Fire in South Africa
Fires are, and always have been, a part of the South African landscape. They occur as a natural phenomenon in grasslands, woodlands, fynbos, and sometimes in indigenous forests.
Two Fire Seasons
South Africa has two fire seasons according to rainfall patterns, the dry summer months in the Western Cape, and the dry winter months in the rest of the country.
Often wildland fires are started by lightning or, in mountainous regions, by falling rocks. Most, however, are started by accident by people being careless with open flames and indifferent to the consequences of their carelessness.
Fire-adapted ecosystem
About 70% of the ecosystems covering South Africa are fire-adapted. They need to burn in order to maintain their ecological integrity. But because of human activity there is a need to manage fire in a manner that is appropriate for the land-use and land-type, while maintaining natural processes and patterns as far as possible.
Fire as a management tool
A million years ago early humans began to utilise fire and for the last 100 000 years modern humans have used veldfires for hunting and for managing their environment. Today, fire is still employed in the management of veld and forest, to control grazing and habitats, and as a tool in the prevention of uncontrolled fires. However, small fires frequently escalate into disastrous, uncontrolled wildfires.
Fire and Alien Vegetation
An increase in invasive alien plants is a cause for concern as they increase fel loads. High fuel loads exacerbate the intensity and heat of fires, making more difficult to control and dangerous to suppress.
Fire and Climate Change
Climate change is expected to increase temperatures over parts of the interior of South Africa by as much as 3 to 5 C by the end of the century.
Longer dry spells may also occur more frequently during all seasons. Increasing temperatures and increased drought frequencies combine to exacerbate the incidence of fire risk.
Firefighters
Job Profile:
The role is responsible for creating, developing, refining and executing internal / external communications in line with the overall business strategy and ensures that the appropriate messages are developed via appropriate communications channels/platforms.
Reports to: Communication and Marketing Executive
Key Performance Areas:
- Corporate Communications
- Collaborate with key stakeholders in the planning, development and delivering corporate communication to achieve objectives in engaging with business units and employees.
- Develop, initiate and take ownership of the end-to-end delivery targeted, creative and engaging communications plans.
- Create Internal Communication platforms and initiatives.
- Conceptualises, copy-writes, proof-reads, edits and distributes content.
- Develop and update annual Organizational Calendar and align the Corporate Communications Annual plan of Operations accordingly. Provide support to stakeholder on developing and/or implementing internal campaigns or events.
- Be part of strategically driving the organisations values and culture.
- Measure effectiveness of communications and distribution of content and recommending improvements and initiatives to achieve the business’s desired objectives.
- Brand Management and Compliance
- Ensure brand compliance the Corporate Identity manual of funders.
- Identify and procurement of Corporate Communication merchandise.
- Design and edit corporate templates.
- Administration
- Report writing
Job Requirements:
- Diploma or Degree in Communications / Public Relations / Marketing
- 2 to 5 years proven experience in internal communications, public relations, marketing or similar
Required Skills:
- Proven excellent command of the English language (written and spoken)
- Ability to effectively communicate across multiple platforms
- Familiar with Google Workspace, HTML, Social Media, Instant Messaging Platforms, Microsoft Office Suite
Desired Skills:
- Internal Strategic Communications
- Project Management (added advantage)
- Adobe Premium – an advantage
- Willingness to travel
Submit CV together with a motivational letter to: talentad@wofire.co.za
Note: Please clearly indicate in the subject line for which position you are applying.
If you have not had a response from us within 30 days after the closing date, kindly accept that your application has been unsuccessful. In line with the EEA, preference will be given to those applicants whose appointment will address the demographic imbalances in our work force profile.
Covid-19 Vaccine Intent:
WOF has a mandatory Covid-19 vaccination plan in place and as such all applicants will be required to submit a vaccination certificate to be considered in the selection process.