Job Opportunity at Ubongo 2022 | Broadcast Manager

UBONGO is Africa’s leading producer of kids’ edutainment. As a non-profit social enterprise, we create fun, localised and multi-platform educational content that helps kids learn, and leverage their learning to change their lives. Ubongo reaches over 27 million families across Africa through accessible technologies like TV, radio and mobile phones. Ubongo jobs 

Our shows – Ubongo Kids and Akili and Me – currently airs on nationwide free-to-air TV or radio in 23 countries across Africa, in Swahili, English, French, Hausa, Yoruba, Luo, Kikuyu, Chichewa, Kinyarwanda and more.

We are currently adapting the shows to even more languages.. We are also creating a variety of digital products that enable kids to engage further with our stories.

Job Position: We are looking for a highly motivated, independent and organized BROADCAST MANAGER to join our Pan-African team of Ubongoers. You will be coordinating and expanding our TV and radio broadcast distribution as we strive to make our edutainment accessible to kids in ALL of Africa and beyond!

Our shows Akili and Me and Ubongo Kids are already among the most widely distributed and broadcast programs in Africa, but we’ve still got a long way to go to make sure that all kids in all countries can access our edutainment.

With the support of our country representatives, you’ll need to ensure we nurture existing relationships and coordinate content delivery and scheduling with our 60+ current broadcast partners. And you’ll need to do outreach and travel to find and onboard new broadcast partners across the continent.

As the face of Ubongo for our broadcast partners, you’ll also need to exude our values of Utu, Ujasiri, Upendo and Ubunifu, and be dedicated to “do it for the kids!” 

Ubongo jobs Expected Responsibilities and Activities:

Maintain the massive reach of Ubongo’s impactful edutainment by stewarding the relationships we have with our 60+ broadcast partners AND ensuring we have a great system in place to manage and track content delivery in multiple languages and formats.

1. Nurture relationships with our broadcast partners: communicating regularly and coordinating to ensure they get support as needed from Ubongo.
2. Collaborate with broadcast partners on content scheduling, monitoring and planning new season premieres and launches.
3. Coordinate across Ubongo’s teams to quality assure and organize completed content for delivery for each country, language and broadcaster.
4. Maintain and improve our content delivery systems in collaboration with our Digital Team and Country Representatives. Keep an organized tracker of content pending, delivered and broadcast.
5. Organize, update and renew broadcast agreements as needed.

Grow Ubongo’s reach and impact by building new broadcast partnerships, with a focus on free-to-air TV and radio in geographies that we don’t currently reach.

1. Take the lead on Ubongo’s “Key Result” of having nationwide TV and Radio broadcast in all countries in Africa, coordinating a cross-functional “squad” of Ubongoers from across teams to update the strategy for this and make it happen!
2. Reach out to TV and radio stations (both remote and in-person where necessary) to help them understand how Ubongo’s beloved edutainment could benefit their channels and audiences.
3. Streamline, innovate and maintain new ways for new partners to quickly and easily find, access and launch our content (such as our self-service broadcaster site launched during COVID)!
4. Negotiate terms and contracts with new partners. Help partners understand our various licenses (including Creative Commons and open source licensed content).
5. Represent Ubongo at content markets and events, and scan the landscape for different opportunities to engage with new broadcast partners.
6. Stay up-to-date on what’s happening in the broadcast space, and keep the Ubongo aware of trends and new opportunities!

Increase Ubongo’s impact and learning by collecting and organizing viewership, listenership and engagement data so we can understand what’s working, prioritize investment of resources, and make data-driven decisions to ensure we’re achieving outcomes for kids. 

1. Coordinate with research and media ratings partners to ensure we get timely and accurate data on viewership, listenership and engagement.Ubongo jobs 
2. Maintain and consistently update an organized database and dashboard of this information.
3. With the support of MEL Manager and other relevant team members, analyze data and compile reports for internal and external use.

Contribute to Ubongo’s long term sustainability through broadcast licensing, revenue sharing, and other revenue opportunities.

1. Nurture and renew Ubongo’s Pay-TV licensing partnerships, growing revenue as we expand our content library.
2. Find and onboard new licensing and revenue share partners, and explore other avenues of broadcast revenue generation.
3. Track and coordinate with our Finance Team to ensure timely invoicing and collections for licensing revenue and royalties.

“Go all in” as an Ubongoer, bringing your unique skills, passion and interests to our organization and collaborating across teams as we work together to co-create and deliver joyful learning to all kids in Africa! 

REQUIREMENTS:

TO BE A MATCH, YOU’LL NEED TO BE:

• Extremely organized and independent, able to maintain clear documentation, manage content and filing systems, organize data, and ensure that all of this is easily accessible for Ubongo’s team and partners.
• A collaborative leader. You will not be managing any direct reports, but will have to lead and coordinate across teams in a matrix environment to manage and grow broadcast.
• A strong communicator with excellent written and spoken English. Knowledge of French is a plus– desired but not required!
• A great relationship builder – passionate about working with people and keen to build relationships within Ubongo and with partners across the continent.
• A broadcast and digital all-rounder, conversant in files types, codecs and platforms; and quickly able to learn new ones.
• Flexible, adaptable and patient… able to collaborate and nurture relationships with everyone from upstart techies launching newfangled platforms to government TV broadcast. Ubongo jobs 
• Creative – able to think of new and exciting ways to broadcast content to millions more kids and caregivers.
• Eager to work in a team of talented people with different expertise, connected by a shared goal, to reach as many kids as possible with quality, entertaining and educational content!

CLICK HERE TO APPLY