Organization: Semilla Nueva
Country: Guatemala
Closing date: 12 Jan 2017
Overview of the Organization
Malnutrition affects over a billion people worldwide, and Guatemala has the third highest rate in the world with nearly half of children suffering stunted growth. Semilla Nueva works with scientists, farmers, and the Guatemalan government to promote biofortified crops. Biofortified corn, beans and others have been bred to have higher yields, better taste, and far more nutrients. These new crops allow farmers and families to continue growing and eating what they traditionally have, while dramatically improving the nutrition of their children, and the entire food system. Semilla Nueva’s goal is to reach more than a million people with these new crops in the next five years.
Semilla Nueva works directly with farmers to test and improve these new seeds. We achieve scaling through collaborations with farmer groups, NGOs, the government and through direct sales of commercial seeds based on innovative social marketing campaigns. We have also constructed a national collaboration to promote biofortified seeds, which has helped nearly 20 organizations in the majority of the country reach 5,000 families in its first year. Our newest seed, launched in 2016, has already changed the daily diets of 27,000 people, and we hope to reach 60,000 by 2017. Further, this year marked our first year of commercial seed sales, which we hope to provide over half of our revenue in the next five years, allowing Semilla Nueva to become more and more financially sustainable.
We are hiring a Communications Coordinator to be dedicated to honing SN’s message and sharing that story to help strengthen our relationships with both national and international institutions. Our goal isn't just to get publicity and money, but to build connections and awareness about small farmers, the issues that impact their lives, and effective development models. We’re dedicated to being leaders in agricultural development, and communicating our successes, failures, and lessons learned is essential to the long-term achievement of that goal.In the last years we have grown tremendously as an organization and our programs are generating interest among larger organizations andacross a wider audience. We need a highly skilled communicator who can create a cohesive, focused and powerful message about Semilla Nueva’s work. This job is an opportunity for someone who is passionate about finding creative ways to use stories, photos, social media, etc. to help connect various audiences with those a world away.
The position will be based in the SN office in Guatemala City, Guatemala. While 75% of the position is office- oriented, we require that all staff get field time with farmers, thus the position will include time in our partner communities. We are proud to have maintained a passionate and committed team with great relationships with our partner farmers. We are looking for a new team member who wants to share their skills and experience to help our organization grow, but equally looking for a team member who shares our values and passions.
Qualifications
Required:
Excellent writing/communications skills
Experience with graphic design (Adobe Illustrator, Indesign, PhotoShop, etc.)
Experience leading social media and online awareness-building campaigns
Experience with fundraising and/or relationship management
Ability to engage donors, etc. in person, digitally and/or over the phone
Ability to self-learn new skills
Advanced Spanish, fluent English
Ability to drive a manual transmission vehicle
Desired:
Website design experience
Photography experience
Videography and editing experience
Expectations
Full-time position based in Guatemala City
Minimum commitment one year, preferably two
Ability to work independently, proactively, and prioritize/coordinate a variety of activities
Must be comfortable driving in Guatemala and have a valid Driver’s License
Specific Tasks
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Developing Communications Strategy – This position will work jointly with the Director of Development to hone the message of Semilla Nueva and delive rit through a number of avenues such as Facebook, Twitter, videos, reports, and more. This will require significant expertise in gathering “voices” from several different facets of the organization (farmers, field staff, donors, partnering institutions), funneling those voices through the SN message, and delivering them in impactful ways that engage the interest of existing and new supporters in our network.
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Build a database of materials from the field: This position will require constant contact between the field and the office to ensure that we have the appropriate materials for telling the Semilla Nueva story. This may involve directly visiting our field programs to capture photos and video, but also involves coordinating with the field team to ensure that we are receiving these materials when we can’t physically collect them ourselves.
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Graphic Design – This position will be the go-to person for development of all graphic design material. This may include annual/quarterly reports, board reports, logo and letterhead design, field materials, invitations, etc. This will require skills and a passion for designing captivating material with our brand.
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Donor Relations –This position will work in various activities to maintain existing donors and engage new supporters. This may include thank you letters tailored to specific donors, assisting in calling/mailing campaigns when necessary, etc. This will also include leading donor trips in Guatemala, serving as a guide to visitors, answering questions about our programs, translating, etc. This will require significant interpersonal and relational skills.
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Relationship Building –This will be a key part of the position. Much of our work at SN depends on building relationships at multiple levels and over the past few years we’ve concretized partnerships with branches of the Guatemalan government and a range of international research institutions. The Outreach Coordinator will play an important role in cultivating and expanding these relationships, which may include in-country activities with partnering organizations or potential funding institutions, calling/sending updates to donors on a monthly basis, posting program updates on partnering Rotary institutions’ FB wall, and much more. This will require very good public relations and communications skills.
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Board of Directors Development: This position works closely with the board of directors (and potential board members), linking them with Guatemala through regular updates and provision of promotional materials, as well as occasional on-the-ground work in Idaho where necessary to run fundraising events or leading in-country visits to our field programs. Building these relationships is a cornerstone to building our donor base as well.
How to apply:
Before applying, please review our website: www.semillanueva.org, including blogs and annual reports.
To apply please send your cover letter and CV to trabajo@semillanueva.org. Please note “Communications Coordinator” in the subject line of your email.
