Code for Africa (CfA) is recruiting a Copywriter for the launch team for CivicSignal: a marketing agency for pioneers who use new technologies for social good.

As the initiative’s senior copywriter, you will be part of an integrated public relations, communications and marketing team at CivicSignal. This team will help partners in the digital democracy and tech-for-good space across Africa amplify their voice and reach new audiences.

Your inaugural assignment will be to produce all written content for the continent’s largest gathering of drones-for-good, the African Drone Forum, scheduled to take place in Rwanda in February 2020.

You will craft and edit all written content, from blogs and newsletters, to scripts for social videos, press releases and website content.

The position is based in Cape Town, and may entail occasional international and domestic travel.

Requirements

• You are a great writer, and a fast writer.
• You are good at distilling lots of information into short, punchy sentences.
• You detest inconsistent capitalisation.
• You understand copywriting communication strategy and have experience creating content for cross-platform campaigns, with customised versions optimised for a range of traditional and social media.
• You have strong critical thinking skills: our projects are varied, and fast-paced, so you need to quickly understand and learn new things.
• You are a strong proactive communicator and writer, self-driven, and comfortable with setting and managing priorities and deliverables.
• You are detail-oriented, with a good eye for both quality and aesthetics.
• You are a cross-team collaborator, able to effectively work with teams across multiple departments, time zones, and functions.
• You are flexible, happy to edit or rewrite copy to client specifications or to improve audience engagement.
• You are comfortable handling multiple tasks with multiple ongoing deadlines. 
• Previous experience working on the digital collaboration tools that CfA uses, ranging from Slack and Google Drive, to Trello would be an advantage.
• A valid passport

Tasks

• You will write all copy for CivicSignal communication campaigns, ranging from blogs and newsletters, with a distinct voice for each client, to authoritative media releases and backgrounders/briefing notes, website copy, video scripts, speaker notes, and social media messaging.
• You will help analyse the client’s core message and target audiences, and will brainstorm creative ideas and communication strategies for presentation to the client.
• You will conduct desktop research for communication projects and, where appropriate, will interview partners or stakeholders to obtain compelling soundbites and colour for copy.
• You will edit and proofread partner copy as needed, with quick turnarounds, liaising with clients and modifying copy until it is both fit-for-purpose and the client is satisfied.
• You will assist with live reporting from partner events, such as press briefings or conferences, crafting social media posts and microblogs for live feeds.
• You will help respond to information requests by journalists, debriefing clients or stakeholders and crafting their responses into media communiqués.

CivicSignal is incubated by the continent’s largest civic technology network, Code for Africa (CfA), with offices in Abuja (Nigeria), Accra (Ghana), Cape Town (South Africa), Dakar (Senegal), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Lagos (Nigeria), Kampala (Uganda) and Nairobi (Kenya).

CfA’s project portfolio ranges from investigative data journalism in some of Africa’s most influential newsrooms, to teams of forensic data scientists fighting disinformation/misinformation, along with startups such as africanDRONE, EveryDayAfrica, sensorsAFRICA, and Takwimu.

The successful candidate will support efforts across the network, as well as at strategic partners that include the World Bank and United Nations initiatives, plus projects underwritten by Google, Facebook, Microsoft and a range of major philanthropies.

Candidates who can start immediately will be at an advantage.

Apply here by 18 October: bit.ly/33kXeu9

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