UNDP Jobs - 70104- UN SDG Action Campaign Youth Advocate

UN SDG Action Campaign Youth Advocate

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

Internship

Starting Date :

30-Jan-2017

Application Deadline :

20-Jan-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

Intern

Duration of Initial Contract :

Six Months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

Six Months

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

The UN SDG Action Campaign, (formerly known as the UN Millennium Campaign), is a special initiative of UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon established to empower and inspire people across the world to take action in supporting their government with the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. By building multi-stakeholder partnerships and leveraging cutting-edge communication technologies, it will continue to bridge the gap between elected officials to ensure a transparent dialogue between world leaders and their constituencies, especially the most marginalized and vulnerable populations. The UN SDG Action Campaign builds upon its previous mandate as the UN Millennium Campaign, which was established in 2002 by former Secretary-General Kofi Annan to support peoples’ participation in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and holding their governments accountable to their commitments. The UNMC supported the development of the new global sustainable agenda through initiatives such as MY World and the World We Want. 10 million people participated in MY World 2015, making it the largest global survey of our time. The survey gives people a platform to express to world leaders what they want for their future. The Campaign also coordinates many creative storytelling projects, exhibitions and and big data initiatives such as the Humans of MY World, United Nations Virtual Reality, and New Media partnerhsips with YouTube.

The UNSDGAC will be launching a second phase of MY World, developed as an adaptable platform for citizen generated data and engagement with the SDGs. The MY World 2030 options survey will allow people from around the world to tell the UN which SDGs they are most passionate about and to reflect on SDGs' progress over the next fifteen years. The project will collect globally comparable data - both at scale and nationally representative – and nationally adaptive data to report back on SDG progress whilst also building dialogue between decision makers such as parliamentarians, local governments, mayors, and citizens in order to contribute a “people’s perspective” on how to implement the new agenda at different levels.

To help provide context for these big data initiatives, the Campaign coordinates Humans of MY World, which seeks to tell the real life stories and top priorities of MY World voters around the world. This photo narrative project works with street photographers to promote across social media, and curate into exhibitions. Communication support also includes blog promotion and other social media campaigning around international days.

In addition, the Campaign coordinates UNVR. Building upon its mandate to amplify the voices of those who are often unheard, particularly the world’s most vulnerable, the project seeks to show the human story behind development challenges, allowing people with the power to make a difference have a deeper understanding of their world, and hopefully to act to make a difference. In addition to showcasing the VR experience at high-level UN meetings, the SDG Action Campaign is working with partners to create advocacy platforms, awareness and fundraising campaigns. By sharing these VR experiences the SDG Action Campaign is searching for partners who similarly hope to inspire change that improves peoples’ lives and creates the world we all want. The UNSDGAC Youth Advocate will support on communications to help capture and promote the stories of citizens who are taking action on the ground. Such projects include the Humans of MY World and UNVR.

The UN SDG Action Campaign Youth Advocate selected is expected to work in conjunction with the partnerships and communications team to support the outreach strategy for current and new potential partners, to help build a cohesive strategy for launch MY World in these pilot countries, and for setting the stage for the roll-out in other countries. In conjunction, they will support the SDGAC team with event planning, logistics, and the drafting of communications such as invitations, social media, and blogging related to these events as well as the promotion of partnership successes. Finally, they will support on helping to roll out of UNVR, promoting new films and potentially guiding workshops with young people.

Applicants should have a background in CSO outreach, student mobilization and/or social media engagement, basic web-design skills and blogging. The candidate is expected to be active on social media and motivated in providing substantive support to the campaign. The candidate is expected to have an excellent knowledge of English and be fluent in one or more of the following languages: Arabic, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish and French. Any other language will be considered as an asset. Any experience with website development or graphic design will also be considered a strong asset.

Duties and Responsibilities

Description of Responsibilities:

Under the guidance of the UN SDG Action Campaign Project Coordinator, the Youth advocate will support the Campaign partnerships and communications team in the following tasks in close collaboration with other team members:

Events and logistics including the drafting of correspondence, guest list management, vendor follow up to ensure timely delivery of signage, catering, A/V, other production needs as necessary
Communication materials such as Social Media for all of the Campaign’s active accounts, blogs press materials;
Supporting the World We Want;
Data and knowledge management and the generation of toolkits;
Research of new potential partnerships with special emphasis on those representing excluded/marginalize groups and/or youth outreach;
Administrative and other programmatic support;
Serving as an advocate for the Campaign at meetings, events and forums;
Support to the UNVR and new media team in coordinating equipment, logistics and communications.

Deliverables (depending on portfolio allocation):

Support of Partnerships outreach strategy to increase the awareness of the UNSDGAC
Drafting of UNSDGAC messaging for social media as well as blog stories
If applicable, support on data and knowledge management
Support on logistics for events and administration with Virtual Reality Equipment

Competencies

Core Competences:

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 favouritism.

Functional Competences:

Demonstrated ability to interact with individuals of different national and cultural backgrounds and beliefs, which includes the willingness to understand different views and opinions;
Ability to work under pressure, to prioritize and to show a spirit of initiative and a capacity to work in an independent way with limited supervision;
Self-management and emotional intelligence;
Excellent communication skills;
High degree of organization and initiative;
Ability to multi-task and work independently;
Ability to prioritize and work under pressure.

Required Skills and Experience

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Candidate must be enrolled in a Master’s level pogramme in a related field, preferably in political science or development studiens, from an accredited institution; or
Candidate have graduated from a University or Master’s level programme, preferably in political science or development studies and must start the internship within one year of the graduation date.

Experience:

Experience in CSO and social media outreach;
Understanding of political issues in the region of intervention;
Experience in the use of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, Access, etc); good knowledge and experience in handling of web based information management systems;
High degree of organization and initiative;
Ability to multi-task and work independently;
Ability to prioritize and work under pressure;
Strong inter-personal social skills and ability to work within a team environment as a contributing member.

Language:

Excellent knowledge of English;
Fluent in one or more of these languages: Arabic, Russian, Portuguese, and Spanish; or any other language is an asset.