Communications Manager at Wildlife Conservation Society

Organization Background

• The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a US non-profit, tax-exempt, private organization established in 1895 that saves wildlife and wild places by understanding critical issues, crafting science-based solutions, and taking conservation actions that benefit nature and humanity.
• With more than a century of experience, long-term commitments in dozens of landscapes, presence in more than 60 nations, and experience helping to establish over 150 protected areas across the globe, WCS has amassed the biological knowledge, cultural understanding and partnerships to ensure that vibrant, wild places and wildlife thrive alongside local communities.
• Working with local communities and organizations, that knowledge is applied to address species, habitat and ecosystem management issues critical to improving the quality of life of poor rural people whose livelihoods depend on the direct utilization of natural resources.

Job Summary

• We require a Communications Manager to better promote the conservation successes of WCS in the country and to raise awareness of conservation issues related to its programs and projects, as well as priority species.
• We now seek a dynamic individual to lead our efforts in communicating to national and international audiences the opportunities, successes, and challenges of our conservation work in Nigeria.
• The Communications Manager will report directly to the WCS Nigeria Country Director and take overall responsibility for planning and implementing internal and external communications for the program.
• The core part of the Communication Manager’s responsibility is to oversee the implementation of the WCS Nigeria Communication Strategy
• The Communications Manager will be part of the Country Program Senior Management team and he/she will work closely with the WCS Regional Communications Manager in Kigali and the WCS Global Communications Team in New York.

Main Responsibilities
Communications Strategy:

• Develop and oversee the successful implementation of the WCS Nigeria Communications Strategy, working closely with the Senior Management Team.
• This will include developing an annual work plan with agreed timetables, integration and alignment with the WCS-Nigeria vision, mission, conservation priorities and target audiences.

Program Management:

• Ensure WCS communicates consistent messages to all its different audiences – including employees, government, local communities, donors, local and international public, and the media - to increase understanding and awareness of the organization and build positive attitudes to WCS and conservation.
• Protect and enhance the reputation of WCS and its national/local partners.
• Coordinate the production of regular project updates and success stories, and other materials to promote the success of the program as set out in the strategy.
• Work with the WCS Global Communications team (based in New York) and the WCS Regional Communications Manager (based in Kigali) to leverage the reputation of WCS Nigeria and its national/local partners onto the regional and global stages.
• Undertake training of WCS staff in effective communication, including the use of new technologies related to internal and external communication and information management and sharing.
• Provide practical support to WCS staff in preparing speeches and presentations and briefing them on how to respond to the type of questions they are likely to face.
• Take responsibility for WCS Nigeria’s Facebook, Twitter, and Website accounts.
• Provide support to the production of programmatic newsletters within WCS Nigeria.
• Act as the point of contact for all media, issue press releases, handle inquiries from journalists, organize press conferences, and arrange interviews for journalists with WCS staff and partner staff, and build and maintain a vibrant network of journalist contacts
• Visit fields sites to promote communication, including organizing and hosting visits by media, donors, and VIPs.
• Work with donor communications teams to produce a specific Communications Plan for all major grants received by WCS.
• Participate in a range of team meetings, as well as other key meetings and workshops with government, donor, and community partners.
• Please note that the above TOR constitutes only the main responsibilities and duties of this position. As WCS Nigeria is a flexible organization, staff members are expected to undertake any other tasks that are allocated to them, but which are not part of their regular TOR, but related to it.

Position Requirements
This senior position in WCS Nigeria will be based in Calabar, with regular travel to all WCS project sites across Nigeria. The ideal candidate will be dynamic, energetic, creative, and ambitious, and will have:

• Relevant University Degree.
• At least 5 years’ experience in communications for a medium to large company or organization.
• A tertiary qualification in media, public relations, communication, or a related field.
• Ability to develop clear goals and identify priority activities and assignments.
• A passion for conservation and a willingness to change the world.
• High levels of motivation and professionalism.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Proven ability to manage large and varied workloads and deal constructively with diverse people.
• Proven ability to prioritize tasks, meet deadlines and work with limited supervision.
• Pro-active, stable, and robust character and a good team-player.
• Proven track record in communicating clear and consistent messages in a variety of media - including press releases, social media content, newsletters, brochures, and guides – and experience in developing and managing such messaging.
• Analytic skills to assess the ‘take home message’ from diverse sources such as technical reports, meeting minutes, social media posts, etc.
• Aptitude in the use of a range of graphic design and visual assets management tools, including Microsoft Word, InDesign, Photoshop, Lightroom, WordPress.