Amref Health Africa County Storytellers for Impact Storytelling: 2025 Call Closed

Amref Health Africa County Storytellers for Impact Storytelling: 2025 Call Closed

Historical reference: Amref Health Africa’s County Storytellers for Impact Storytelling call is closed. The official SmartRecruiters posting gave applicants until December 31, 2025 to apply. It described a one-year, assignment-based roster scheduled for January through December 2026. Amref’s live careers portal does not currently show this call or a successor intake, so this page should not be read as an open application opportunity.

The original posting remains useful because it explains the kind of county-level communications work Amref wanted and the evidence applicants were expected to provide. It is also a good record of the published terms: the organisation was building a pool of storytellers in Kenya, not advertising a salaried staff position with a fixed monthly package. The exact official posting is linked above for reference. If Amref opens another intake, applicants should check the organisation’s careers portal and the new notice for changed dates, deliverables, qualifications, or submission instructions.

Status at a glance

What the call was for

Amref wanted to recruit and onboard a pool of skilled storytellers who could document, package, and share impact stories from its work in Kenya. The stated focus included community voices, innovations, county-level interventions, frontline workers, and strategic results connected to Amref’s 2023–2030 Strategy.

This was practical field and communications work. The description asked storytellers to conduct interviews and collect programme impact stories in the counties where they lived. They were also expected to capture high-quality photographs and short videos, produce digital storytelling content for social media, document county events and programme achievements, and follow Amref’s consent, safeguarding, and storytelling guidelines.

The county emphasis matters. The call was not simply seeking a remote writer who could summarise reports from a central office. It was looking for people able to reach communities, speak with local participants, understand the setting in which a health intervention operates, and turn that material into accurate content. An applicant’s county of residence was therefore part of the application itself, not a minor administrative detail.

Deliverables named in the official posting

The posting listed several types of output. A selected storyteller could be asked to produce:

• Written human-interest stories of 600–1,000 words.
• High-quality photographs, submitted in both edited and raw form.
• Short videos lasting 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
• Social-media-ready scripts and quotes.
• Field notes, captions, and metadata.

Together, those requirements describe a multimedia assignment rather than a single article commission. A strong portfolio for similar work would show that the applicant can report, interview, photograph, record usable sound and video, and prepare files that another communications team can publish. It would also show care with names, locations, captions, consent records, and the context surrounding a person’s health or community experience.

The official description did not promise publication of every submission, a fixed number of assignments, or a guaranteed volume of paid work. It said that storytellers would be engaged on an assignment basis. That distinction is important: joining a pool would not have been the same as receiving a salaried appointment or a guaranteed contract.

Eligibility and useful experience

The call preferred a degree, or equivalent experience, in one of several related areas: Communication or Communication Studies; Journalism or Media Studies; Public Relations; Digital Media or Multimedia Production; Development Studies with strong writing skills; or Public Health or Community Health for applicants able to translate technical health content into stories.

It also asked for 2–3 years of relevant experience. The listed areas included storytelling, journalism, communications, digital content creation, community documentation, development communication, and research. This wording leaves room for applicants whose experience comes from community organisations, local media, programme research, or independent production, provided their portfolio demonstrates the required standard.

Two added advantages were named: experience documenting health programmes and photo or video editing skills. These were not presented as substitutes for the core experience requirement. They were signals about the work Amref expected to commission and about the kinds of evidence that could make an application more convincing.

Applicants preparing for a future call should make the relevant parts of their background easy to verify. A CV can identify counties covered, languages used, health or development subjects reported, and the formats delivered. A portfolio can pair each item with a short note explaining the applicant’s role: reporting, interviewing, photography, filming, editing, consent coordination, or publication preparation. That makes it easier to distinguish personal work from a large team project.

Application package for the closed round

The official call requested four items:

1. A cover letter indicating the applicant’s county of residence.
2. A portfolio of written work, including success stories, case studies, research papers, and photography. Videos were an added advantage.
3. A short CV of no more than three pages.
4. Contact details for two referees.

