Community Manager Internship – Hargeisa, Somaliland

Internship Opportunity:

Community manager

Who We Are

Barkulan Coworking Space is Somaliland’s premier coworking space for youth and professionals. Our mission is to provide an workspace environment that inspires start-ups, independent professionals, non-profits and artists to get more done. We are proud of our local community’s reception of innovative businesses and so we provide a place for organizers to accomplish great things. We achieve all of this with a hospitality, innovation and growth mindset.

The coworking industry is growing globally at an accelerating rate. There are many factors driving the growth of serviced offices. Some are financial, like lease flexibility and taking your rent liability off of the balance sheet. Softer benefits, including allowing your team to co-mingle and get ideas and mentorship from people outside of your organization. Any shared workspace can provide the basics – a clean desk, a Wifi and ample tea/caffeine  At Barkulan we are creating the first special coworking space  in Hargeisa with all you need for a functioning for office. We also want to take the lead in responding the challenges facing the youth and the workforce, the economic impact of COVID19 facing Somaliland and the greater horn of Africa.

Join Us!

We are actively seeking a friendly, analytical and detail-oriented person to be the face of Barkulan  in the role of Community Manager. You will help us grow the community by creating a great member experience while executing sales and operational tasks with excellence. This is your opportunity to take ownership and responsibility of a mission-driven business with the complete support and experience of the founder. There is lots of growth opportunity in this position.

Your contribution

We believe you as the community manager is the most important person for our shared office. We expect that you would be able to accomplish the following:

• Foster “spontaneous” interactions that help individual members and  companies grow
• Sell new memberships and plan events
• Maintain cleanliness and ensure everything is in find working order
• Conduct community outreach
• Provide a smile and energy to members and visitors alike

Your main tasks include:

• Community management

• • Increasing membership of the community and convert newcomers into regulars
  • Create, edit, facilitate and solicit content for the community
  • Remove obstacles to participation and encourage members to make contributions
  • Create and facilitate events to keep members engaged
  • Build relationships with members and gain influence within the community
  • Solve member-related issues to ensure a cohesive community and manage member expectations
  • Manage resource sharing and knowledge dissemination. Ensure materials and online resources are accessible through an information sharing space;
  • Develop community initiatives designed to create connections between members, ecosystem (i.e., member introductions and networking events)
  • Design and implement rules, guidelines and best practices for the community to optimize member experience
  • Support recruitment co-working space members and new staff.
  • Plan and execute events that help our members interact with the hub community as well as foster professional and personal development
  • Resolve member complaints in a timely manner and settle disputes, grievances and conflicts that may arise within the community
  • Conducts membership orientations, prepare documents, keys and access id’s
  • Interact with members daily to help develop relationships, foster community connections, and obtain feedback on quality of services, supports they need, event requests, service levels and overall satisfaction
  • Maintain and develop Barkulan promotional materials and provide engaging text, image & video content for social media accounts and monitor and report on feedback and online reviews.
  • Maintain the content calendar and ensure it is regular, relevant and up to date.
  • Liaise with management to relay customer feedback insights gained from online conversations within the community.

• Events planning and execution
  • Build a quarterly calendar of coworking events that engages all stakeholders:
  • Manage to the allotted budget and also present our community professionally
  • Oversee events from catering to a smooth event check-in process to clean-up
• Business development
  • With the help of founder, be responsible for setting and achieving sales objectives, occupancy rates and pricing and also conduct tours for prospective members
  • Contact the local press and community leaders to generate interest in Barkulan Space
  • Engage with the local community by attending relevant events they are hosting
  • Ensure that new members will fit with Barkulan’s culture dynamics and mission
  • Maintain a positive relationship with key vendors and our landlord
• Facilities and space management
  • Manage all building operations to the satisfaction of members
  • Maximize up-time and availability of key facilities assets like the Wifi network, kitchen, printers/copiers. Also Keep members aware of facilities issues that may impact them
  • Utilize a variety of coworking software applications manage the space and membership.
  • Make recommendations to the founder about new features or perks that will entice members
  • Submit maintenance tickets/notices for repairs to the facility and key equipment and also ensure cleaning is conducted to specs.
  • Be aware of local laws and regulations as they pertain to member safety (particularly regarding the COVID19 and other emergency preparedness measures)

What are we looking for?(Requirements)

• University level graduate, preferably business or social science degree.
• No specific experience requited, but essential is the sales and customer service skills.
• Demonstrated project management skills
• Highly technically capable. Able to understand and work with the variety of hardware and software applications that our space needs.
• Skills and experience managing corporate social media campaigns
• Skills or experience with written content generation in a business environment and basic graphic design skills are a plus
• Passion for improvement and our entrepreneurial community
• Interest in working independently with only occasional interactions with the founder.
• Fluent in English. Ability to speak additional language is a plus.
• A high level ethics, empathy and dependability
• Legally authorized to work in Somaliland.

How can you apply

To apply, please submit your CV, cover letter to barkulaninnovation@gmail.com before the closing date, 26th Oct 2020. Also please ensure to submit a filled application form using this link ().