Communication and Visibility Assistant

 Position Information

• Job Code Title: Communication and Visibility Assistant                             
• Contract Type and Level: Service Contract – SB3 (SC5)          
• Duration of contract:1 year (renewable upon satisfactory performance and availability of funds) 
• Location: Beirut, Lebanon              

Organizational Context

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is the global leader in the fight against drugs, organized crime, corruption and terrorism with widely recognized expertise and specialization on issues pertaining to international cooperation in criminal matters. UNODC operates in all regions of the world through an extensive network of field offices. The work of UNODC is guided by a broad range of international legally binding instruments and a set of United Nations standards and norms on crime prevention and criminal justice.

The UNODC Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa (ROMENA) was established in 1997 with the vision of supporting the Member States in the region to be safer from drugs, organized crime, corruption, and terrorism.

The Regional Framework for the Arab States 2023-2028 (henceforth ‘the Regional Framework’) sets out UNODC’s mission to contribute to peace and security, human rights, and development by making the region safer from drugs, crime, corruption, and terrorism, including by reducing violence and inequalities within society. This document acts as the overarching strategic framework for cooperation between UNODC, participating Member States and the League of Arab States (LAS). It frames how UNODC will strengthen, prioritize, customize, and deliver support to the Arab region in effective response to some of the most pressing challenges faced by these countries and in connection with UNODC’s mandates and specialities. It also lays out a roadmap to guide UNODC programming and to accelerate progress towards Agenda 2030 in pursuit of key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The UNODC Programme Office in Lebanon is implementing the projects:
“Enhancing access to justice, fundamental rights safeguards in the criminal justice system, and independent justice oversight mechanisms.” project, funded by the European Union.
The project aims to strengthen security, stability, justice, and peace through:

• Enhancing access to justice to vulnerable groups with a focus on the criminal justice chain and mediation mechanism
• Strengthen effectiveness and independence of justice oversight institutions and mechanisms 
• Enhance prison environment, health conditions and sustainable needs responses are enhanced as per Mandela rules 
• Improve Detention conditions, education/social programmes and services for children in conflict with the law, including the operationalization of the Warwar correctional facility for children (boys), with particular attention to the specific needs of girls.

“Strengthen Lebanese Capacity to Deter Financial Crime” project, funded by the bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL program) at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, with the main objective of improving the national response towards financial crime in Lebanon.

“Support Institutional Capacities in Drug Control and Prevention in Lebanon” project, funded by Norway, that aims to enhance national capacities to collect, analyze, and report data on drug supply and demand.

To support the projects’ implementation, the Programme Office in Lebanon is looking for a National Communication and Visibility Assistant to support and strengthen the visibility of UNODC and its projects and maintain strong internal communication within the Regional Office in Cairo, Egypt.

Key results and impact

Under the direct supervision of UNODC Lebanon Head of Office, and the overall guidance of the Regional Representative at the UNODC Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa (ROMENA), and ROMENA’s Communications and Visibility Officer, the national Communication and Visibility Assistant will undertake the following tasks in order to support the Office in raising the profile of itsactivities and results in the region.

In particular the incumbent will be responsible for the following specific duties:

• Assist with the implementation of communication and visibility strategy;
• Support internal and external communications to plan and organize events and international days;
• Draft web stories, press releases and articles in Arabic and English, with chances for French, to be published on ROMENA’s website and platforms.;
• Create social media content reflecting the Office’s activities to be published through ROMENA’s social media platforms in Arabic and English, with chances for French;
• Monitor media coverage of Lebanon activities;
• Work closely with UNODC ROMENA’s Communication Officer to provide support for marking international events and occasions of relevance to UNODC;
• Support the development of ROMENA visibility material to raise its profile and to tailor its messages to target groups (youth, donors, high-level decision-makers, journalists);
• Assist in the communication and visibility efforts of the “Strengthen Lebanese Capacity to Deter Financial Crime” project implemented in Lebanon;
• Enhance the visibility of the activities of the drug-related project in Lebanon. This includes designing and implementing communication plans and creating relevant content to showcase the project’s achievements;
• Assist in the development of strategies and activities to raise the profile of Lebanon office and its donors on social media and to tailor its messages to target groups;
• Ensure donor visibility in all activities and events and assist in developing necessary material to do so; 
• Support in the organization of various activities, including fund-raising campaigns, high-level meetings, awareness-raising campaigns on crime prevention and criminal justice in Lebanon;
• Attend the UN in Lebanon Communications Team meetings to expand UNODC role and partnership in communications and visibility related initiatives amongst sister agencies;
• Support the design and develop publications and visibility tools and material;
• Assist in translating and editing documents;
• Undertake other relevant UNODC communication-related duties, as required;
• Support administrative and logistical tasks as per the distribution of tasks at PoLEB; 
• Perform other duties as required.

Impact of Results

Smooth implementation of the project, which in turn contributes to the Regional Programme of UNODC and the overall PoLEB portfolio.

Competencies and Critical Success Factors

Corporate Competencies

• Demonstrates commitment to UNODC mission, vision and values. 
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional Competencies

• Professionalism: demonstrated understanding of operations relevant to the UN; technical capabilities or knowledge relevant or transferrable to the UN procedures and rules; discretion, political sensitivity, diplomacy and tact to deal with clients; ability to apply good judgement; ability to liaise and coordinate with a range of different actors, especially in senior positions; where appropriate, high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership; resourcefulness and willingness to accept wide responsibilities and ability to work independently under established procedures; ability to manage information objectively, accurately and confidentially; responsive and client-oriented;
• Teamwork and respect for diversity: ability to operate effectively across organizational boundaries; excellent interpersonal skills; ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and harmonious working relations in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, mixed-gender environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity; sensitivity and adaptability to culture, gender, religion, nationality and age; commitment to implementing the goal of gender equality by ensuring the equal participation and full involvement of women and men in all aspects of UN operations; ability to achieve common goals and provide guidance or training to colleagues;
• Planning and organizing: effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner; ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor (own) work; ability to work under pressure, with conflicting deadlines, and to handle multiple concurrent projects/activities;
• Communication: proven interpersonal skills; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, articulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military personnel, volunteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse backgrounds; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups.

Recruitment Qualifications

Education  

• Secondary education is required or A university degree in communications, journalism, advertising, or related field is desirable (not requirement) 

Experience

• Minimum of 5 years (with high school diploma) or 2 years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant progressively professional experience in the fields of communication, public relations, media relations/interactions, social media communication, or related fields is required. 
• Excellent computer skills and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc);

Other desirable skills

• Experience in using design software, including adobe and canva, and audio-visual recording equipment.
• Experience working in the UN or other international development organization is desirable;
• Experience in providing translation, graphic design support, video editing services, website updating, and in organizing events is an asset,

Language Requirements

• Fluency in spoken and written English and Arabic. Good knowledge of French is desirable.