Communications, Advocacy and Policy Specialist - Alinea Foundation

Alinea Foundation Ghana is a subsidiary of Alinea International – one of Canada’s leading international development firms. We provide management and technical expertise to promote sustainable growth. We are seeking an experienced Communications, Advocacy and Policy Specialist to be based in Tamale, Ghana, to work on a five-year project funded by Global Affairs Canada (GAC).

The project entitled Empowering Women in Industrial Trades in Northern Ghana (WEE-NORTH) will enhance economic empowerment, well-being and inclusive growth for women in Ghana by enabling, training and empowering young women to participate in industrial trades that are essential for growth sectors of the economy. The proposed initiative will work with up to 9 TVET institutions, located in the five northern regions, which suffer the most disadvantages both in terms of educational inequalities at the basic education level, and geographical inequalities in the distribution of skills training opportunities.

The Communications, Advocacy and Policy Specialist position will contribute to the three intermediate outcomes including a more enabling environment for women’s industrial trades training, improved access to decent work and improved productivity and profitability of women-owned businesses. This position works across all programming areas of the project and requires a candidate with strategic thinking skills who can interface with a range of project stakeholders and beneficiaries.

The specific roles and responsibilities of the CAP Specialist are:

Communications

• Support the development of public awareness and education campaigns advocating for women’s participation in industrial trades
• Provide technical capacity building for educational institutions to promote industrial trade training options for female and male junior high school students.
• Develop communications strategies and community outreach activities to raise awareness on technical trades opportunities for women and young women in northern communities.
• Support the promotion of gender responsive training opportunities in industrial training programs to targeted audiences.
• Develop targeted project communications materials and strategies, including social media, print.
• Manage the public education and awareness campaigns to influence public opinion about women in industrial trades (radio, billboards, other).
• Create digital/social media networking platform for entrepreneurship and industrial trades trainees  to connect with.

Advocacy

• Support  selected national trades associations and unions to develop gender-responsive policies and supports for women in industrial trades.
• Advocate for the adoption of broader gender responsive policies in industrial trades sectors  for women in industrial trades training.
• Build capacity within Women’s trade groups to advocate for reducing social and economic barriers for women working in trades.
• Facilitate participatory dialogue with industry and government to encourage adoption of gender-responsive industry workplace environments.

Policy

• Provide technical support to strengthen policies and legislation in education, employment and health and safety to better support and protect women who wish to pursue education and training in technical trades disciplines
• Conduct participatory reviews of current policies and programs to inclusion and representation of women with relevant trade associations.
• Support TVETs to develop gender responsive school policies supporting women in industrial trades.

Qualifications and Educational Requirements

• Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in communications, public policy analysis, public relations and/or advocacy work.
• University degree in Communications, Social Sciences, Public Policy or equivalent combination of education and professional experience.
• Experience in developing and implementing mass or multi-media communications, targeted and strategic communications, public awareness campaigns,  and advocacy work.
• Familiarity with gender equality,  employment and education issues in Ghana, especially in the TVET sector, industrial trades and/or technical training areas.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively as a member of a fast-moving team, willingness to contribute at different levels required to achieve success, self-motivated and ability to work independently.
• Strong strategic analysis, organizational skills, detail orientation, and timeliness of performance.

• Demonstrated excellence in written and verbal communication, and interpersonal skills.