Program Communications Manager at African Wildlife Foundation

Responsibilities

Strategic Planning and Coordination

• Under direction of the Director, Strategic Communications and Marketing, manage develop and execute of program-level communications plans in collaboration with account leads, country directors, and field teams.
• Manage execution of communications deliverables to ensure they are aligned with overall program work plans, budgets, and strategic priorities.
• Represent the communications function in proposal development meetings to ensure communications is well-resourced and strategically embedded in new programs.
• Collaborate with brand leadership to ensure program storytelling supports AWF’s strategic goals and reporting indicators and donors are appropriately credited in program communications materials
• Represent the communications team in country planning, strategic discussions, and special initiatives.

Field Team Management and Oversight

• Supervise and mentor Field Communications Officers and Assistants across multiple countries.
• Set clear annual performance goals for direct reports in consultation with country directors and the Director of Strategic Communications and Marketing.
• Lead regular check-in calls with field communications teams to share updates, surface challenges, and identify opportunities.
• Support the professional development of field teams through coaching and targeted training.

Content Development and Editorial Calendar

• Manage the field content pipeline, including the development and maintenance of an editorial calendar with a focus on country-level blogs, feature stories, and visual assets.
• Coordinate with the web and creative team to ensure high-quality, timely delivery of communications products.
• Support content management processes, including updating Canto (AWF’s digital asset management system) and training field staff in its use.
• Ensure consistent tagging, storage, and sharing of stories for organization-wide use including publishing of blogs on awf.org
• Contribute to the documentation and dissemination of project results, lessons learned, and success stories.

Media and Public Relations

•   In collaboration with the media HQ team, build relationships with key journalists in priority landscapes, especially local and foreign correspondents.
•  Support country teams in identifying media-worthy stories and gathering the necessary information and visuals.
• Assist in organizing media tours and strategic media engagements in AWF priority countries.

Training and Capacity Building

• Lead and coordinate training sessions for field staff, including storytelling, photography (including mobile-based), media engagement, and crisis communications.
• Support the delivery of targeted media training for country directors and key technical spokespeople in partnership with the media team.
• Help foster a culture of storytelling and adherence to brand guidelines across country teams.

Program Implementation and Reporting

• Track and monitor the implementation of field communications deliverables tied to grant agreements, coordinating with other communications and program teams.
•  Support the integration of communications content into donor reports and visibility requirements.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, Journalism, Public Relations, International Development, or a related field.
• Proven experience working in Africa or with Africa-based teams in the NGO, development, or conservation sectors.
• Strong project management skills, including familiarity with tools like ClickUp.
• Excellent writing, editing, and storytelling skills, with a portfolio of published work.
• Demonstrated ability to supervise and mentor geographically dispersed teams.
• Understanding of donor communications requirements and proposal development processes.
• Ability to travel frequently to field offices and work effectively in multicultural environments.