The instructions also said that only shortlisted candidates would be contacted. Because this round is closed, these materials cannot now be submitted through the old notice. They remain a useful checklist for anyone who wants to be ready if Amref publishes a comparable pool in the future, but a later call could change the requested formats or add a formal application form.

The portfolio categories in the notice are broader than a collection of polished promotional pieces. A success story should show reporting and a clear human point of view. A case study should explain what happened, who was involved, and what evidence supports the result. A research paper can demonstrate the ability to understand technical information. Photography and video can demonstrate visual judgement and the ability to work respectfully in real settings. Applicants should label their contribution to collaborative projects rather than imply sole authorship.

Compensation and working arrangement

No amount, rate, stipend, or salary was published in the official SmartRecruiters posting. The only clear statement about the arrangement was that engagement would be assignment-based. The page therefore cannot support a claim about expected earnings, benefits, travel reimbursement, or a minimum number of assignments.

The notice described the roster as lasting one year, from January through December 2026, with renewal based on performance. That term describes the planned period for the pool; it does not establish that every storyteller would receive assignments throughout the full period. Anyone considering a future opportunity with similar wording should confirm the fee, deliverables, travel costs, usage rights, payment schedule, and safeguarding requirements directly with Amref before accepting an assignment.

What the closed status means

The deadline in the front matter is the real deadline from the published round, not a placeholder. It is kept because this page is an archive entry for a specific call. The historicalReference = true flag identifies that status for the site and prevents the page from looking like an active listing with a missed application date.

There is no evidence in the official careers portal that this call remains open. The old official posting may still resolve as a web page, but a resolving URL does not reopen the application window. The current portal is the place to check for a new County Storytellers notice, a different communications roster, or another Amref role with similar field-storytelling responsibilities.

Readers should not send documents to unofficial contacts found in copied listings or social-media comments. The original notice said that Amref does not require applicants to pay money at any stage, has not retained an agent for recruitment, and uses @amref.org addresses for official email correspondence. Those warnings remain relevant when checking any future announcement that uses Amref’s name.

How to prepare if Amref announces another intake

Keep a compact portfolio ready in the formats commonly requested by the organisation’s call. Include several written stories with named sources and clear outcomes, a small set of edited photographs with captions, and short videos with understandable audio. Retain raw files and consent documentation where appropriate, since the closed call specifically requested edited and raw photographs and required adherence to Amref’s storytelling guidelines.

Make county knowledge visible. State where you live, the counties you can reach, languages you work in, and the kinds of communities or health subjects you have covered. Explain how you would protect a participant’s dignity and privacy, especially when documenting patients, children, survivors, or people discussing sensitive health experiences.

Finally, monitor the official Amref careers portal instead of relying on an old repost. The next notice could use a new SmartRecruiters address and could set a different deadline. Treat the archived requirements here as context for the closed round, not as a promise that a future application will use the same form or terms.

Frequently asked questions

Can I still apply through this page?
No. Applications for the archived round closed on December 31, 2025, and this page is not an application form.

Was the role salaried?
The official notice described assignment-based engagement and did not publish a salary, stipend, or fee.

What was the roster period?
The notice said the roster would run for one year, January–December 2026, with renewal based on performance.

Did applicants need to live in a particular county?
The call was for work in Kenya and required the cover letter to indicate county of residence. The official notice did not provide a complete county list in the text available here.

Has a new round been announced?
No successor County Storytellers call is currently displayed on Amref Health Africa’s official careers portal. Check that portal for any future announcement.

What should I do with the old application checklist?
Use it to prepare a portfolio and a concise CV, but verify every requirement against a future official notice before applying.

Official source

The facts on this page were checked against Amref Health Africa’s official SmartRecruiters posting and its live careers portal. The direct posting is retained in the front matter as the historical source. Amref’s careers portal is the place to look for a replacement call or other current vacancies.