UNDP Jobs - 42761- Communication and Advocacy Officer

Communication and Advocacy Officer - (Open to Indian Nationals only)

Location :

New Delhi, INDIA

Type of Contract :

Service Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

08-Jan-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

SB-4

Duration of Initial Contract :

One Year (renewable)

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

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 guarantees wage employment on public works to any adult who is willing to do casual manual work. In case there is inability to provide 100 days of wage employment per household per year, the household will be provided with a daily unemployment allowance. The programme is expected to cover poor households on the principle of self-selection.

The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD)-UNDP partnership on ‘Governance and Accelerated Livelihoods Support’ helps strengthen the effectiveness of key Ministry programmes by providing (a) technical assistance to the state government and NGOs in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha to improve sustainable livelihoods with linkages to Panchayati Raj Institutions for governance in left wing extremism affected areas (b) policy advice and technical assistance to the Ministry and the state governments to help improve the efficiency, accountability and inclusiveness of National Rural Livelihoods Mission and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme and (c) policy advice and technical assistance to the Ministry and state governments to help “green” select schemes.

Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme, UNDP provides technical support for efficient and accountable implementation through (a) introducing mechanisms for regular feedback to the Ministry and state governments of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar on operational bottlenecks in MGNREGP (b) analysing operational procedures and recommending steps for rationalizing them; (c) establishing social audit directorates in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar; and (d) developing strategies for skill development of households employed under MGNREGP through NRLM.

As part of its support to MGNREGA, UNDP is looking for a dynamic individual to support the ministry in implementing the communication strategy for the programme. The selected candidate will be placed within the Ministry of Rural Development, New Delhi.

The Communication and Advocacy Officer will work under the guidance and supervision of the Joint Secretary, MGNREGA and Programme Analyst, UNDP. The incumbent will be primarily responsible for implementing the communication strategy targeting different stakeholders. S/he will also be tracking the MGNREGA outcomes and implementation challenges as well as formulating action points to address these challenges.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Joint Secretary and Programme Analyst, UNDP, the Communication and Advocacy Officer will be responsible for the following functions:

Implementation of communications strategy of MGNREGA targeting different stakeholders and development of resources, including public relations and media, advocacy communications, publications, program communications and online communications;
Support the Ministry to develop IEC Annual Action Plans (National level) for MGNREGA;
Support the States to develop IEC Annual Action Plans for MGNREGA and implement the same;
Develop communication materials targeting stakeholders in tune with the communication strategy and liaise with external vendors for this purpose;
Develop a system by which the IEC/BCC materials developed by the Ministry are shared with the States;
Coordinate with different States for developing the language versions of the materials developed at the national level;
Track the MGNREGA outcomes and implementation challenges as well as prepare the action plan to address the issues;
Disseminate findings of evaluations and impact assessment through appropriate channels;
Monitoring and Evaluation of implementation of the communication strategy;
Develop a national level good practice documentation system;
Develop case studies on MGNREGA successes;
Ensure that the best practices of MGNREGA programme implementation are collected and widely shared with State Governments, other Ministries and other relevant stakeholders;
Ensure convergence with DAVP, FPB, Song, Drama Division and relevant other Ministries for aligning messages of MGNREGA with the ongoing messaging activities of these departments;
Provide content for the IEC page and other pages of MGNREGA website and coordinate with NIC for this;
Provide technical support to enhance the visibility of MGNREGA;
Be the focal point for managing the social media networks of MGNREGA;
Facilitate the states to organize a cluster of journalists and use innovative methods to sensitize them on innovations, good practices and lessons learnt in MGNREGA implementation, as per the media advocacy strategy developed by the Ministry;
Documents important aspects of MGNREGA and supports in production of communication material for Interpersonal Communication (IPC) methods, mid-media, print and audio-visual media;
Develop communication material for other programmes and schemes of the Ministry including Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), Integrated Wasteland Development Programme (IWDP) etc. based on the requirements of the Ministry.

Documentation

Track implementation of MGNREGA across the country and identify issues to be documented;
Extract information from Programme Management Information System (MIS) and from external reports (newspapers, studies, etc.) on MGNREGA;
Assist in documentation of important aspects of MGNREGA; undertake documentation work when needed;
Assist States in production of communication material for print and audio-visual media;
Perform any other related tasks consistent with the level of the post and/ or assigned by the Joint Secretary, MGNREGA and Programme Analyst, UNDP.

Competencies

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.

Core Competencies:

Proficiency in MS-Office, especially PowerPoint and Excel; understanding of Management Information System (MIS) is an asset;
Passion for and adequate understanding of development challenges and rural poverty reduction;
Familiarity with government policies, programmes and government operational systems in India;
Strong communication (written and oral) skills;
Ability to work in small teams, and flexible ways of working.

Functional Competencies:

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise

Good understanding of effective media which can reach up to the grassroots level of the society;
Ability to promote awareness about the key messages of the programme through dissemination of information and materials.

Building Strategic Partnerships

Establish, build and sustain effective relationship, partnerships and alliances;
Result-orientation and ability to develop strategic approaches;
Identify problems and propose solutions;
Demonstrates good knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments.

Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing

Generates new ideas and approaches, researches best practices and proposes new, more effective ways of doing things;
Documents and analyses innovative strategies and new approaches.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree or equivalent in Media relations, Journalism, Mass Communication or similar field.

Experience:

At least five years (post-masters) work experience in development communication;
At least three years’ experience in in rural development and poverty alleviation programmes with communication management role;
Experience in the field of reporting, documenting and policy advocacy;
Experience in developing and implementing communications strategy targeting different stakeholders and designing and developing communications materials;
Experience in MGNREGA related communication and advocacy;
Experience in work related to large government programmes;
Experience in maintaining networks and knowledge assets for use in visibility and image activities.

Language:

Fluency in English and Hindi written/spoken;
Working knowledge of regional language(s) would be an asset.