Communications Expert (National) at Forland Tanzania

Forestry, Land Use, and Value Chain Development in Tanzania (FORLAND) is a four-year bilateral project between the governments of Finland and Tanzania (2025-2029). The Project area includes the Iringa, Njombe, Ruvuma, and Lindi regions, which are rich in natural and plantation forest resources. The main headquarters is at Forest and Wood Industries Training Centre (FWITC) in Mafinga.

FORLAND helps small woodlot owners establish and manage tree plantations, as well as rural communities manage their Miombo Village Land Forest Reserves using Community Based Forest Management. The project also strengthens the value chain, assisting communities, tree producers, and micro, small, and medium enterprises in adding value to their goods. It builds on the success of the Participatory Plantation Forestry Programme (PFP 2) and Forest and Value Chain Development Programme (FORVAC) to ensure the long-term viability of the achievements and institutions supported. It also closely aligns with the development strategies and priorities of the Finnish and Tanzanian governments, helping to alleviate poverty, create jobs, and strengthen climate resilience.

The FORLAND project is recruiting a Communications Expert who will be responsible for the following duties:

• Lead in the development of the project communication strategy during the inception phase of the project.
• Lead implement of communication strategies to enhance visibility (internationally and nationally) and outreach to large numbers of project stakeholders (such as tree growers, and SMEs);
• Create and manage content for various platforms, including social media, websites, and publications;
• Coordinate media relations, including press releases, interviews, and events;
• Provide strategic advice on branding, messaging, and stakeholder engagement;
• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of communication efforts;
• Draft, implement, and monitor annual and biannual communication workplans and budgets;
• Coordinating the development of various communication materials by packaging thematic and project contents in different formats (e.g., milestone reports, brochures, fact sheets, newsletters, summaries, videos, animation, stories, calendar etc.) and managing all supplier relationships in the process;
• Foster media relations at the national level and in the project areas where the project activities are implemented;
• Identify, develop and maintain contact information, materials and relationships with journalists and media outlets (print, TV, radio, web etc.) to increase coverage of the project activities in the media (print, broadcast and digital);
• Collaborate with the media by organizing project site visits; facilitate photo coverage and TV footage and utilizing both web-based and traditional media as appropriate;
• Maintain project website and social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube) such as daily monitoring, posting and content development by creating rich and compelling content for websites, microsites, and social media;
• Work closely with all project staff on a daily basis and maintain close interaction with communication staffs with entities associated with communications and conservation work within and outside the government, including the local media and conservation partners;
• Identify, articulate, and communicate success stories;
• Prepare summaries of technical reports and studies in layman’s terms in the field of sustainable forest management, community based forest management, plantation forestry, land use planning, forest business, environmental management and supports to tree growers;
• Liaise with district authorities and national authorities to ensure their contribution to project communication is well addressed;
• Monitor and evaluate the use and effectiveness of media materials;
• Maintain a library of media coverage, clippings etc.;
• Ensure that communications remain neutral with regard to social and political related sensitivities of the beneficiaries; in this respect, ensure that communication material and content are aligned with the respective rules and regulations of both the government of Tanzania and Government of Finland;
• Participate in and contribute to the work of the project team. In this regard, feed the team with news stories to be used for the overall communication of the work of the project.
• Ensures that the Human Rights based Approach and the cross-cutting objectives of gender equality and non-discrimination are mainstreamed into communication activities;
• Ensures the mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction and climate resilience, low emission development and protection of the environment with an emphasis on biodiversity) into all communication activities;
• Undertake any other activities related to communications as requested by the Chief Technical Adviser.

Qualifications required:

• Minimum bachelor degree in Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, or a related field. • An additional qualification in the fields of forest resources management, sustainable development, the environment, political science, social science, and/or international affairs would be an advantage.

Professional experience required:

• At least 5 years of professional experience in communications related to any of the following: forest resources management, sustainable development, development cooperation, environment, international affairs, or related fields;
• Proven experience in developing and executing communication strategies;
• Strong writing, editing, and content creation skills;
• Familiarity with digital marketing tools and analytics;
• Ability to work collaboratively with diverse teams and stakeholders;
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Articulate and confident oral communicator with ability to engage and interact at various levels.
• Ability to work under pressure and in stressful situations.
• Strong analytical, writing, reporting, and presenting abilities. Other skills:
• Very good understanding of the socio-economic and political background in Tanzania
• Working experience in the field of community development approach or on sustainable forest and environmental management
• Knowledge of the government of Tanzania institutional setting and operations, including its relationship with development partners
• Working experience with the national institutions and stakeholders in Tanzania.
• Experience in editing and in the production process
• Experience working across a range of media platforms including TV, Radio, and Social Medias etc.
• Advanced capability in image processing.
• English and Swahili is the working language for this position; therefore, excellent oral and written communication skills in both English and Swahili are required.

Position length:

• Tentatively 35 months with duty station in Mafinga

Commencement:

• 05/2025

Deadline:

• Thursday, April 3, 2025