Societal Communications Head

Join to apply for the Societal Communications Head role at SmartStart South Africa.

Purpose: The new role of Societal Communications Head will lead the SmartStart network's efforts using social influence to collect people's efforts and change behaviours and mindsets. The goal is to build and inspire a country-wide movement (wider than SmartStart) to establish early learning as a societal priority and leverage the power of the SmartStart brand to accelerate network growth and wider progress towards early learning for all, focusing on those most excluded. The role is a member of the Hub Exco and reports to the Chief Ecosystem and Partnerships Officer.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Guide coherent, clear, informative, engaging, and influential communications to SmartStart's national network of practitioners, parents, and frontline staff.
2. Stimulate and influence multi-way communications within and across the network in service of SmartStart's purpose and strategy.
3. Drive the development of communications campaigns that motivate individuals to influence and "convert" others to take action for the societal cause of quality early learning for all.
4. Lead the targeting and creation of appropriate communications that stimulate and reinforce changes in behaviour.
5. Engage role-players with overlapping and/or complementary interests, e.g., basic education, gender justice, employment, micro-(social-)enterprise, and social justice.
6. Build a popular South African movement for early learning as a societal cause.
7. Collaborate with partners to create popular demand (economic & political) for and expectations of quality, affordable early learning for all.
8. Widely share the progress made towards, and benefits of, quality early learning for all.
9. Co-develop and communicate relevant popular education content on topics including care about and concern for children's interests; the benefits and importance of early learning for all; key practices for quality early learning; as well as inclusive education, gender justice, and social justice.
10. Lead internal-organisational communications across the network of SmartStart partner NGOs and within the network Hub organisation.
11. Co-develop and conduct appropriate SmartStart network and wider social research to yield insights for segmenting, differentiating, and/or targeting communications.
12. Develop appropriate approaches to monitor, investigate and understand the intended and unintended effects of communications and respond appropriately.
13. Strategically explore opportunities and partnerships across a few (southern) African countries.

Requirements:

1. Master's degree (or equivalent) in a related discipline.
2. At least 8 years' relevant & diverse communications experience in complex organisational-systemic contexts, ideally in early childhood development, education, or public health.
3. At least 4 years in senior role(s) successfully leading functions and managing teams.
4. Successful track record of driving effective social behaviour-change communications campaigns.
5. Experience tracking & analysing the intended and unintended effects of communications and responding appropriately.

Knowledge And Skills:

1. Demonstrated track record using communications, brand, and social network influence as well as other relevant dynamics and approaches to transform social norms and behaviours.
2. Clear evidence of curiosity and appetite for feedback.
3. Appetite to work in uncertainty and change, without recipes.
4. Ability to see the big picture and work effectively amid complexity.
5. Familiarity with and curiosity about societal scale, systems doing-and-thinking, design thinking & iterative designing.
6. Excellent at building quality, trusting relationships with a commitment to SmartStart's purpose and social justice internationally.

Advantageous:

1. Fluency in one or more African languages.

Child Safeguarding Policy: Applicants must adhere to the SmartStart Child Safeguarding Policy, which has been developed in accordance with the International Standards for Child Safeguarding, providing a benchmark for organisations working with children. Under this Policy, SmartStart will not employ anyone whose name is on the National Child Protection Register or who has been convicted of a criminal offence involving a child.

Seniority level: Executive
Employment type: Full-time
Job function: Marketing
Industries: Non-profit Organizations