Vacancy – Social Media Specialist

About the Association of African Universities (AAU)

The AAU is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization created by African Universities to promote cooperation among them on the one hand, and between them and the international academic community on the other. Created in 1967, the AAU is the voice of higher education in Africa and aims to improve the quality of African higher education, and to strengthen its contribution to Africa’s development by supporting the core functions of higher education institutions and facilitating critical reflection and consensus building on issues affecting higher education. The AAU is headquartered in Accra, Ghana, has a membership of more than 400 Higher Education Institutions and is the technical implementing arm of the African Union Commission (AUC) in higher education. The Association is also the coordinating agency of the Higher Education Cluster of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 16-25). Through our guidance, our member universities are also responsible for implementing the Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA 2024) of the AUC.

Organisational Unit:  Directorate of ICT, Communications and Knowledge Management

Job Title: Social Media Specialist

Duty Station: AAU Secretariat, Accra- Ghana

Job Duties and Responsibilities

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a self driven, creative, and resourceful individual to join the Association of African Universities as its Social Media Specialist. The Social Media Specialist will be responsible for:

• Supporting the development and implementation of the Association’s Social Media Strategy to increase our online presence, and scale our reach through organic brand awareness
• Posting engaging content (in both English & French) across the various institutional platforms, ensuring consistency and conformance to the AAU’s vision
• Engaging our audience to build brand awareness and maintain brand reputation
• Collaborating with the Communications Team to design unique content/graphics, edit images, and ensuring that visuals (including videos) posted on the AAU’s social media platforms are of high quality
• Initiating and implementing successful social media campaigns on agreed thematic subjects/topics
• Collaborating with various teams – including the communications and project teams to profile key events and initiatives being implemented by the AAU
• Monitoring SEO and user engagement and making suggestions for content optimization
• Managing and growing the existing AAU Social Media Reporters groups
• Undertaking Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) related tasks, and generating reports on the general performance of the AAU’s Social Media Platforms
• Keeping abreast of the latest social media best practices and technologies and making recommendations to the Association to foster the success of its platforms

Who You Are

• You have a deep passion and an understanding of Africa’s higher education sector
• You are familiar with the AAU’s vision, brand, and core values
• You have 2-3 years of experience (either personally or professionally) in brand management, social media, or online community management
• You have a Higher National Diploma (HND) or a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Marketing, PR/Communications, Social Science/Humanities field, or any relevant field
• You have attended a professional course or training in social media coordination
• An individual with excellent verbal and written communication skills, with ability to edit content for spelling and grammar
• A teachable individual who is eager to learn and open to constructive feedback
• A creative thinker who is familiar with designing softwares such as Photoshop or Canva and can generate quality materials for social channels
• Someone with an excellent knowledge of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and other social media best practices
• Knowledge of platforms such as Hootsuite, Buffer, Zoho Social or equivalent would be an added advantage
• Track record as a team player with intellectual curiosity and collaborative energy
• Have strong multitasking skills and ability to work under pressure
• Self-motivated, adaptable, and able to work independently and as part of a team.
• Able to train others, make presentations to various teams and manage relationships
• An individual with good understanding of social media KPIs
• In addition to speaking and writing in English, a good knowledge of any of the AAU’s other official languages – French, Portuguese, or Arabic, is an added advantage.

Read more about this role and apply here