UNDP Jobs - 4380- Communications Officer, People-centred Development

Communications Officer, People-centred Development Programme (NAT)

Location :

Jayapura, Papua, INDONESIA

Type of Contract :

Service Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

18-Apr-08 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

1 year

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

I. Background

UNDP Indonesia's mission is to be an agent for change in the human and social development of Indonesia. We aim to be a bridge between Indonesia and all donors, as well as a trusted partner to all development stakeholders. We work in four key areas of development: governance reforms, pro-poor policy reforms, conflict prevention and recovery, and environmental management, with the overarching aim of reducing poverty in Indonesia and supporting the Millennium Development Goals. In addition to these four areas, UNDP Indonesia is also committed to the fight against HIV/AIDS, the promotion of gender equality and the use of information and technology for development.

In Papua and West Papua Province, UNDP Indonesia supports the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals through the People-centred Development Programme (PcDP). This umbrella programme for UNDP initiatives in the Papua region focuses on poverty reduction through capacity development of local government and civil society actors. PcDP provides support to capacity development in the fields of policy formulation, basic services delivery, monitoring and evaluation, and donor coordination.

As a part of strategy to achieve this mission, PcDP conducts communications activities to foster awareness and understanding of UNDP’s role in the Papua region, and to mobilise support from a range of development stakeholders, including the national and local government, NGOs and civil society organisations, donors, and other development partners.

Duties and Responsibilities

II. Functions / Key Results Expected

Under the overall guidance of the Programme Coordinator for UNDP in Papua, and in close collaboration with the Communications Officer based at the UNDP country office, the Communications Officer will lead communications activities to support the achievement of UNDP mission in Papua and West Papua. Three key areas of responsibility for the Communications Officer are to:

Develop and implement marketing communications strategy for UNDP in Papua.
Support the country office in fund-raising and public relations of UNDP in Papua, and in communicating UNDP corporate and country-level values and messages to local staff and stakeholders.
Coach and provide advisory services to knowledge management officers and capacity development officers in developing and implementing communications strategies to support knowledge management and capacity development.

More specifically, the key functions of the Communications Officer are to:

1. Plan, monitor and evaluate PcDP communications strategy, focusing on achievement of the following results:

Updated communications needs assessments for PcDP.
Elaboration of PcDP communications strategy, plan, and monitoring and evaluation framework.
Incorporation of communications strategy into all aspects of PcDP activities.

2. Lead PcDP marketing communications to articulate UNDP’s role in supporting local actors in the Papua region to achieve the MDGs, i.e. through:

Media relations: Establish media database and good working relation with journalists from international, national and local media. Organize press conferences, prepare and issue press releases, speeches and talking points. Write articles and provide information for the media, or invite the media to cover PcDP-related activities. Buy media time/space as necessary.
Public relations: Develop and maintain close contact with government officials, other UN agencies, donors, civil society, universities and the private sector. Arrange roundtable discussions or networking events as necessary. Provide innovative and creative solutions to sensitive or corporately strategic public communications issues.
Publicity materials: Produce materials to raise the profile of PcDP, such as brochures, booklets, posters, short films, powerpoint presentations, etc. as appropriate. Plan and supervise dissemination.
Publications: Coordinate and manage PcDP publications (i.e. newsletters, policy papers and summaries, donor harmonization booklets, PcDP annual reports, local MDG Reports), including content management, norms for publishing, editing, design and printing. Liaise with printers and other vendors/suppliers to oversee production. Plan and supervise dissemination.
Events: Organize specific events to raise PcDP profile or take advantage of existing/planned events as specified in the PcDP workplan to ensure good public relations. Organize and implement joint UN information campaigns (i.e. UN Day, World AIDS Day).
Website: In coordination with the country office’s Communications Unit and IT Unit, develop and maintain the UNDP Papua web page within UNDP Indonesia web site. Ensure that up-to-date information is available and knowledge is easily accessed.

3. Support the country office’s communications, fund-raising, and public relations needs in relation to UNDP programmes in Papua, i.e. through:

Working with PcDP Knowledge Management Officers to a) identify and synthesize best practices and lessons learned directly linked to UNDP activities, and b) monitor programme-related news and developments to ensure availability of the most current and credible information.
Provide supporting materials to the country office for a) submission of programme initiatives for donor review, b) country-level publications, and c) public relations activities conducted at the national level.
Convey UNDP corporate and national-level messages to local staff and stakeholders as necessary

4. Support the communications aspects of PcDP knowledge management and capacity development, i.e. through:

Coaching and advice to PcDP knowledge management and capacity development officers in terms of packaging knowledge and choosing channels to reach appropriate target groups.

III. Impact of Results

The work of the Communications Officer will have an impact on effective communications of PcDP, resulting in political, practical, and financial support for UNDP activities in the Papua region.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of project;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability; and treats all people fairly without favouritism

Functional Competencies:

Communications Skills

Demonstrates excellent oral, written, and visual communications skills, live presentation skills, and management of forums.
Knowledge of working with the media, of the publication process, and of organizing public relations events.
Strong IT skills: ability to provide input to business processes re-engineering, implementation of new system, including new IT-based systems.

General Management and Leadership Skills

Demonstrates good people skills and team-working abilities, fosters conducive working environment; Leads teams effectively and shows conflict resolution skills. Approaches work with energy and positive attitude. Remains in control and good humoured even under pressure. Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.
Ability to perform a variety of standard tasks related to Results Management. Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback.

Knowledge Management and Learning Skills

Promotes knowledge management and a learning environment in the office;
Actively continues personal learning and development, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills;
Seeks, shares and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside of UNDP

Required Skills and Experience

Education / Experience:

Master degree in communications, public relations, journalism, international relations or other relevant discipline with a minimum of two-year practical and relevant professional experience; or Bachelor Degree in the same discipline with minimum of 7years of the same experience.
Experience in communications, media and public relations, campaign/advocacy, publications, or knowledge management.
Strong ICT skill and experience in using the computer, including office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc), graphic design and publication software, and web-based management systems.
Experience in the field of development, in working with the government, or in the Papua region, is an advantage.
Knowledge of UN and UNDP’s mandate. Previous work experience with the UN is an advantage

Language Requirements:

Fluent written and spoken Bahasa Indonesia and English, with ability to translate documents from one language to the other quickly.

"The United Nations is an equal opportunity employer and encourages qualified women to apply”