Executive Communications Lead

The World Agroforestry Centre, is an international institute headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, and founded in 1978. The Centre specializes in the sustainable management, protection and regulation of tropical rainforest and natural reserves.

Executive Communications Lead

Overview

The Executive Communications Lead provides high-level communications support to the CEO and senior leadership, helping ensure that the organization’s leadership communicates with clarity, consistency, authority and impact across internal and external audiences. Reporting to the Director of Communications, the position serves as a strategic writer, researcher and communications adviser to senior leadership. The role develops executive communications across multiple formats; prepares leaders for major engagements and high-level convenings; and works closely with corporate, regional and program communications teams to ensure executive communications advance organizational priorities and reinforce a consistent institutional narrative. The position requires exceptional writing and editorial skills, strong political and organizational judgement, intellectual curiosity, discretion, and the ability to translate complex scientific, policy and organizational issues into compelling communications for diverse audiences.

Duties and responsibilities

CEO and Senior Leadership Communications

• Provide strategic communications support to the CEO and other members of senior leadership.

• Draft and edit speeches, keynote addresses, talking points, briefing notes, presentations, correspondence, statements and other executive communications.

• Develop concise executive briefs that synthesize complex issues, organizational positions and relevant external developments.

• Prepare leaders for meetings, interviews, panels, conferences, donor engagements and other high-level interactions.

• Adapt content to the communication style, voice and priorities of individual executives while maintaining consistency with the organization’s positioning.

• Anticipate communications needs and proactively identify opportunities for leadership engagement.

Executive Positioning and Thought Leadership

• Support the positioning of the CEO and senior leadership as authoritative voices on issues central to the organization’s mission.

• Identify opportunities for executive thought leadership linked to organizational priorities and major global policy agendas.

• Develop narratives, messages and evidence that strengthen executive positioning.

• Draft or coordinate executive social media content, opinion pieces, commentaries, forewords and other thought-leadership products.

• Monitor relevant global developments and identify issues on which senior leadership should communicate or engage.

• Work with communications colleagues to connect executive visibility with broader institutional campaigns and priorities.

Research and Strategic Briefing

• Provide high-quality research and analysis to underpin executive communications.

• Conduct rapid research on policy, scientific, political, economic and institutional issues relevant to leadership engagements.

• Distill complex information into clear, decision-useful briefs and messages.

• Verify facts, statistics, quotations and references used in executive communications.

• Work with technical experts across the organization to ensure scientific accuracy while maintaining accessible and compelling language.

• Maintain relevant background materials, key messages, organizational facts and evidence for executive use.

Major Events and High-Level Convenings

• Provide communications and substantive preparation for major international events, leadership meetings and strategic convenings.

• Develop executive communications packages for major conferences, summits, bilateral meetings, donor engagements and organizational events.