Position in: Cameroon, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania or Uganda
Are you passionate about building and managing professional networks of journalists, data analysts, technologists, and other experts across Africa?
Code for Africa (CfA) has an immediate vacancy for a full-time bilingual Community Coordinator to join our Communities team. This role can be based in one of our hubs in Kenya, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Cameroon, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, or Uganda, though exceptional candidates from other African countries will also be considered. The role offers an exciting opportunity to help nurture CfA’s communities.
Communities in this context refers to our professional networks or Communities of Practice—groups of skilled professionals who curate and collaborate around shared interests, expertise, and goals within the field of civic technology and media.
The ideal candidate must have demonstrable experience in project management, community building, and stakeholder engagement. Candidates must also have excellent written and verbal communication and reporting skills in English and French. Additional skills will include planning, executing, and moderating community events and sessions both online and in person, developing partnerships, generating engagement within the network, managing information, and using data to scale.
The successful candidate will work as part of a multinational and multilingual team using digital collaboration tools to create content for a global audience and international media partners.
Required: minimum requirements include:
- Community Management Experience: A minimum of 4 years of experience in managing professional communities or a related field, with a strong understanding of community dynamics and engagement strategies.
- Project Management: Excellent project management skills, with the ability to handle multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and deliver high-quality results.
- Event Coordination: Significant experience in organising and facilitating both online and offline events, including hybrid events that cater to a geographically diverse audience.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Proven experience engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, including journalists, data scientists, technologists, researchers, and academic professionals.
- Communication Skills: Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to effectively communicate with large and small groups via email, phone, and in person.
- Content Creation & Dissemination: Experience in creating and distributing content via multiple channels (social media, blogs, websites, etc.) to keep community members informed and engaged.
- Digital Tools Proficiency: Familiarity with collaboration tools such as Slack, Google Drive, Trello, and other digital platforms used for community management.
Preferred: candidates who are able to demonstrate the following will have an advantage:
- Experience in Relevant Sectors: Prior experience working in the media, technology, or non-profit sectors is highly beneficial.
- Data Management: Knowledge of database management and proficiency with spreadsheets.
- Bilingual: Fluency in both English and French (spoken and written) is preferred.
Language and Location Requirements:
Location: Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, or Uganda. Exceptional candidates from other African countries will also be considered.
Language: Bilingual [English and French-Speaking]
About the Role:
The successful candidate will join our Communities’ team and will play a critical role in maintaining and expanding CfA’s WanaData and Hacks/Hackers’ networks, by driving engagement, facilitating events both online and in-person, curating knowledge-sharing projects, and facilitating professional growth in the communities. They will help manage and expand these networks, promote peer-to-peer learning within members, and accelerate ecosystem building.
Responsibilities: Your daily responsibilities will include:
- Manage and Expand our WanaData and Hacks/Hackers’ Professional Networks: Oversee and grow these CfA’s geographically dispersed Communities of Practice across three or more African countries, ensuring the networks remain vibrant, engaged, and valuable to members.
- Coordinate Community Activities: Plan and facilitate regular community events (monthly meetups, quarterly continental events, training, webinars, etc.) for members across the CfA networks.
- Engage Members: Foster engagement and collaboration among network members, ensuring an inclusive and productive environment for all participants.
- Develop and Execute Programs: Identify gaps within the communities and develop programs that address professional needs—such as fellowships, training, and mentorship—while also facilitating peer-to-peer learning.
- Form Partnerships: Establish and maintain partnerships with key stakeholders and organisations, including governments, non-profits, media companies, and academic institutions to support community initiatives.
- Monitor and Evaluate Impact: Track the effectiveness of community programs, using feedback from members to continuously improve the offerings.
- Create Community Assets: Develop and disseminate materials (e.g., presentations, briefings, reports) that showcase CfA’s community-driven initiatives to stakeholders and partners.
- Reporting and Data Management: Maintain accurate records of community activities, update member databases, and generate regular reports on engagement and program impact.
What We Offer:
- A competitive salary, subject to experience, with opportunities for performance-based growth, both in terms of career path and public stature.
- Medical insurance cover, underwritten by a remote-first provider to ensure cover wherever you are
- A dynamic workplace, with a transnational team, occasional international travel, and generous vacation benefits.
- Ongoing opportunities to learn new cutting-edge skills and techniques/technologies to future-proof yourself in a rapidly evolving industry.
- A chance to shine on a global stage, writing for international audiences and interacting with colleagues around the world.
How to apply:
Please apply using this link by 12 January 2025.
About Us:
Code for Africa (CfA) is the continent’s largest network of indigenous African civic technology and investigative data journalism laboratories, with over 120 staff in 26 countries, who build digital democracy solutions that are intended to give citizens unfettered access to actionable information that empowers them to make informed decisions and that strengthen civic engagement for improved public governance and accountability.
This includes building infrastructure such as the continent’s largest open data portal, open.AFRICA, and largest open source civic software portal, commons.AFRICA, as well as the largest repository of investigative document-based evidence, source.AFRICA, as well as incubating initiatives as diverse as the africanDRONE network that gives citizens their own ‘eyes in the sky’, the PesaCheck fact-checking initiative in 12 African countries, and the sensors.AFRICA remote-sensing citizen science initiative to combat air/water pollution.
CfA also incubates the African Network of Centres for Investigative Reporting (ANCIR), as an association of the continent’s best investigative newsrooms, ranging from large traditional mainstream media to smaller specialist units. ANCIR member newsrooms investigate crooked politicians, organised crime and big business. The iLAB is ANCIR’s in-house digital forensic unit, with teams in east, south and west Africa. ANCIR uses its resources to strengthen newsrooms’ own internal capacity, by providing access to the world’s best whistleblower encryption and investigative semantic analysis technologies, as well as skills development, and seed grants for cross-border collaboration.
At CfA, we don’t just accept differences – we celebrate it, we support it, and we thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our products and our community. CfA is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.
To all recruitment agencies: CfA does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our employment application line, CfA employees or any other CfA contact. CfA is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.
Please note: Due to high volumes of applications, we are unable to respond to each one individually. If you are selected for an interview, we will contact you.