Senior Brand Management and Marketing Strategist | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Job title:                      Senior Brand Management and Marketing Strategist

Number of posts:         1 (one)

Grade:                         AU/P3 equivalency

Department:                 Directorate of Communication and Public Information

Supervisor:                   Head, Corporate Communication and Public Information

Duty Station:                Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Background:

The African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET) is a non-profit organization established in 2005 with a mission to improve human health through the strengthening and expansion of applied epidemiology and laboratory capacity in partnership with Ministries of Health, Non-Governmental Organizations, international agencies, private sector and other public health agencies. AFENET has its headquarters in Kampala, Uganda with operations in more than 30 African Countries.

Officially launched in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2017 as a specialized technical institution

of the African Union, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is Africa’s first continent-wide public health agency. Africa CDC envisions a safer, healthier, integrated and stronger Africa, where Member States are capable of effectively responding to outbreaks of infectious diseases and other public health threats. The agency’s mission is to strengthen Africa’s public health institutions’ capabilities to detect and respond quickly and effectively to disease outbreaks and other health burdens through an integrated network of continent-wide preparedness and response, surveillance, laboratory, and research programs. Towards meeting its mission, the Africa CDC will work with African Union (AU) Member States, WHO, and partners in the five geographic regions of the AU to strengthen their capacity in at least five strategic priority areas: (1) public health surveillance and disease intelligence; (2) public health emergency preparedness and response; (3) public health laboratory systems and networks; (4) public health information and technology systems; and (5) public health research and public health institutes.

The Africa CDC invites applications who are citizens of AU Member States to apply for the position of Senior Brand Management and Marketing Strategist.

Job purpose:

The Directorate is positioned around three service lines: Strategic and Corporate Communication, Social mobilisation and Public Information, and Creative and Multimedia Advocacy, all working in close collaboration and coordination under the guidance of the Directorate and with the support of the Executive Office(EO) to help build a strong brand for Africa CDC within national, regional and international ecosystem, and promote its work through non-profit Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

The brand and marketing specialist will support the development, execution, and management of Africa CDC’s corporate brand and marketing and CSR strategies. Collaborating with a multidisciplinary team composed of analytics, creative, and operations professionals, the role is critical in defining the direction of Africa CDC’s brand and devising and optimising successful campaigns to increase brand awareness and engagement across target audiences and through various approaches to CSR initiatives across various stakeholders in the health sector.

Major Duties and Responsibilities:

The Senior Brand Management and Marketing Strategist shall;

  • Develop and coordinate the implementation of Africa CDC’s global brand and marketing and CSR strategies and plan, including branding standards and guidelines.
  • Advise internal stakeholders, promoting and enforcing brand guidelines and advancing alignment and consistency.
  • Determine target audiences’ profiles and interests, conduct brand awareness and perception studies, and gather insights on the competitive landscape.
  • Identify and analyse CSR trends and opportunities to raise Africa CDC value proposition.
  • Conduct research on brand perception and image and positioning
  • Plan, set up and optimise campaigns in diverse channels- from Google Ads to social and traditional media.
  • Drive the execution of brand and marketing, ensuring that creative executions are aligned with and support marketing communication and branding strategies.
  • In collaboration with other Advocacy, Marketing and Communications teams, manage the production of select corporate multilingual communications products (Illustrated Annual Report, brochures, fact sheets in print and digital formats, including donor-targeted marketing and branding products).
  • Coordinate and support the partnership scope, acting as the main focal point for on-brand partner communications strategies and designing essential corporate offers across Advocacy, Marketing and Communications teams. 
  • Create and lead the execution of campaigns to promote growth in reach and conversions for Africa CDC brand awareness between Africa CDC, the AU/agencies/organs and partners.

Qualification and work experience required:

 

Qualifications and Skills:

  • A minimum of 8 years’ experience in Brand and marketing communication, management, MBA, with a focus on marketing and branding and proven experience in building strong brands, positioning through non-Profit CSR and project management is preferred
  • A Master’s degree in brand and marketing management, business administration, marketing communications, or related fields.
  • Professional certification as a marketing expert is required (MCIM, PCM, etc.)

Required Professional Work Experience

  • Proven experience developing and implementing branding and marketing campaigns and applying creative communications approaches.
  • Proven Experience in developing strategies and plans for non-profit Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes with various stakeholders, such as health institutions, academia, etc., to raise the value proposition for Africa CDC.
  • Experience in Marketing Research and Data Analytics.
  • Proven experience overseeing and developing branding strategies for multiple audiences, including donors, policymakers, and the general public.
  • Experience with marketing analytics and relationship management.
  • Proven experience setting up and optimising successful Google Ads, social media and email marketing advocacy campaigns.
  • Experience in marketing for non-profits is an advantage.

Required Skills and Competencies

  1.  Functional skills

Brand & Quality Management

  • Ability to strengthen Africa CDC’s corporate identity, positioning and distinction through its brand and uphold it to a high level of quality.
  • Ability to polish and protect the brand.

Marketing and CSR

  • Ability to communicate the value proposition and distinct characteristics of Africa CDC service delivery as part of its social responsibility programmes and to understand the market landscape.
  • Creativity, adaptability and familiarity with current CSR marketing trends

Project Management

  • Ability to plan, organise, and control resources, procedures, and protocols to achieve specific goals.

             Strategic Planning

  • Ability to make decisions that align with strategy, vision, and mission.

Strategic Thinking/Visioning

  • Ability to analyse the organisation’s value proposition and shape visionary/long-term plans. Use insight to identify target audiences and partners and to inform communication objectives, messages, and solutions.
  • Others
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office package required, especially PowerPoint, Word and Excel.

Innovation

  • Ability to make new and useful ideas work.
  • Creativity, adaptability and familiarity with current marketing trends.

Leadership

  • Ability to persuade others to follow.

People Management

  • Ability to improve performance and satisfaction.

Communication

  • Ability to listen, adapt, persuade, and transform.
  • Excellent writing, speaking, presenting, and listening skills.

Delivery

  • Ability to get things done while exercising good judgement.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office package required, especially PowerPoint, Word and Excel.
  1. Personal
  2. Strong interpersonal skills
  3. Adaptability and flexibility
  4. Attention to detail.
  5. Discretion and confidentiality
  6. Problem-solving and initiative

Language Requirement

Applicants must be proficient in at least one of the AU languages (Arabic, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese). Knowledge of one or more additional African Union working languages would be an added advantage.

Tenure of Appointment

The appointment will be made on a fixed term contract for a period of one (1) year, of which the first three (3) months will be considered as a probationary period. Thereafter, the contract will be renewed annually subject to satisfactory performance and fund availability.

Gender Mainstreaming

The AU Commission is an equal opportunity employer and qualified women are strongly encouraged to apply.

Remuneration Indicative basic salary of US$ 37,453 (P3 Step 1) per annum plus other related entitlements e.g. Post adjustment 46% of basic salary (US$17,228.38), Housing allowance of US$ 22,932 per annum. Thus a total of US$77,613.38 per annum plus Gratuity of 15% of Gross Salary per annum.