Individual Consultant: AGRA Communications and Advocacy – Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)

Job Description

AGRA is an African-led organisation focused on putting farmers at the centre of our continent’s growing economy. AGRA advances uniquely African solutions to sustainably raise farmers’ productivity and connect them to a growing marketplace. Together with its partners—including researchers, donors, African governments, the private sector, and civil society—AGRA seeks to create an environment where Africa sustainably feeds itself.

Agriculture plays a very key role in SSA, contributing to over 20% to GDP in most countries and employing over 70% of the population inspite of its low productivity and low incomes. While there has been significant improvement in Governments commitment to the sector, there is need to rally all key stakeholders around a common vision of eradicating food insecurity by 2030, a target that calls for concerted efforts, alliances, and narratives across the Fourth Estate.

Through ourAGRA 2023-2027 Corporate Strategy, AGRA sets out to catalyze the growth of sustainable food systems across Africa by influencing and leveraging partners to build a robust enabling environment where the private sector thrives, and smallholders are empowered to produce sufficient, healthy food.

As a convener of actors in the food systems sector, AGRA is seeking contract experienced, knowledgeable and well networked development communicators or journalists with capacity to champion key food & nutrition advocacy issues and produce / distribute key multi-media messages to contribute to the achievement of AGRA’s strategy 3.0. They will most likely be highly influential and networked professionals with interest and experience in the public sector and be excited about contributing to the development of relevant sector intelligence, insights, stories, and documentaries aligned to AGRA’s country change narratives and business line ambition and agenda to building resilient food systems by 2030.

Objectives of the Consultancy

a) Support the implementation of the communications, external engagement and advocacy plans in Malawi

b) Produce comprehensive, nuanced stories and content across media formats that highlight the systemic challenges, opportunities, and interconnections within the food system landscape in Malawi based on AGRA Malawi’s change narrative.

c) Leverage most influential media networks in Malawi and collaborate with key opinion leaders to effectively amplify AGRA’s advocacy messages and drive dialogue around food system transformation.

d) Facilitate direct engagement and knowledge sharing between AGRA Malawi and in-country decision makers to drive policy and systems change practices.

e) Deliver a consistent cadence of high-quality, impactful content including feature stories, op-eds, and innovative impact/knowledge stories to influence public discourse and private sector investments.

f) Provide robust media monitoring, analysis, and insights to support AGRA’s broader advocacy and engagement efforts at the country, regional, and continental levels.

Scope of works

To achieve the above objective, AGRA associates or partner media institutions must be able to do the following:

a) Research, interview and put together comprehensive stories in the sector on any topic relevant to what is happening in the food system landscape, nuanced to the countries we operate in.

b) Have a strong grasp of what the challenges and opportunities exist within the food system space, and more specifically, in the countries in which we operate. They should also be able to understand the linkages between policy, job creation, trade, health, poverty, gender, and malnutrition and the impact this may have on food systems and small holder farming livelihoods.

c) Have excellent networks, contacts and collaborations with key opinion leaders that can amplify advocacy messages across multi-media.

d) Well-networked and respected in the country to be able to directly seek and get appointments with the decision makers in the country for discourse and knowledge sharing.

e) Must be able to curate content across multi-media formats and can produce quality work on time and in full.

Key qualifications and experience required.

Education:

• A minimum of a first degree in the environmental, agricultural and climate sciences, development, economics or humanities and an additional qualification and training in communications, specifically journalism (writing, editing, broadcast) for at least 7 years.

Experience:

• Demonstrate practical exposure or capacity to and working as a senior writer, producer, or communicator in the relevant field – directly in newsrooms or as in-house reporters and writers in development organizations, research institutions, etc. A minimum of seven years in such a position.
• Applicant must provide evidence of work that his/her work that has been published or broadcast that achieved most influence with key decision makers.
• MUST demonstrate relevant affiliations and networks within the relevant sectors within the country of choice.
• Must have social media influence reaching key decision makers in Government and civil society.

DEADLINE: 2 September 2024

About the Organization#

AGRA works to achieve a food secure and prosperous Africa through the promotion of rapid, sustainable agricultural growth based on smallholder farmers. Smallholders–the majority women–produce most of Africa’s food, and do so with minimal resources and little government support. AGRA aims to ensure that smallholders have what they need to succeed: good seeds and healthy soils; access to markets, information, financing, storage and transport; and policies that provide them with comprehensive support. Through developing Africa’s high-potential breadbasket areas, while also boosting farm productivity across more challenging environments, AGRA works to transform smallholder agriculture into a highly productive, efficient, sustainable and competitive system, and do so while protecting the environment.