspiring individual action for the most pressing issues to Africa’s future. By leveraging the power of the media to reach millions with life saving messages, we inspire multi-sectoral action to reduce child mortality, implement global development partnerships, and unlock resources in the public and private secto

Speak Up Africa is collaborating with the World Health Organization to eliminate neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in Africa by 2020 through the Expanded Project to Eliminate Neglected Tropical Diseases (ESPEN). The NTD Project Officer will work directly with WHO AFRO in Brazzaville to provide technical assistance for all communications, advocacy, and resource mobilization.   

Date: Expected start date is April 2017. Minimum 40 hours per week. This is a one-year contract with a possibility of extension.

Location: This position will be based in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. The NTD Project Officer will work on the WHO AFRO compound.

Application deadline: March 5, 2017

Compensation: Commensurate based on experience.

Duties and Responsibilities:

                  Communications: 40%

•  Support the ESPEN secretariat to prepare for institutional meetings, including but not limited to high-level international conferences, donor & steering committee meetings.
• Develop ESPEN institutional materials (brochures, decks, etc.)
• Draft news articles, press releases, newsletters, and other publications.
• Engage media to ensure the promotion of ESPEN’s work across the continent.
• Collaborate with WHO Communications team to manage the website’s content and design.
• Manage the social media accounts and content.

                  Advocacy: 30%

• Recruit NTD champions and manage relationships with high-level stakeholders
• Compile success stories for storytelling around ESPEN & NTD control and elimination efforts at the national level.
• Develop creative content and materials highlighting ESPEN’s leadership and the opportunity provided by MDA.
• Develop creative content for countries (project implementation highlights etc.
• Assist in creative campaign content development, including proposals and pitches to various partners and organizations.
• Assist event planning and execution.

                  Resource Mobilization: 30%

• Contribute to drafting of proposals and strategy documents for resource mobilization and partnerships.
• Maintain partnerships with government, public sector, private sector, and donors
• Support the development of country training materials to empower country program officers to mobilize domestic resources.

Qualifications:  

• Master’s degree in International affairs, public health, or similar field
• Must have 5 years of professional experience with 2 years of project management experience. Experience working in Africa is highly desirable.
• Excellent writing and critical thinking skills. Must be able to distill and articulate messages clearly.
• Self-starting, independent, and organized with an eye for presentation.
• Able to prioritize and manage multiple activities while maintaining attention to detail.
• Demonstrated interest in Africa and public health.
• Proficient in PowerPoint, Excel, and Word. Photoshop or other design experience is desired.
• Fluency in English required, proficiency in French (reading, written, & oral) a plus.
• Must be able to travel internationally for approximately 30% of time.

Application: Please provide a resume and cover letter to Roxanne O’Connell at Roxanne.OConnell@speakupafrica.org by March 5, 2017. We will accept and review applications on a rolling basis. Please include the subject line: NTD Project Officer