Education and Communications Consultant, Kigali, Rwanda

Education and Communications Consultant - Kenya

Department: Program

Location: Kigali, N/A

Contract start date: July 2026 Contract end date: February 2027 Estimated time commitment/LOE: Part-time/Contract Location: Virtual, preferably Kigali, Rwanda Language Requirement: Fluency in English; proficiency in French, Portuguese or another widely spoken African language is an asset

THE ROLE

We are seeking a motivated consultant with excellent interpersonal skills, strong project management experience, and proven communications and advocacy capabilities and networks across Africa's higher education and development landscape. The ideal candidate is a strategic thinker who thrives in an agile, fast-paced environment and brings core competencies in content development, media relations, event management, advocacy, and stakeholder engagement. They have a strong understanding of higher education, health workforce development and broader development issues, and are passionate about applying their skills to advance quality education and economic transformation across the continent.

SCOPE OF WORK

The consultant will deliver strategic advisory support to the GHS communications team in implementing its communications strategy for the client. Responsibilities fall across the following areas: Communications, Policy Advocacy and Stakeholder Engagement

• Identify and introduce key opinion leaders who can speak or write about the higher education sector transformation initiatives, including their successes and challenges.
• Recommend opportunities and networks for collaboration in sharing partner impact stories.
• Advise on regional policies and the ecosystem landscape that inform higher education policy discussions for advocacy.
• Support the drafting of policy briefs for identified priority countries.
• Review opinion pieces for factual accuracy.

Community and Partner Engagement

• Support stakeholder mapping across sectors, including government officials, academia, regional agencies, the private sector, and philanthropic and youth networks. These stakeholders may be engaged as spokespeople or as experts in shaping policy and public discourse.
• Recommend reputable media agencies, publications and networks.

Strategic Events Coordination

• Recommend relevant events that can showcase the client's partner work and provide executive leadership with speaking opportunities.

QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS

The ideal consultant will bring the following qualifications and skills:

• An advanced degree in education, public policy, communications, international development, public health or a related field
• At least 8 to 10 years of experience in strategic communications, policy advocacy or stakeholder engagement, ideally within the higher education or health workforce development sectors
• Deep knowledge of Africa's higher education landscape, health workforce development and the regional policy and ecosystem context shaping the continent's economic transformation
• An established network of key opinion leaders, government officials, academic institutions, regional agencies, private sector partners, philanthropic organizations and youth networks across the continent
• Demonstrated experience advising senior leadership and developing policy briefs, opinion pieces and other advocacy materials
• Strong understanding of the media landscape, with the ability to identify reputable publications, agencies and networks for sharing partner impact stories
• Experience identifying and coordinating high-profile events and securing speaking opportunities for executive leadership
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with sharp attention to detail and the ability to review content for factual accuracy
• Ability to work independently, manage competing priorities and deliver high-quality outputs within agreed timelines
• Fluency in English; proficiency in French, Portuguese or another widely spoken African language is an asset

ABOUT GLOBAL HEALTH STRATEGIES (GHS)

Global Health Strategies (GHS) is an international consulting firm that uses advocacy, communications and policy analysis to advance issues and power campaigns that improve health and well-being around the world. We work across some of the world's most dynamic regions to enable policy innovations, mobilize resources and build political will, engaging global and local audiences to drive change. At the heart of our work is the vision of a world where everyone, no matter where they live, has the chance to live a healthy life. We are helping to achieve this goal by working with clients to promote research and development for urgently needed medicines, advocate for services on behalf of at-risk populations and strengthen the most vulnerable health systems so that they can stand resilient in the face of modern threats.

We have offices in Dakar, Geneva, Jakarta, Johannesburg, London, Nairobi, New Delhi, New York and Rio de Janeiro, and we support work in diverse countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe. Our clients include philanthropy, industry, NGOs, government agencies, academic institutions and product development partnerships