Facebook is hiring a Head of Public Policy for East Africa

February 15, 2018 Newsroom

Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. Through our family of apps and services, we’re building a different kind of company that connects billions of people around the world, gives them ways to share what matters most to them, and helps bring people closer together. Whether we’re creating new products or helping a small business expand its reach, people at Facebook are builders at heart. Our global teams are constantly iterating, solving problems, and working together to empower people around the world to build community and connect in meaningful ways. Together, we can help people build stronger communities — we’re just getting started.

We are looking for a public policy expert who can combine a passion for technology’s potential to create opportunity and to make Africa more open and connected, with deep knowledge of the political and regulatory dynamics across East Africa. The Public Policy Head, East Africa, will support the Public Policy Director, Africa, and will become part of a team that is dealing with some of the most interesting public policy challenges of our times including privacy, internet shutdowns, safety and security, freedom of expression, the impact of the Internet on economic growth, and new opportunities for democratic engagement.

Responsibilities

Monitor key countries across East Africa for policy issues at the intersection of technology, social media, emerging market entry/growth
Inform and support Facebook’s Internet.org and connectivity agenda and programs across East Africa
Work with Facebook’s Politics & Government team to promote the use of Facebook as a platform for citizen and voter engagement to policymakers, NGOs, and other political influencers
Work with Facebook’s Safety and Policy Programs teams and external policy and civil society partners to create and implement country and regional policy programs
Represent Facebook in meetings with politicians and policymakers
Build coalitions to help advance and support key policy issues
Communicate Facebook’s positions on key policy issues in public presentations to a wide range of audiences
Identify and advise Facebook on emerging public policy issues
Support the Africa Public Policy team on any other priority policy issues and programs

Minimum Qualifications

A degree or advanced degree in a related field
Significant demonstrated experience in legislation and/or government relations and advocacy
Keen understanding of political systems and relevant policy and civil society institutions across sub-Saharan Africa – with a particular focus East Africa
Significant experience living and working in at least one country in the East Africa region required, with a preference for Kenya
Excellent judgment, excellent communication, and persuasive skills, creativity, perspective, the ability to work with minimal supervision in a dynamic environment
Experience in policy engagement or development for a multi-national corporation (with a preference for mobile operator experience), civil society institution experience is a plus
Passion for connecting the unconnected, and extensive experience with relevant policy issues, including internet governance, data privacy, human rights/free expression, taxation, net neutrality, child online protection, etc
Superb written and oral communications skills
Fluency in both written and conversational English
Fluency in Swahili
Interest and ability to travel frequently (at least 50%) throughout East Africa
Fluency in technology and a passion for Facebook’s mission