Background

Under the overall guidance of the UN Resident Coordinator, and direct guidance of the UN Coordination Officer, and working closely with the UNDP Communication Officer,   the UN Communications Officer provides communication support to the work of the UN Resident Coordinator and the United Nations Country Team.  
 
The Communications Officer ensures that the UN communicates and reports on its strategic focus and activities in the country clearly, coherently and consistently, to stakeholders and the wider public, so as to promote   transparency, accountability and understanding of the UN’s work.  The Communications Officer also plays an important role in advocating key UN messages to a broad range of external stakeholders. The UN Communications Officer provides hands on support to the communications needs of UN joint programmes, projects and activities. 
 
The Communications Officer works in close collaboration with the communications staff and focal points of the various UN agencies (leading the UN Communications Group),   national Government officials, the donor community ,, civil society, media,  and the donor community.

UN in the Country:
The UN’s programmatic focus areas as set out in the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2010 – 2015 – are: i) social inclusion and poverty; ii) local governance, and;  iii) environment, climate change and disaster risk reduction.  The UN Agencies also work on the cross-cutting issues of human rights, gender and inter-ethnic cohesion.
 
There are eight Resident UN Agencies in the country, namely: UNDP, UNICEF, UN Women, UNFPA, UNHCR, ILO and WHO as well as a number of UN non-resident agencies with activities in the country: UNESCO, UNEP, UNIDO, UNCTAD, FAO, and UNODC.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:

• Ensures clear, coherent and consistent communication about the strategic focus and activities of the UN in the country.
• Manages media relations on behalf of the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator —prepares press releases,  responding to enquiries, developing and managing media outreach plans as required, and ensuring that material for the media can be readily used by the media and understood by the public.
• Supports  internal  UN communication among agencies,  by preparing regular updates on events and activities. 
• Supports advocacy campaigns for the UN Country Team as a whole as well as for the Resident Coordinator’s Office.   

Specific tasks and responsibilities:

• Ensures clear, coherent and consistent communication about the role, strategic focus and activities of the UN in the country.
• Manages and elaborates content on the UN website, one of the principle mediums of communications of the organisation, ensuring information is clearly presented, relevant and continuously updated.
• Prepares communications materials for print/electronic/voice/visual media and supports the production of UN/Joint Programme results reporting.
• Supports the UN RC Office to draft and disseminate key reports, such as the annual Results Report, to internal and external audiences.
• Keeps abreast of the activities of all the UN Agencies and Programmes operational in the country, and regularly updates the UN Country Team on these (e.g. UN in the News, Upcoming Events). 
• Supports the UN RC in preparing for and organising public speaking engagements with the preparation of background materials and speaking points.
• Provides communication support as need for  seminars, lectures, conferences, public events on major issues and events concerning the UN.
 
• Manages media relations on behalf of the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator —responding to enquiries, developing and managing media outreach plans as required, and ensuring that material for the media can be readily used by the media and understood by the public.
• Identifies media stories and researches, writes and edits media releases and briefings
• Identifies media opportunities in print media features, radio and television programs.
• Provides translation of concepts and issues into a form that can be readily used by the media and understood by the public.
• Provides internal consultancy and media advice to staff to ensure that the agreed strategies are implemented and consistency of image is maintained.
• Coordinates with service providers (e.g. printers, designers, photographers, writers, editors, advertising/ marketing/event coordination agencies). 
 
• Supports internal  communication among UN agencies and supports UN joint programme activities
 
• As the chair of the UN Communications Group, works proactively with Agency communications officers and focal points and the UN Country Team to develop a strategy, related work plan and budget to clearly and consistently convey the UN role, as well as the key aims, objectives and results of the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) and other UN activities in the country.  
• As required, supports UN agencies to prepare press releases and other outreach material
• For UN joint programme activities, produces success stories, case studies and features to share with stakeholders and audiences, regularly communicates UN joint programme progress and impacts online.
• Develops and maintains close working relationships with UN communication officers and focal points to disseminate information about the UN activities and to support consistent information sharing between participating agencies.
• Maintains a photo database that contains images expressive of the issues, actions and results the UN is  working on.
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• Supports advocacy campaigns for the UN Country Team as a whole as well as for the Resident Coordinator’s Office

• Provides advice on strategic and innovative approaches to communicating the UN’s work and supports the planning and implementation of advocacy campaigns directed at a broad range of stakeholders.
• In line with the communications strategy, proactively advocates key UN messages in all interaction with media and UN partners, ensuring consistency and clarity of agreed messages. 
• As necessary, manages media relations on behalf of UN joint  programmes—responding to enquiries, developing and managing media outreach plans, drafting material for the media and ensuring that these can be readily used by the media and understood by the public

Competencies

Job Knowledge and Expertise— Demonstrated understanding of development issues; Demonstrated ability to draft concise and informative copy in English for a range of uses from detailed progress reports to media releases; Demonstrated ability to analyze complex information and to draw out the key points and issues and to present these in a way that can be easily understood; Able to work independently to identify information and knowledge sharing opportunities and to engage a wide range of colleagues in realizing these opportunities; Uses Information Technology effectively as a tool and resource.   


Professionalism—Discretion and judgment in applying expertise to complex and/or sensitive issues; ability to speak on behalf of the organization on issues relevant to development in the country; ability to effectively advocate key messages to a variety of stakeholders; Generates creative, practical approaches to overcome challenging situations.


Planning and Organizing—Demonstrated ability to focus on impact and results; Demonstrated ability to develop clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; effectively identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently and meets deadlines.


Communication—Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; able to handle complex information and data and convey clear messages; excellent writing skills; able to adapt content and style for different audiences


Teamwork—Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; Builds and sustains relationships with key constituents (internal/ external/bilateral/multilateral/public/private)


Core Values - Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;  Advocates and promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of the UN; Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Degree in communications, social science, economics, or related area. MA an asset.

Professional experience:

• Ideally 5 years of relevant experience.
• Solid understanding of a broad range of development issues.
• Experience in conceptualizing and managing the production of printed materials, including detailed reports.
• Experience with managing websites
• Demonstrated experience of dealing with media
• Demonstrated experience in designing and implementing communication and/or media outreach plans in support of overall corporate goals, including preparing presentations.
• Demonstrated experience in developing content that clearly communicates development ideas and experiences for media, web, print production, and audio-visual productions.
• Experience in overseeing translations work.
• Competent with office software packages, including PowerPoint, excel, basic design software.
 
Language Requirements
Fluency in English and Macedonian is required for this position.  Knowledge of other languages used in the country is an asset.
 
This is a national project position.  The UN strives to assure equitable representation of women and minorities in all its activities.  UN offers a competitive compensation package.