Senior Communications Manager

Position: Senior Communications Manager
Location: Yaoundé, Cameroon
Work Schedule: Full-Time (40 hours per week)
Organization: Denis & Lenora Foretia Foundation

About the Denis and Lenora Foretia Foundation

The Denis and Lenora Foretia Foundation was established to accelerate Africa’s economic transformation by focusing on social entrepreneurship, science and technology, innovation, public health, and progressive policies that create economic opportunities for all. The Foundation works in partnership with local governments, policymakers, private enterprises, and civil society organizations to improve livelihoods.

Position Overview

The Senior Communications Manager will strengthen the Foundation’s ability to plan, produce, coordinate, review, and deliver high-quality communications across its programs, events, publications, partnerships, media engagements, digital platforms, and institutional priorities.

The role is intended for a senior, hands-on communications professional who can take ownership of assigned communication deliverables and support selected project, program, and partnership functions.

The successful candidate must be able to move work from idea to completion.

Core Areas of Responsibility

1. Strategic Communications Planning and Delivery

• Develop clear communication plans for major Foundation initiatives, programs, publications, reports, events, campaigns, partnerships, and institutional announcements.
• Translate institutional priorities into specific communication objectives, audiences, messages, products, timelines, responsibilities, and expected results.
• Prepare communication work plans that specify what must be produced before, during, and after major events or launches.
• Coordinate the timely preparation of press releases, media advisories, social media posts, newsletters, website updates, event pages, speaker cards, partner messages, talking points, photo captions, and post-event summaries.
• Ensure that assigned communication activities are aligned with the Foundation’s mission, institutional tone, brand identity, program priorities, and public positioning.
• Anticipate communication needs early and reduce last-minute requests by maintaining planning discipline and following up with relevant teams.

2. Campaign Management for Major Initiatives

• Lead communication planning and execution for assigned flagship activities.
• Prepare campaign briefs that explain the purpose of each campaign, the target audience, the main messages, the communication products, the timeline, the channels, and the responsibilities of each contributor.
• Coordinate with program teams to identify the strongest stories, results, quotes, evidence, and policy messages from each initiative.
• Ensure that every assigned campaign has suitable pre-event, live-event, and post-event communication outputs.
• Manage campaign trackers so that deadlines, drafts, design needs, approvals, and publication dates are clear and respected.
• Prepare short end-of-campaign reports that summarize activities completed, visibility achieved, media coverage, digital performance, partner amplification, lessons learned, and recommended improvements.

3. Content Development, Editing, and Editorial Quality Control

• Draft, review, edit, and improve high-quality content for the Foundation, including press releases, website articles, event summaries, newsletters, social media copy, speeches, executive remarks, talking points, blog posts, feature stories, success stories, etc.
• Ensure that routine drafts submitted to Management are already clear, accurate, polished, and ready for senior review.
• Review public-facing content for grammar, spelling, tone, structure, factual accuracy, clarity, consistency, branding, and audience relevance.
• Help convert technical, academic, policy, research, or program material into clear communication products for policymakers, partners, media, civil society, private sector actors, and general public audiences.
• Maintain consistent institutional language across English and French communication materials.
• Develop and maintain templates for press releases, media advisories, event articles, newsletter sections, social media captions, partner announcements, and post-event reports.

4. Media Relations and Public Visibility

• Build and maintain a structured database of journalists, editors, producers, media outlets, and communication partners relevant to the Foundation’s work.
• Segment media contacts by area of interest, including public policy, economy, business, entrepreneurship, health, science, technology, governance, education, regional affairs, and civil society.
• Prepare and distribute press releases, media advisories, press kits, interview notes, and media invitations for assigned activities.
• Pitch major Foundation reports, events, expert opinions, initiatives, and public statements to relevant media contacts.
• Coordinate media interviews for senior leadership, researchers, program leads, and experts.
• Prepare briefing notes and talking points before interviews, panels, press conferences, webinars, or public appearances.
• Monitor media coverage and prepare media visibility reports showing outlets reached, articles published, interviews conducted, quotes used, and follow-up actions required.
• Identify opportunities for op-eds, commentaries, interviews, broadcast appearances, and media partnerships that can advance the Foundation’s work and public credibility.
• Ensure that media engagement protects the reputation of the Foundation and reflects its institutional position accurately.

5. Event Communications and Public Engagement

• Lead communication planning for assigned conferences, workshops, webinars, launches, policy dialogues, press briefings, training sessions, and stakeholder meetings.
• Prepare communication checklists for each assigned event, including pre-event promotion, live coverage, media engagement, photography, video, speaker quotes, partner tagging, website updates, and post-event dissemination.
• Develop event announcements, registration messages, speaker cards, agenda highlights, reminder posts, email invitations, partner toolkits, and media advisories.
• Coordinate live event coverage, including social media updates, photography, quote capture, short video clips, press presence, and documentation of key moments.
• Prepare post-event outputs such as news articles, social media recaps, appreciation posts, photo albums, newsletter items, partner updates, and visibility reports.

