Communications Intern – Connect, Defend, Act!

Hivos is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Communications Intern – Connect, Defend, Act!

Scope: Southern Africa

Hours: Full Time (37.5 Hours Per Week)

Reports to: Administratively to the Global Project Manager – Connect, Defend, Act! and Technically to the Communications Officer.

Office: Lilongwe, Malawi

Deadline: 7 February 2025

Job Context

With Support from NORAD, Hivos is implementing a project called ‘Connect, Defend, Act!’. To respond to the issue of shrinking civic space and amplify civil society-led action, the “Connect, Defend, Act!” (CDA) project will support Civil Society Actors in Colombia, Indonesia, Malawi and the occupied Palestinian territory in their efforts to defend and expand civic space through three strategic objectives:

• By promoting coalition building among diverse Civil Society Actors, including Human Rights Defenders, Rights holder-led civil society organizations and independent media actors, grounded in civil society-led evidence gathering and knowledge production, and facilitated by context-specific Communities of Action.
• By contributing to safe and inclusive digital civic spaces for sustained collaboration and action among Civil Society Actors through localized holistic digital security capacity strengthening, knowledge production and active referral to digital protection providers.
• By increasing Civil Society Actors’ flexibility to rapidly respond to changes in civic space through organizational capacity strengthening and the provision of strategic funding for sustainable action.

The project aims to strategically support relevant actors within civil society whose work actively contributes to civic space from the perspective of different sectors and interests, while particularly including groups who are marginalized within civil society, such as women, youth, LGBTIQ+ persons, Indigenous People and others.

Role Purpose

Reporting to the Communications Officer and Global Project Manager, the Communications Intern will be responsible for supporting communications development for Hivos and the Connect, Defend, Act! Project specifically. S/he will be in charge of social media, website updates/content, and newsletter content. The incumbent will be responsible for storyboarding and developing content, as well as engaging and creating content for social media and supporting project awareness campaigns. S/he will also help write and edit blogs as directed by the Communications focal point. S/he will also provide general project support as well as coordination of internal and external communications.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Co-generate knowledge and marketing products, such as fact sheets about the CDA project, website content, brochures, blogs, and other forms of communication;
• Help organize, produce and maintain content for the hub website and other media platforms; Help plan events for publication launches, public discussions, and other announcements;
• Collaborate with the program team in providing general communications and administrative support;
• Strengthen brand identity of Hivos by developing communication products that include digital media, reports, publications, flyers, posters, etc
• Develop dynamic content and manage Hivos social media platforms. Stimulating deliberative dialogue on e-forums: e-Advocacy. Digital storytelling and photography.
• Co-Create marketing and visibility content for Hivos Southern Africa Hub, which includes creating and editing visual content that is compelling enough to be shared by influencers.
• Promote and publicize the organization on internal and external platforms.
• Help organize events related to corporate communications strategies and programmes.
• Support staff to engage in activities and initiatives related to the corporate branding and communications strategies.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

• Degree or diploma in Communications, Journalism, Media Studies, Graphic Design, Marketing and other relevant qualifications;
• At least 1-year work related learning experience in Communications or Journalism;
• Possess excellent writing, graphic and visualization skills;
• Have multimedia skills in audio and video editing;
• Strong communications skills: excellent listening skills and empathy, ability to write clearly and concisely;
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office software and other related software;
• Demonstrable experience in media communications including social media;
• Prior experience in the social development sector including non-government organizations, government development agencies, either via assignments or other internships, is an asset;
• Ability to adapt to new environments and to establish and maintain good working relations with individuals of different cultural backgrounds;
• Integrity: exercising the appropriate discretion when working with confidential and sensitive matters and information;
• Ability to work under pressure and put in extra hours;
• Written and spoken proficiency in English.

What we offer

The Regional office is based in Harare, Zimbabwe. This position will be based in Lilongwe, Malawi. We offer a stimulating work environment in a professional international organization with very dedicated staff, with a stipend included. Benefits to be gained include opportunities for graduate interns to gain industry standard experience, opportunities for graduate interns to develop new skills, opportunities to build professional networks and foundations for graduate interns to build their resumes.

How to apply

Please apply before 7 February 2025. If you meet the above-mentioned qualifications (please look carefully), you can apply to this vacancy by filling in a digital application form and adding a cover letter explaining your motivation and your CV.

Please note that we will be reviewing applications on an ongoing basis and reserve the right to close our vacancies early

About Hivos

Hivos is an international development organization guided by humanist values. Together with citizens and their organizations, we aim to contribute towards just, inclusive and life sustaining societies where people have equal access to opportunities, rights and resources. We work in partnership with others in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America on three impact areas: civic rights; gender equality, diversity and inclusion, and climate justice. Our approach is solution driven, and we build wider movements for change by amplifying and connecting voices.

More about Hivos at: www.hivos.org