UN WOMEN Jobs - 58032- Communications Officer

Communications Officer

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Nairobi with Frequent Travel to Somalia, KENYA

Type of Contract :

Service Contract

Starting Date :

01-Sep-2015

Application Deadline :

24-Jul-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

SB-5

Duration of Initial Contract :

One Year

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

UN Women is currently implementing a 3-year programme in Somalia (2014-2016) focusing on the following priorities: (i) women lead and participate in decision making at all levels; (ii) women, especially the poorest and most excluded, are economically empowered and benefit from development; (iii) women and girls live a life free from violence; (iv) peace and security and humanitarian action are shaped by women’s leadership and participation; (v) and governance and national planning fully reflect accountability for gender equality commitments and priorities. To this end, UN Women has elaborated four priorities for promoting operational effectiveness and efficiency: to drive more effective and efficient UN system coordination and strategic partnerships; to institutionalize a strong culture of results-based management, reporting, knowledge management and evaluation; to enhance organizational effectiveness featuring robust capacity and efficiency at country and regional levels; and to mobilize and leverage adequate resources. UN Women chairs the Gender Theme Group (GTG), which is mandated to provide the UN Somalia (UN Country Team and UN Mission in Somalia) with technical leadership and guidance in order to ensure that gender mainstreaming is an integral part of the UN’s operation in Somalia.

Under the supervision of the Country Programme Manager, in close collaboration with UN Women Regional Office and relevant HQ units, the Communications Officer is responsible for developing strategic communications and media initiatives; managing media/press coverage; overseeing the production of a range of communications materials for UN Women and the UN Gender Theme Group, and for online and offline audiences. S/he is responsible for timely, accurate and high-quality informational materials, such as press releases & media advisories, news briefs, fact sheets, stories from the field etc. for media outreach, the UN Women website, and inclusion in informational kits for further public outreach.

The Communications Officer will collaborate closely with Regional and Field Offices colleagues to ensure communications strategies, media relations and organizational outreach efforts are aligned with corporate communications policies and initiatives. S/he also collaborates with RO and FO colleagues to support outreach campaigns, resource mobilization and donor relations initiatives; s/he mobilizes support in conjunction with intergovernmental processes, and support the activities and special events organized for UN Women.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:

Manage the country programme and media/press relations;
Oversee and maintain country-level online outreach and produce information materials for public outreach;
Provide advice and support to UN Women Somalia’s special events and campaigns;
Liaise closely with UN Women Communications Team at national and regional levels to feed regional/national initiatives into corporate communications initiatives and vice versa. Coordinate communication activities with UN communication colleagues at regional / national level;
Build communications partnerships and media alliances.

Manage the country programme media/press relations:

Media strategies conceived, planned and implemented in line with corporate guidelines to enhance the positioning of UN Women with the media, with a special focus on regional priority areas of concern;
Opportunities for press conferences identified and press conferences organized; interviews with senior managers facilitated;
Press releases and media kits drafted;
Clear, consistent and timely responses to media inquiries; issuance of statement and corporate positions to media and other external audiences;
Maintained and expanded contacts with regional media; topics, background information, news-related developments and coverage of interest to each identified.

Oversee and maintain country-level online outreach and produces information materials for public outreach:

Contribute content (technical and editorial) to the regional web site and coordinates web presence of and the country programme in the region and in line with the corporate web policy;
Oversees and manages country programme social media accounts in line with corporate social media policy or provides inputs to corporate social media accounts;
Drafts brochures, fact sheets, stories from the field to inform media and general public; Support implementing partners (government institutions) in development of their communications strategies;
Oversee hiring and supervision of video producers to produce relevant video material on UN Women Somalia’s work;
Effective channels for dissemination of all information products to relevant target audiences identified and distribution supervised.

Provide advice and support to UN Women Somalia’s special events and campaigns:

Communications components of UN Women and/or UN campaigns, implemented, e.g. Say NO to Violence against Women campaign; UNite campaign; HeforShe campaign;
Special events or UN Women inputs to special events conceptualized and organized with a view to reaching wider audiences; to that end, concepts conceived and relevant materials developed and compiled.

Liaise closely with UN Women Communications Team at the national and regional levels to feed regional/national initiatives into corporate communications initiatives and vice versa. Coordinate communication activities with UN communication colleagues at regional /national level:

Regular consultation with UN Somalia Communications Section and UN Women Regional Communications team to ensure consistency with corporate policies, messaging and initiatives;
Feedback to RO communications team provided with a view to coordinate communications initiatives: informs about regional /national activities, provides comments on and inputs for corporate initiatives, seeks advice and support;
Regular contributions to and advice provided on UN Women corporate materials, e.g. corporate web site, illustrated Annual Report, video productions etc. to highlight regional / national initiatives and ensure visibility at the corporate / international level;
Regular liaison with Communications Officers from other UN entities at the country level to provide UN Women inputs to joint UN initiatives; to that end, represented UN Women on the UN Communications Group;
Support communications initiative for the gender theme group by developing a communications strategy for the working group and managing the GTG’s communications portfolio.

Build communications partnerships and media alliances:

Identifies and develops new communications partnerships and media alliances to enhance the visibility and cement UN Women as a thought-leader; manages and nurtures existing partnerships;
Identifies innovative opportunities and new communications tools and platforms which can serve to highlight the work of UN Women;
Guides and collaborates closely with regional and national communications officers to advance regional and national communications partnerships

Competencies

Core Values/Guiding Principles:

Integrity:

Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Professionalism:

Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.

Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity:

Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff;
Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies

Ethics and Values:

Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.

Organizational Awareness:

Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Development and Innovation:

Take charge of self-development and take initiative.

Work in teams:

Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Communicating and Information Sharing:

Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.

Self-management and Emotional Intelligence:

Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others.

Conflict Management:

Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.

Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing:

Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.

Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making:

Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making.

Functional Competencies:

Excellent communication skills. Communicates sensitively, effectively and creatively across different constituencies;
Demonstrates very good understanding of and experience in communications and outreach;
Proven networking skills, and ability to generate interest in UN Women’s mandate;
Strong initiative-taker;
Very effective at multi-tasking;
Focuses on impact and results for the client;
Interacts effectively with all levels of the organization, including senior management;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Identifies opportunities and builds strong relationships with clients and partners;
Demonstrates exceptional ability to remain calm, in control and good humored even under pressure and tight deadlines.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree (or equivalent) in communications, journalism, public relations, social sciences, international relations, or a related field.

Experience:

5 years of experience in communications at the national or international level, including experience in media relations. Experience in on-line outreach and multimedia an asset;
Experience working in large development agency important;
Good IT skills, including databases and office software packages;
Familiarity with gender issues. Familiarity with UN Women and UN system is an asset;
Outstanding oral and written communications and editing skills, with proven ability to meet tight deadlines.

Language:

Fluency in English is required;
Working knowledge of another UN official language is an asset.