Job Overview

RwandAir Limited, the national flag carrier of Rwanda, is hiring a Senior Manager, Communications. This is a high-level corporate leadership job in Rwanda for an experienced public relations and communications professional who can manage the airline's reputation on a national and international scale.

Reporting to the Head of Marketing and Brand, this role is based at Kigali International Airport. The Senior Manager owns everything RwandAir says about itself and where it shows up in person. This is not a standard PR role—it carries three critical responsibilities: managing the corporate narrative, directing the media and content strategy, and overseeing major events and exhibitions. Most importantly, it involves leading the communications response during a crisis when the Emergency Response Plan is activated.

If you are searching for the latest jobs in Rwanda and have a background in corporate communications, journalism, or public relations within a regulated sector, this is a career-defining opportunity. It is best suited for a seasoned communications leader who thrives under pressure and has proven experience managing live reputational events.

Why This Opportunity Matters

This is a rare chance to shape the voice of a national airline as it scales toward 4-Star status and regional hub leadership.

What makes this opportunity valuable:

• High-Impact Leadership: You will be the strategic advisor to the CEO and the Executive Committee (ExCo). You will write their speeches, prepare their briefing notes, and guide executive messaging.

• Prestige and National Importance: As the flag carrier, RwandAir represents the country. You will manage high-profile events, including inaugural flights and international trade shows (Routes, WTM, ITB), often attended by government officials and major shareholders.

• Crisis Management Authority: When an emergency occurs, this role reports directly to the CEO and the Accountable Manager. You will be the authoritative voice of the airline during its most critical moments.

• Transformation Journey: You will own the reputation strategy for major strategic shifts, including the airline's four-star journey, the transition to Bugesera, and joint venture plans.

• Career Growth: You will manage budgets, lead a high-performing team, and oversee external agencies. You will also be responsible for coaching Rwandan National talent, ensuring succession planning and leaving a lasting legacy.

Application Tips

To stand out for this senior corporate communications role, your application must demonstrate real-world crisis experience and strategic leadership, not just routine PR tasks.

• Highlight your crisis management experience: The job description explicitly requires demonstrable experience of a live reputational event or crisis in a role of responsibility. Do not just mention crisis communication theory in your CV; describe a specific incident you managed and how you protected the organization's reputation.

• Emphasize your leadership tenure: You must have at least 8 years of experience in corporate communications, PR, or journalism, with a minimum of 3 years leading a team. Highlight your experience managing budgets, agencies, and cross-functional teams.

• Showcase your event management scale: The role requires owning event or exhibition programmes at scale. If you have managed major international trade shows, roadshows, or large corporate hospitality events, make this clear.

• Tailor your cover letter: Address your application letter specifically to the Chief HR & Administration Officer. Explain how your background aligns with RwandAir's transformation goals.

• Demonstrate industry knowledge: Aviation, transport, FMCG, hospitality, or another safety-critical regulated sector is strongly preferred. If you come from one of these industries, highlight your understanding of the strict operational and regulatory environment.

• Submit in the correct format: The application must be submitted as a single PDF file via the official e-recruitment portal. Do not send multiple attachments or use other formats like Word.

• Prepare your notarized documents: Ensure your degree/diploma certificates are notarized, as this is a strict requirement.

Responsibilities

As the Senior Manager, Communications, your duties will cover strategic planning, public relations, events, and team leadership.

Strategic Communications and Reputation

• Own the RwandAir corporate narrative, the messaging house, and the reputation strategy for the joint venture, Bugesera transition, and four-star journey.

• Own the events and exhibitions strategy—determining which platforms RwandAir appears on and the commercial return on investment.

• Accountable for share of voice and earned media value in core markets.

• Collaborate with internal teams and external agencies to create high-impact campaigns that align with transformation objectives.

Media, Public Relations, and Crisis Management

• Act as a strategic advisor to senior leadership on corporate messaging and external communications.

• Own media and press relations. RwandAir speaks to the media through this unit only. You will manage proactive placements and reactive handling under pressure.

• Own issues management—spotting and handling reputational matters before they escalate into crises.

• Own the communications limb of the Emergency Response Plan. During an ERP activation, you report directly to the CEO and Accountable Manager.

• Own the approvals matrix and spokesperson accreditation. No RwandAir employee speaks to the media outside this matrix.

Content, Events, and Executive Communications

• Own executive communications: speeches, briefing notes, interview preparation, and platform appearances for the CEO and ExCo.

• Own PR agency management and content creation—overseeing editorial, photography, and video production.

• Deliver inaugural flights, trade shows, exhibitions, roadshows, corporate hospitality, and sponsorship activations.

• Ensure event supplier contracting, insurance, and duty-of-care obligations are met at RwandAir-hosted events.

• Own internal and employee communications, including transformation and change communication for a distributed, multilingual workforce.

Management and Leadership

• Establish departmental objectives and priorities aligned with business objectives.

• Lead and develop a high-performing Communications and Events team.

• Work cross-functionally with Commercial, Customer Experience, and Operations teams to ensure a seamless brand experience.

• Oversee budgeting, performance tracking, and ROI measurement for all communication initiatives.

• Train and coach Rwandan National developees for career progression and succession planning.

Requirements

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, or a related field.

• An equivalent of 8 years of job-related experience may be accepted in lieu of a degree.

• A Master's degree is a plus.

Experience

• Minimum 8 years in corporate communications, public relations, or journalism, of which at least 3 years must be leading a team.

• Demonstrable experience of a live reputational event or crisis, in a role of responsibility.

• Event or exhibition programme ownership at scale.

• Experience in aviation, transport, FMCG, hospitality, or another safety-critical regulated sector is strongly preferred.

• Proven ability to lead high-impact initiatives in an organization undergoing transformation and expansion.

Skills

• Crisis Communications: Trained and exercised in emergency response, not just theoretical.

• Media Relations: National and international level, including reactive handling under pressure.

• Corporate Writing: Speeches, statements, briefing notes, and board narratives.

• Event Management: From inaugural flights to international trade exhibitions.

• Judgment: Composure and judgement during a live occurrence—the single most important quality in this post.

• Political Sensitivity: Understanding the landscape of a state-owned flag carrier, and where communications ends and government relations begins.

• Knowledge: Familiarity with the aviation trade calendar (Routes, WTM, ITB) and what may never be said publicly about an incident or investigation.

How to Apply

Follow these steps carefully to submit your application:

1. Prepare your documents: You will need an application letter addressed to the Chief HR & Administration Officer, a recent Curriculum Vitae, copies of notarized degree/diploma certificates, relevant certificates, copies of academic papers, a photocopy of your Passport/National ID, and three referees.

2. Combine into a single PDF: All documents must be scanned and combined into one PDF file.

3. Go to the official portal

4. Submit before the deadline: Ensure your application is received no later than October 29th, 2026.