Consultant - East Africa Content and Digital Officer

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic wellbeing, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster. Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, the IRC is one of the world's largest international humanitarian non-governmental organizations (INGO), at work in more than 40 countries and 29 U.S. cities helping people to survive, reclaim control of their future and strengthen their communities. A force for humanity, IRC employees deliver lasting impact by restoring safety, dignity and hope to millions. If you're a solutions-driven, passionate change-maker, come join us in positively impacting the lives of millions of people world-wide for a better future.

Title: Consultant - East Africa Content and Digital Officer

Total number of Consultants: 1

Country Program: Global Communications/Public Affairs

Proposed Dates: 2 November 2026- 30 September 2027

Duration: TBC

Background of the project

Important note: Always define and spell out all acronyms or technical terms

Scope of work

● Part of the IRC's Communications, Mobilization & Marketing team, the Content and Digital consultant for East Africa will focus on identifying, gathering and packaging powerful content (photo, video, audio, etcetera) from the region to connect audiences to IRC's work and support our goals of building income, profile and influence.

● We are looking for a team member with experience operating in fluid and complex environments, who has a deep understanding of the humanitarian and social issues facing communities in the East Africa region (and preferably overall the humanitarian sector). This person should be a dedicated storyteller with a gift for identifying compelling subjects and angles, and creative ways of telling stories in difficult circumstances. They will develop information and content assets that showcase our on the ground impact.

● A strong multimedia producer with solid writing, graphic and digital engagement skills, this position will work closely with frontline colleagues to gather critical programming information, spot stories, train programming colleagues, and collect content. They will also help support regional communications and advocacy objectives.

Deliverables:

The consultant will work in close collaboration with programming and communications colleagues to deliver high-quality digital assets, strategic messaging, and storytelling that bring the realities of East Africa’s crises and the resilience of its people to global attention.

The project will include:

1. Strategy Development and Execution

o Support in the execution of the East Africa content strategy in consultation with IRC’s Associate Director, Public Affairs for Africa and Emergencies, IRC’s Senior Producer for Content and Strategy, Africa, East Africa regional colleagues and country-level colleagues.

o Support in developing an editorial calendar/strategy for increased engagement and content on the East Africa Instagram page,

2. Content Gathering and end-to-end Production

o Work with the creative studio team and in-country communications colleagues to identify stories and conduct field visits to gather digital content (photo, video, written stories) from frontline programs to form a bank of stories to be used externally.

o Develop compelling human-interest stories and case studies for external audiences and donors.

o Ensure content reflects diverse voices, with particular attention to children, women, and marginalized groups.

o Produce multimedia assets optimized for global social media and digital platforms.

o Process and organise raw assets for the IRC’s digital archive (i.e. Brandfolder, Lucidlink, or Ikonik)

o Train vendors on the IRC's brand guidelines and processing requirements. Work closely with the creative studio to support vendor selection to ensure they meet brand requirements.

3. Supporting Donor Visibility Needs

o Work together with Donor Visibility Officers to ensure requirements for East Africa grants are met

o If needed, help coordinate logistics and story identification between country teams and HQ donor visibility officers

o Review materials for publication drafted for the East Africa region for messaging and redlines

4. Capacity Strengthening

o Train an agreed upon number of program colleagues in story-spotting, content gathering, and messaging.

o Create user-friendly guidance and templates for staff contributing to communications efforts.

5. Manage the East Africa Instagram Channel

o Develop an editorial calendar for the East Africa Instagram Channel

o Produce and share content on the channel that engages stakeholders and promotes IRC’s work in the region

o Join a Digital Engagement community of practice to ensure up-to-date practices and knowledge sharing.

Requirements:

● Minimum 3-5 years of professional experience producing multimedia digital content for an international news outlet, company or nonprofit organization. Strong interest in international affairs and humanitarian issues.

● Experience living in and working in East Africa

● Experience running and growing social media communities and excellent command of social media management tools and analytics.

● Proven track record in developing compelling multi-media packages (with some combination of photo, video, and graphic skills.

● Have fluency in all elements of post-production including backing up data; building and organizing Adobe Premiere project files; color correction and grading; sound design; motion graphics; editing music tracks; building engaging and coherent sequences; exporting; compression; sharing out results in different formats; and preservation of completed projects for archiving.

● Demonstrable proficiency with multimedia and film production tools.

● Sharp written and verbal communication skills.

● Ability to work well independently and as part of a team; comfortable collaborating with and channeling the multiple collaborators involved in NGO communications projects.

● Eager to travel widely and willing to work unusual hours.

● Able to think and take action quickly and creatively in fast-paced environments.

Professional Standards: All International Rescue Committee workers must adhere to the core values and principles outlined in IRC Way - Standards for Professional Conduct . Our Standards are Integrity, Service, Equality and Accountability. In accordance with these values, the IRC operates and enforces policies on Safeguarding , Conflicts of Interest, Fiscal Integrity, and Reporting Wrongdoing and Protection from Retaliation. IRC is committed to take all necessary preventive measures and create an environment where people feel safe, and to take all necessary actions and corrective measures when harm occurs. IRC builds teams of professionals who promote critical reflection, power sharing, debate, and objectivity to deliver the best possible services to our clients.

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