6. Executive Communications Support

• Support the Director of Communications in preparing communication materials for the Foundation’s senior leadership.
• Draft or improve speeches, remarks, LinkedIn posts, public statements, quotes, talking points, interview notes, briefing memos, and event messages for senior leaders when assigned.
• Help summarize major speeches, conference participation, public appearances, and high-level engagements into clear public communication products.
• Maintain confidentiality and discretion when handling sensitive leadership communication, stakeholder correspondence, draft statements, or internal discussions.

7. Digital Platforms, Newsletter, and Website Content Support

• Support the planning and quality control of content for the Foundation’s website, newsletters, social media platforms, and other digital channels.
• Ensure that priority updates on events, publications, programs, leadership engagements, media mentions, and partnerships are reflected on the appropriate platforms.
• Review newsletter content for clarity, structure, tone, grammar, and relevance before it is submitted for final approval.
• Work with colleagues responsible for digital platforms to ensure that website content is accurate, current, well-structured, and easy to understand.
• Use platform analytics to identify what is working, what is not working, and what should be improved.
• Recommend practical improvements to the Foundation’s digital communication based on audience behavior, institutional priorities, and content performance.

8. Coordination, Systems, and Follow-up

• Maintain clear trackers for assigned communication tasks, campaign deliverables, media follow-up, partner visibility actions, content drafts, approvals, and reporting deadlines.
• Use agreed project management and collaboration tools, including Microsoft 365 tools and task-tracking systems used by the Foundation.
• Escalate delays, quality concerns, missing inputs, reputational risks, or approval bottlenecks to hierarchy in a timely manner.
• Contribute to a more organized communications function by maintaining templates, checklists, calendars, folders, trackers, and documentation practices.
• Promote respectful internal coordination and clear communication across teams.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, or a related field.
• A master’s degree in a relevant field is an advantage.
• At least five years of progressive experience in communications, public relations, media, development communications, policy communications, institutional communications, or a closely related field.
• Proven experience preparing communication plans, managing campaigns, editing content, coordinating media engagement, and supporting institutional visibility.
• Excellent writing, editing, and proofreading skills in English and French.
• Strong ability to translate technical, policy, research, or program content into clear public-facing communication.
• Experience working with nonprofits, think tanks, development organizations, media organizations, public policy institutions, or international partners is strongly preferred.
• Experience supporting events, including public forums, conferences, webinars, report launches, media briefings, or stakeholder meetings.
• Experience preparing reports, trackers, briefs, or documentation for institutional, donor, partner, or management use.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office 365 tools. Familiarity with WordPress, Mailchimp, Canva, basic analytics tools, and project management platforms is an advantage.

Required Skills and Competencies

• Excellent writing and editing ability in English and French.
• Strong judgment in tone, message, audience, timing, and reputational risk.
• Ability to manage several tasks at the same time without losing quality or deadlines.
• Strong follow-up culture and willingness to chase pending inputs professionally.
• Ability to work with senior leaders, program teams, researchers, media actors, partners, consultants, vendors, and administrative staff.
• Strong attention to detail in names, titles, dates, grammar, facts, formatting, logos, captions, links, etc.
• Ability to prepare clear plans, trackers, templates, reports, and briefs.
• Good understanding of media relations and public communication.
• Ability to work under pressure during events, urgent announcements, media requests, and institutional deadlines.
• Ability to identify problems early and propose practical solutions.
• Willingness to be hands-on. The role requires both planning and direct execution.

Professional Conduct and Work Expectations

• The Senior Communications Manager is expected to work with discipline, respect, initiative, and a strong sense of responsibility.
• The position requires punctuality, reliability, confidentiality, and careful handling of institutional information.
• The successful candidate must be comfortable working in a fast-paced environment where priorities may change, and deadlines may be tight.
• The candidate must be able to receive feedback, revise work quickly, and maintain a professional attitude during pressure periods.
• The candidate must protect the reputation, image, and values of the Foundation in all communication activities.

Application Requirements

• A cover letter explaining the candidate’s relevant experience and why they are suitable for the role.
• A curriculum vitae.
• Three or more writing samples. At least one sample should show the candidate’s ability to communicate institutional, policy, development, media, or public-facing content.
• At least two professional references.
• Any portfolio, media work, campaign sample, newsletter sample, press release, article, or communication plan that demonstrates relevant experience.

Application Process

All applications must be submitted through the Foundation online application portal. No application will be accepted by email. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Equal Opportunity Statement

The Denis and Lenora Foretia Foundation is committed to fair and merit-based recruitment. The Foundation encourages applications from qualified candidates who demonstrate the skills, experience, integrity, and professional discipline required for the role.