Head of Communication and Knowledge Management at IITA - International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

Job Description  

• The Head of Communication and Knowledge Management (HoC) leads a unified, data-driven function that shapes organizational visibility and understanding across Africa and globally.
• The role integrates corporate communication, knowledge translation, digital outreach, advocacy, and crisis communication to support institutional impact and resource mobilization.
• The HoC is responsible for designing and executing communication strategies at corporate, programmatic, and country levels, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and donor requirements.
• Key duties include overseeing content planning, production, and dissemination; strengthening stakeholder trust across governments, donors, partners, private sector, civil society, media, and the public; and managing capacity building, governance, measurement, and risk within the communication portfolio.  

Main Responsibilities
The tasks of the Head of Communication and Knowledge Management will include:  

Strategy & Leadership:

• Develop and execute a 3-year integrated communication strategy aligned to the institutional/corporate strategy, SDGs, AU Agenda 2063, and donor priorities.  
• Lead annual communication planning, objectives, and key results (OKRs) /KPIs for corporate, programmatic, and country and regional-level communication.  
• Advise the DG/Director for Strategic Planning and senior leadership on reputation, issues management, and stakeholder positioning.  
• Build a high-performing team, including regional focal points and embedded program communicators.  

Brand & Message Stewardship:

• Oversee the brand architecture, messaging framework, and tone of voice (organization, programs, country offices, and initiatives).  
• Maintain brand guidelines, visual identity, and digital asset management (DAM) for photos, video, and templates.  
• Oversee multilingual adaptation (e.g., English/French/Portuguese/Swahili) and accessibility standards. 

Media, PR & Issues Management:

• Lead proactive media relations, including Africa wide and international outlets.  
• Coordinate media training and talking points for leaders and scientists.  
• Manage reputation issues and crises.  

Research Communication & Knowledge Translation:

• Translate R&D outputs into policy briefs, technical notes, data stories, infographics, and explainer videos.  
• Establish editorial calendars and peer-review/quality assurance workflows with scientists and M&E teams.  
• Drive open access, FAIR data, and repository visibility, coordinate outreach for journal publications E. Digital & Web Content   
• Coordinate the web and intranet roadmap (information architecture, UX, SEO, analytics, content governance).  
• Lead social media strategy across priority platforms; implement listening, community management, and safety.  
• Run email/newsletters, marketing automation/CRM, and campaign landing.  
• Enforce content security, privacy compliance (e.g., GDPR/NDPR), and consent for media.  

Stakeholder & Donor Communication:

• Partner with Resource Mobilization team to develop cases for support, donor reports, and success stories.  
• Ensure donor branding and visibility compliance (e.g., FCDO, USAID, EU, AfDB, Gates Foundation, regional governments).  
• Design tailored communication packages for country governments, RECs (ECOWAS, EAC, SADC, COMESA), and city/province authorities.  

Internal Communication & Culture:

• Organize and manage internal channels (town halls, intranet, staff newsletters, communities of practice).  
• Support change communication for institutional initiatives.  

Events, Campaigns & Thought Leadership:

• Oversee Africa wide and global events: flagship conferences, science weeks, field or farmers days, exhibitions, webinars.  
• Produce executive speeches, op-eds, and thought leadership series aligned to strategic themes.  

Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL):

• Set up a comms MEL framework with baselines and quarterly reviews.  
• Establish dashboards for channel performance, media share of voice, web analytics, engagement quality, and policy/uptake evidence.  

Governance, Ethics & Compliance:

• Safeguard policies for dignity, child protection, and do-no-harm storytelling.  
• Ensure compliance with intellectual property, image rights, data privacy, and research ethics.  
• Manage procurement, vendor frameworks, and annual comms budget.  

Collaboration:
Internal Collaboration:

• Work closely with senior leadership to align communication priorities with strategic objectives.  
• Collaborate with research, programs, country offices, resource mobilization, and monitoring & evaluation teams to ensure coherent communication flows.  
• Support internal communication to enhance staff engagement and organizational cohesion.  

External Collaboration:

• Engage proactively with media, donors, partners, and stakeholders to amplify the organization’s work.  
• Coordinate with global and regional communication networks and partners for joint campaigns and initiatives.  
• Represent the organization in external platforms, events, and strategic partnerships. 

Core Competencies:

• Strategic thinking and systems design  
• Influencing and stakeholder engagement at senior levels  
• Editorial judgment and storytelling  
• Data literacy and ROI orientation  
• Team leadership, mentoring, and vendor management  
• Cultural intelligence and inclusivity  
• Resilience under pressure; sound risk judgment  

Requirements
Educational Qualifications and Experience:

• Master’s Degree in Communication, Journalism, Public Policy, International Development, or related field; or Bachelor’s plus substantial leadership experience.  
• 10–15+ years in integrated communication with 5+ years leading multi-country teams.  
• Proven public affairs/media experience across Africa; crisis and issues management expertise.  
• Demonstrated success translating scientific/technical research for policy and practitioner audiences.  
• Strong command of digital ecosystems (web CMS/SharePoint/WordPress, analytics, SEO, social, CRM/marketing automation, digital asset management (DAM, Adobe CC).  
• Excellent writing/editing; multicultural fluency is an advantage.  

Salary and Work Condition

• The contract will be for a period of three years, with the possibility of renewal contingent upon the availability of funds and the candidate's performance.
• IITA offers an internationally competitive remuneration package paid in U.S. Dollars.