UNDP Jobs - 62905- Consultant - Communication Officer

Consultant - Communication Officer

Location :

Beirut, LEBANON

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

22-Jan-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

Arabic English French

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

Lebanon is subjected to a range of natural hazards. Earthquake and an associated tsunami pose the risk of a single mega natural disaster. In addition numerous small-scale disasters including floods, forest fires, land-slides and drought occur frequently. The vulnerability of the Lebanese population to both large and small scale disaster threats is compounded by the meager presence of the government’s ministries in peripheral regions, un-planned urban expansion, lack of enforcement of building codes and regulations for land use, and a range of environmental factors such as rapid deforestation, poor sanitation, infiltration of sea water into ground aquifers and environmental pollution. The political instability in the region implies that Lebanon is also vulnerable to sudden influxes of mainly Internally Displaced People (IDPs) such as what happened during the 2006 June war, as well as the influx of refugees from neighboring countries. At present Lebanon is home to about 1.6 million Syrian refugees, many of whom are residing in areas prone to natural hazards. The coincidence of a natural hazard such as an earthquake with civil strife or another form of political conflict may have catastrophic consequences.

In May 2009, UNDP and the Lebanese Government represented by the Prime Minister signed a project document on “Strengthening Disaster Risk Management Capacities in Lebanon”. The project aimed to help the Lebanese Government develop its disaster management and corresponding risk reduction strategy.

In order to achieve its outcome “mainstreaming disaster preparedness and management in national development framework strategies in Lebanon”, the project needed to evolve through two main phases between 2009 and 2015 to provide a stable platform for future developments.

Phase III of the project which stretches between 2016 – 2018 builds on the accomplishments made and aims to further “help the Government of Lebanon in establishing effective national institutions; including disaster risk information and disaster risk management systems, to increase societal resilience against disasters, especially in refugee-hosting high risk within major municipalities, Union of municipalities, and CAZAs”.

The Outputs of Phase III are:

National governance for disaster risk reduction improved through establishment of institutional mechanisms, instruments and technical capacities;

Capability of stakeholders increased to undertake risk-sensitive development planning based upon advance risk information systems;

Resilience of Refugee-hosting, high-risk municipalities enhanced against risks of disasters and civic conflicts;

Support the development of national recovery strategy and national capacities to implement post-crisis recovery programmes.

In this context, the services of a Communication Officer are required for the implementation of Phase III.

Duties and Responsibilities

Disaster Risk Management Capacities in Lebanon Project Manager, the communication officer will perform the following tasks:

Prepare and oversee the implementation of the DRR communication strategy and workplan for Phase III;
Implement communication activities to promote and share project objectives and activities;
Produce communication materials including reports, newsletters, press releases, success stories and support project team in planning, advertising and carrying out project events;
Produce all training, workshops and conferences communication materials including talking points/speeches, press releases, press clippings and others;
Manage and update project communication tools : website, social media tools (Facebook page, twitter) and other;
Assist the project in managing the mobile application;
Develop and oversee the implementation for International Disaster Risk Reduction day;
Coordinate with UNDP Communication department and media, communication and advertising agencies to ensure proper implementation of the communication strategy and plan;
Maintain good contact with media institutions and organize appearances on radio and TV shows to highlight DRR and project activities;
Promote activities that raise awareness on DRR within public and private institutions;
Organize meetings with media institutions and prepare related materials for raising awareness on disaster risk reduction;
Support the project in the establishment of a database of experts and speakers on different types of disasters.

http://www.lb.undp.org/content/lebanon/en/home/operations/procurement/

Please make sure to submit all the requested documents/information; otherwise, your application will be considered incomplete.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Mainitains strong relations with key national and local institutions engaged in disaster management, using inter-personal skills to network effectively;
Proven management and financial skills;
Ability to work under pressure, meet deadlines and handle multiple tasks simultaneously;
Ability to produce accurate and well-documented reports conforming to the required standards;
Excellent writing and analytical skills;
Good command of office software and internet;
Good knowledge of administrative rules and regulations.

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
Fulfills all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Required Skills and Experience

Educatioin:

Bachelor or equivalent degree in communication, law, journalism, marketing or similar. Masters is a plus.

Experience:

A minimum of 2 years of relevant experience ni communication or public information;
Demonstrated experience in writing articles for professional publications.

Languages:

Proven inter-personal written and oral communication skills Arabic, French and English.

Kindly refer to the Individual Consultant Procurement Notice and all related Annexes by visiting the below link:

http://www.lb.undp.org/content/lebanon/en/home/operations/procurement/

Please make sure to submit all the requested documents/information; otherwise, your application will be considered incomplete.