Background

The Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the Philippines (RCO), in collaboration with the UN Country Communications Group (UNCCG), endeavors to strategically communicate the collective UN story in support of the concept of “One UN.”

The UNCCG, through inter-agency collaboration and coordination, aims to promote the impact of UN programs in the areas of development, peace-building, and humanitarian assistance in the Philippines, in response to national needs and priorities, and in support of the implementation of activities guided by the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), the Post-2015 development agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The responsibilities of the UNCCG include the following:

• Implement a joint communications and advocacy strategy to raise the public profile of the UN in the Philippines and provide strategic communications and advocacy support to the UNDAF, the Post-2015 development agenda and the SDGs, focusing on critical cross-cutting issues;
• Provide leadership in advocacy and communications for the Philippines UN Country Team;
• Identify new and creative ways to show how UN programs are delivering results and promoting a coherent image of the UN in the Philippines;
• Identify joint advocacy opportunities and provide communications support to initiatives that strengthen inter-agency cooperation; and
• Support the work of the Humanitarian Communications Group (HCG) in communicating the work of the UN in emergencies.

 In order to effectively communicate the ‘One UN’ story, the UN Country Team (UNCT) approved the hiring of an Associate to support the UNCCG in carrying out its objectives, responsibilities and work plan, to manage the online platforms (website and social networks), and provide support to the UN RCO in its communications and advocacy needs.   

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and the supervision of the UN Coordination Analyst, and working in close coordination with the UN Country Communications Group (UNCCG), the Advocacy and Communications Associate will carry out the following tasks:

Strategic Communications:

• Support the development and implementation of the UNCCG Joint Communications Strategy and Annual Work Plan (AWP), as approved by the UNCT, focusing on identifying strategic areas for coordination and innovation, addressing bottlenecks, and collaborating with relevant UNCCG members to deliver the ‘One UN’ story, in line with the ‘Communicating as One’ Standard Operating Procedure (SOP);
• Manage the quarterly UNCCG newsletter and other joint communications products by coordinating with relevant UNCCG members for original submissions or shareable content, designing/curating the newsletter, and ensuring timely release and dissemination;
• Ensure proper documentation of joint events and public/media activities of the UNCT and UNCCG, and prepare case studies and ‘best practices’ to be highlighted in the RC Annual Reports and UN Country Results Reports;
• Coordinate with appropriate institutions and agencies to identify relevant trainings, seminars and other learning opportunities for the UNCCG, and facilitate the participation of members;
• Disseminate and promote guidelines and documents from the UN Development Group (UNDG), as needed.

External Relations:

• In coordination and cooperation with the UN Information Centre (UNIC) Manila, arrange appropriate media and public engagements for the Resident Coordinator or his/her representative on UN-wide issues;
• In consultation with the RCO Coordination Analyst and relevant Programme Staff, draft speeches, briefers, and presentations for the Resident Coordinator or his/her representative on UN-wide issues;
• Competently represent the RCO in the Humanitarian Communications Group (HCG) and other relevant advocacy and communications network meetings.

Social Media Management:

• Manage the One UN website by coordinating with the UNCT, relevant inter-agency groups and RCO staff on external communications requirements, ensuring that content is updated, engaging and respectful of relevant guidelines;
• Support the development, supervise the design and maintenance of the website based on corporate requirements in cooperation with the inter-agency ICT Task Team and UNCCG;
• Manage ‘UN Philippines’ social media presence by developing and implementing, in close coordination with the UNCCG and RCO staff,  a Social Media Strategy to effectively promote public engagement and increase traffic to the One UN website, as demonstrated by monthly analytics reports;
• Manage the ‘UN Philippines’ online community, providing timely and relevant responses to requests and queries;
• Monitor and update the Philippines’ Country Profile page on the UNDG website.

Operations-related Support to the RCO:

• Work closely with the RCO Coordination Assistant in preparing requisitions and procurement; requests needed to implement the UNCCG AWP;
• Assist in the preparation of the Resident Coordinator’s Annual Report (RCAR);
• Provide all other advocacy and communications-related support to the RCO, as needed .

Competencies

Core Competencies:

• Innovation: Ability to make new and useful ideas work;
• Communication: Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform;
• Leadership: Ability to persuade others to follow;
• People Management: Ability to improve performance and satisfaction;
• Delivery: Ability to deliver quality results against tight deadlines.

Technical/Functional

Primary:

Strategic Planning:

• Ability to make decisions that align with strategy, vision, and mission.

Knowledge Management:

• Ability to efficiently handle and share information and knowledge.

Social Media:

• Ability to represent and promote the UN brand in virtual communities and networks.

Public Relations:

• Ability to manage the spread of information between the UN and the public.

Secondary:

Quality Assurance:

• Ability to perform administrative and procedural activities to ensure that quality requirements and goals are fulfilled.

Marketing:

• Ability to communicate the value of a product or service.

Partnerships:

• Ability to engage with other agencies and forge productive working relationships.

UN System:

• Knowledge of the UN System and ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations.
• Familiarity with the Philippines media environment; and
• Excellent research and writing skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• An advanced university degree (Master’s degree of equivalent) in Communications or a related field (e.g., Journalism, Development Communication);
• A first level university degree (Bachelor’s degree or equivalent) combined with qualifying relevant professional experience (at least seven years) may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience

• At least five years of relevant work experience in the Philippines with particular focus on strategic communications, advocacy and campaign management, preferably in a development context;
• Experience using web-based platforms, social media content managers, graphic design tools (e.g., Adobe Photoshop, InDesign) and video editing software;
• Previous working experience with a UN agency and knowledge of UN reform/Delivering as One an asset.

Language:

• Fluency in the English and Filipino.

The selected candidate will receive a salary that is commensurate with his/her background and work experience.  Interested applicants are encouraged to apply online and attach the UN Personal History Form (P.11), available in our website http://www.ph.undp.org/content/philippines/en/home/operations/jobs/  on or before 2nd August 2015.  Kindly note that only completed P.11 forms will be reviewed.

UNDP is an equal opportunity employer.  Please note that we will contact only the short-listed candidates.