Communications & Operations Specialist - World Resources Institute

This is a fully remote position based in Accra, Ghana. Existing work authorization is required at the time of application submission.

About The Program

WRI Africa has supported local partners and African governments for over 30 years, focusing on forest protection, landscape restoration, water-resilient development, and sustainable cities. As a regional office formalized in 2019, WRI Africa’s vision is an inclusive transformation where Africa’s people and landscapes thrive. We operate across four strategic pillars: food, land and water, thriving and resilient cities, energy, and institutional and economic transformation, working closely with governments, civil society, indigenous communities, and the private sector to foster a people-centered, climate-responsive development pathway.

Aligned with this broader vision, the Restore Local initiative supports locally led restoration efforts – with the Greater Rift Valley of Kenya; the Lake Kivu and Rusizi River Basin of Rwanda, Burundi, and DRC; and the Ghana Cocoa Belt as its anchor landscapes. Through data-based approaches to planning, implementation and monitoring progress, the program is enhancing livelihoods and climate change resilience, restoring ecosystem services, mitigating climate change and conserving nature.

WRI’s flagship investment program for Restore Local, TerraFund, currently finances, trains, and monitors nearly 200 locally led enterprises, community organizations and nonprofits that restore land across priority landscapes in Africa. While providing grants to nonprofits, TerraFund with its partner Realize Impact also invests debt and equity in small and medium-sized enterprises that support “restorative value chains”.

These champions are supported through the TerraMatch platform, an end-to-end system that hosts open calls for proposals, connects champions with technical assistance, and tracks the progress of funded projects through a standard monitoring, reporting, and verification protocol.

Job Highlight

You will work in collaboration with Restore Local’s staff in Ghana to develop and execute a landscape communication strategy, whilst providing operational support to the landscape team in the Ghana Cocoa Belt. You will provide leadership in ensuring visibility of the World Resources Institute and Restore Local activities by WRI and Restoration Champions in consultation with the WRI Africa Communications team in Nairobi.

You will also work closely with the Communications leads in two other anchor landscapes (The Greater Right Valley of Kenya and the Lake Kivu and Rusizi River Basin of Rwanda, Burundi and DRC) as well as the WRI Restoration program’s communications team. You will spearhead the creation of digital content and coordinate all Restore Local communication activities in the landscape.

What You Will Do

Communications (70%):

• Lead in the development and execution of landscape communication strategy and media engagement plan for the Ghana Cocoa Belt
• Join regular in person or online meetings with the Ghana team as well as restoration and communications teams in Africa, in Europe and in the United States
• Compile and disseminate inspiring stories from across sub-landscapes to showcase the important benefits and outcomes of landscape restoration in the Ghana Cocoa Belt
• Create awareness on the economic benefits of restoration through storytelling
• Monitor and analyse communication metrics to refine strategy
• Oversee the planning, creation, and publication of high-quality, impactful digital content (stories, reports, social media, videos, infographics)
• Work closely with Restoration Champions in the Ghana Cocoa Belt to promote visibility of Restore Local and WRI
• Develop and maintain media partnerships and press relations with the Ghanaian media to sustain momentum in advancing the restoration movement in the Ghana Cocoa Belt landscape
• Spearhead outreach and communications in Ghana, including presenting at internal and external meetings, conferences, workshops, etc.

Operations (30%):

• Work closely with the Grants and Finance Specialist based in Nairobi to provide vendor coordination and support procurement of services or goods in the Ghana Cocoa Belt Landscape
• Manage relationships with service providers and vendors (e.g hotels, vehicle rental companies, including supporting the GCB staff to negotiate contracts and ensuring quality service delivery from such vendors
• Provide logistical support to WRI staff in organizing conferences and meetings (virtual or physical) in the Ghana Cocoa Belt.

What You Will Need

• Education:?Bachelor's degree in communications, Journalism, Digital Media, or related field
• Experience:?You have 3+ years of progressively responsible experience in digital communications, preferably in an international nonprofit or NGO context
• Experience working in multicultural, decentralized teams and across different time zones
• Experience working in the fields of landscape restoration, agroforestry, sustainable agriculture, as well as projects with social equity and gender focus
• Experience communicating technical concepts to non-technical audiences
• Familiarity with project management tools such as?Airtable, Workday and Asana
• Basic graphic design and video editing skills (e.g., Canva, Adobe Suite) will be an added advantage
• Languages: You are proficient in spoken and written English.
• Requirements: You have an existing right to work in Ghana.

Potential Salary

Salary is commensurate with experience and other compensable factors.

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