job
Communications Specialist
Organization Horn Africa Consultants FirmLocation SomaliaType FULL TIMEPosted 21 May 2026Deadline 31 May 2026
Advocacy/Communications
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Full Description
Horn Africa Consultants Firm (HACOF) is a regional development consultancy firm with operational presence across the Horn of Africa, including Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Ethiopia. HACOF provides technical advisory, research, monitoring and evaluation, and programme management services to international development partners, donors, and implementing organisations working in fragile and conflict-affected settings.
HACOF is currently pursuing a number of competitive procurement opportunities across Somalia, Kenya, and the wider Horn of Africa region, spanning monitoring and evaluation and related technical advisory services. In anticipation of potential contract awards, HACOF invites expressions of interest from qualified individual consultants and technical experts across these thematic and geographic areas to join its roster of pre-qualified personnel.
**NOTE**: Inclusion on the HACOF roster does not constitute an offer of employment or a guarantee of engagement, and all consultancy assignments remain subject to successful contract award, confirmed scope, and available funding. Consultants whose profiles are assessed as relevant will be contacted directly when a suitable assignment arises. HACOF is committed to building a diverse and regionally rooted expert pool and strongly encourages applications from competent professionals, nationals of the countries in which HACOF operates, and candidates with direct lived and working experience of fragile and conflict-affected settings in the Horn of Africa.
**POSITION OVERVIEW**
The Communications Specialist will serve as a full-time member of the MEAL delivery team for the duration of the assignment, providing continuous and on-demand communications support to the programme and its implementing partners. This is not primarily a media relations or public affairs role: the Communications Officer must be capable of synthesising evidence from monitoring and evaluation activities into high-quality, audience-appropriate communications products across digital and print platforms, in English and Somali, and in formats accessible to non-literate audiences. The Communications Officer will also lead the team's regular social and news media monitoring function.
**Key Responsibilities**
- Convert findings from MEAL activities, including third-party monitoring, Outcome Harvesting sessions, and evaluation reports, into professional and accessible communications products for public, partner, and donor audiences, in line with the programme's ethical storytelling guidelines.
- Produce professionally designed monthly and quarterly donor update products in English, drawing on partner communications, reporting data, and MEAL findings. These updates must be succinct, visually accessible, and appropriate for both a donor readership and a wider public audience.
- Maintain a weekly media monitoring function covering relevant Somali and international social media platforms (including X/Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and online news outlets), producing concise weekly summaries of no more than two pages covering civic space developments, reputational risks, and emerging opportunities. Monitoring must be conducted in both English and Somali.
- Alert the programme management team and MEAL team lead in a timely manner to any media reports, social media discussions, or public communications that pose reputational risks to the programme or its implementing partners and support the preparation of appropriate responses.
- Develop and maintain the programme website content, ensuring that stories and updates are published in a timely manner, meet ethical and quality standards, and are accessible to a Somali readership.
- Produce storytelling products including written stories of change, photo essays, video scripts, infographics, and illustrated content that responsibly document civic activity and the experiences of programme beneficiaries, strictly adhering to informed consent requirements and data protection standards.
- Produce communications content in Somali, including translations of key products into relevant Somali dialects, and develop formats accessible to non-literate audiences (illustrations, animations, audio content, and similar).
- Support implementing partners' communications capacity where needed, including through the development of training materials, templates, and communication handbooks.
- Ensure that all storytelling and communications products avoid reinforcing political bias, clan polarisation, stigma, or narratives that may expose individuals, groups, or communities to harm or heightened risk.
- Collaborate with the Research Officer to integrate media monitoring data and communications findings into Outcome Harvesting analyses, assessment designs, and learning briefs.
- Attend and document key programme events, including Outcome Harvesting sessions and annual learning events, to support real-time communications and post-event reporting
**Qualifications and Ex
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