Communications Officer III-Programs

Key Responsibilities

Working hand-in-hand with program leaders and scientists, you will help shape how ILRI’s research is understood and use around the world. Your mission will be to turn cutting-edge livestock science into compelling stories, insights, and products that influence policy, inspire donors, and engage global audiences.

Promotion and visibility of the program

• Develop program marketing and communication materials to effectively communicate the work of the two programs including brochures, website, powerpoint, social media messages, etc
• In consultation with the program lead, develop the strategic selling points of the program and a message map to guide all communications
• Maintain an outreach list of donors, partners and target audiences to ensure targeted dissemination of products
• Maintain and update the web pages of the programs, ensuring they reflect current priorities, projects, activities, teams and relevant international/themed days
• Monitor and evaluate communication activities and impact

Communications and writing

• Manage and regularly update a pipeline of thought leadership pieces, feature stories, outcome stories emanating from the research programs
• Track solutions from the research programs to put into the institute’s solutions platform
• Develop engaging research highlight stories and other related knowledge products based on key publications, showcasing findings and their impact
• Ensure that ILRI’s editorial style and messaging are consistently applied across knowledge products
• Support scientists in laying out their research products using institute’s existing knowledge product templates, or through liaising with the publishing team

Promotion and visibility of the program

• Develop program marketing and communication materials to effectively communicate the work of the two programs including brochures, website, powerpoint, social media messages, etc
• In consultation with the program lead, develop the strategic selling points of the program and a message map to guide all communications
• Maintain an outreach list of donors, partners and target audiences to ensure targeted dissemination of products
• Maintain and update the web pages of the programs, ensuring they reflect current priorities, projects, activities, teams and relevant international/themed days
• Monitor and evaluate communication activities and impact

Communications and writing

• Manage and regularly update a pipeline of thought leadership pieces, feature stories, outcome stories emanating from the research programs
• Track solutions from the research programs to put into the institute’s solutions platform
• Develop engaging research highlight stories and other related knowledge products based on key publications, showcasing findings and their impact
• Ensure that ILRI’s editorial style and messaging are consistently applied across knowledge products
• Support scientists in laying out their research products using institute’s existing knowledge product templates, or through liaising with the publishing team
• Liaise with the publishing team to facilitate the publishing process, ensuring that research outputs submitted for editing and layout have been reviewed and vetted internally
• Coordinate with the communications team to ensure effective dissemination of research publications through ILRI’s channels, optimizing visibility and reach
• Identify and coordinate the production of communication materials (e.g. infographics, videos) to enhance the accessibility and visibility of research outputs
• Curate and manage photos from researchers, ensuring quality control, proper captioning and attribution, and uploading them to ILRI’s Flickr account
• Work with researchers to produce project highlights for posting on ILRI.org.

Outreach and engagement

• Manage program presence across web and social media platforms, ensuring consistent branding and messaging
• Organize and support webinars, workshops, conferences, and media events to enhance stakeholder engagement
• Foster partnerships with communication counterparts in CGIAR and external organizations to amplify outreach

Knowledge management

• Work with program staff and CAKM to ensure timely curation of research outputs within ILRI’s institutional repository (CGSpace)
• Proactively engage with researchers to monitor the progress of publications, providing support to push outputs to completion and prevent year-end backlogs
• Liaise with the publishing team to facilitate the publishing process, ensuring that research outputs submitted for editing and layout have been reviewed and vetted internally

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism or relevant field
• Seven years’ experience
• Progressive experience in science communication, journalism, knowledge management, or outreach within international research or development organizations
• Demonstrated experience translating technical or scientific research into clear, engaging content for diverse audiences, including policymakers, donors, and the public
• Experiencing in storytelling and developing content that is audience driven
• Experience in monitoring results and adapting content
• Proven track record in developing communication products such as articles, policy briefs, press releases, multimedia stories, and web or social media content
• Strong writing skills and project communication experience
• Experience working with multidisciplinary teams and collaborating across institutions or projects
• Experience working on research, agriculture, environment, or development issues, with an ability to grasp new topics quickly
• Excellent writing and editing skills, with the ability to communicate complex scientific ideas in clear, accessible, and engaging language
• A positive can-do attitude and ability to work in a complex environment
• Strong interpersonal and intercultural communication abilities, with experience working in diverse, multicultural teams
• Strategic and creative thinking, with the ability to plan, execute, and evaluate effective communication and outreach strategies
• Digital communication proficiency, including content management systems, social media platforms, and basic graphic or multimedia tools
• Results-oriented and proactive, with strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines
• Attention to detail and commitment to scientific accuracy and credibility
• Collaborative mindset, demonstrating initiative, adaptability, and openness to learning in a dynamic research environment
• Ability to manage multiple demands from researchers and program leads and work under pressure/tight deadlines