Background
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are core principles at UNDP: we value diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate, we foster inclusion as a way of ensuring all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, and we ensure equity and fairness in all our actions. Taking a ‘leave no one behind’ approach to our diversity efforts means increasing representation of underserved populations. People who identify as belonging to marginalized or excluded populations are strongly encouraged to apply. Learn more about working at UNDP including our values and inspiring stories.
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.
Organizational Context
The Regional Programme for Africa is part of the UNDP’s Regional Service Centre for Africa based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Regional Programme seeks to address regional issues on the continent, by providing programmatic support to countries facing similar challenges where a united front of affected countries is best suited to address the prevalent specific issues.
The Regional Programme is a flagship programme for UNDP that responds to challenges and opportunities facing the African continent and to the priorities and aspirations of Africa as articulated by the African Union and other regional organs. These are convergent with the vision, areas of work and guiding principles of the UNDP Strategic Plan. The programme builds on the successes and responds to the lessons from past cooperation, with special attention to programme focus and effective engagement with the African Union and the regional economic communities through the development of long-term strategic partnerships.
The Regional Programme seeks to further improve its efficiency in the delivery of its mandate through robust strategic communications and partnerships building with the public and other external partners such as governments (host country and donors), the African Union, Regional Economic Commissions, the private sector, intergovernmental organizations and other partners. In order to achieve this, the Regional Programme seeks to expand its partnerships and communications practice and activities taking into account the specific needs of the different audiences while amplifying the Regional Programme’s visibility, interaction and engagement with the target audiences
Job Purpose
The Regional Programme is seeking a Digital Communications Specialist to develop strategic communications and media initiatives, as well as oversee the production of a range of communications materials for the Regional Programme for the website, the Regional Service Centre for Africa office in Addis Ababa, and for online and offline audiences. S/he reports to the Coordinator for the Regional Programme for Africa and supports project managers under the Regional Programme, providing them with timely support on media relations, interviews and messaging, op-eds, publications and other products. In addition, he/she works closely with programme experts and economists, offering advice on how to disseminate UNDP/RBA and the Regional Programme’s knowledge products, including its flagship reports.
S/he is responsible for designing timely, accurate and high-quality informational materials, such as social media assets, publications, news briefs, fact sheets, stories from the field, etc. for media outreach and inclusion in informational kits for further public outreach. S/he is responsible for developing strategic communications and managing and maintaining the digital and website presence of the Regional Programme.
The Digital Communications Specialist is expected to work cross functionally to find synergies for amplifying the impact of this work as it furthers UNDP’s strategic vision for Africa and the continent’s development agenda, as espoused in Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063. The Digital Communications Specialist works closely with the communications focal points across the RSCA and its sub-regional hubs in Pretoria, Dakar and Nairobi; RBA’s Partnerships and Communications team in New York; and with the Communications team in the Bureau for External Relations and Advocacy (BERA) in supporting and advocating for UNDP’s Africa work at the global level. In addition, s/he works closely with partnership advisers and donor relations experts from across the organization to support the bureau’s resource mobilization and advocacy efforts.
UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.
Duties and Responsibilities
Effective implementation of an external communications strategy for the Regional Programme for Africa:
- Develop and oversee the implementation of a Regional Programme communications strategy based on corporate communications goals and priorities, in collaboration with regional communications focal points, RBA and BERA;
- Pursue partnerships to leverage emerging and new technologies to produce industry-leading communications materials that showcase UNDP’s Africa work, such as data visualizations, infographics, virtual reality/immersive experiences, interactive storytelling, and animation;
- Assess the impact of the communication strategy and make adjustments accordingly;
- Integrate issue-based advocacy into the communications strategy around key priority areas relevant to the Regional Programme and UNDP’s Africa work;
- Ensure key results and relevant success stories are incorporated into strategic communications outreach;
- Ensure an active presence on a diverse array of communications channels/mediums to promote the Regional Programme’s work and success stories, designed to increase engagement and awareness of UNDP’s impact in Africa.
Lead digital communications:
- Plans and facilitates the development and implementation of a digital content strategy and contributes to the development of key communications and advocacy products (e.g. human-interest stories, multilingual and multimedia content, etc.).
- Conducts exercises exploring the applicability of new and emerging tools and techniques to digital communications and advocacy activities to reach a wider, younger audience.
- Plans and facilitates printed & digital communication including UNDP Africa’s web site, social media, intranet, CO web-based knowledge management system.
- Develops and maintains external and internal digital communications platforms such as the UNDP/RSCA website, official UNDP social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, etc.), Intranet and on-line collaboration platforms, etc. based on corporate requirements in cooperation with the ICT staff.
- Supervision and preparation of the content for the website, monthly newsletter and social media platforms ensuring consistency of the materials.
- Monitor and evaluate the dissemination of advocacy and communication material to target audiences and impact of the same.
Lead International media outreach:
- Promote, advocate and raise awareness around Regional Programme activities, results, flagship initiatives through a variety of communication vehicles, such as roundtable discussions, press conferences, briefing sessions, interviews, report launches, etc.;
- Promote UNDP’s Africa work with special attention to results and impact through media outreach, including social media platforms and communication tools as appropriate;
- In collaboration with BERA and RBA Communications teams, proactively market UNDP’s Regional Programme for Africa work by regularly pitching UNDP success stories and experts for interviews and commentaries in print and multimedia outlets;
- Draft and/or edit a range of materials, including press releases & advisories, news briefs, fact sheets, multimedia human interest stories for inclusion in media kits and further public outreach.
- Ensure articles, press releases, stories, blogs and publications are posted on the UNDP Africa regional website and contribute to the overall direction of UNDP’s online presence.
- Monitor and analyze media coverage in the region and share information with the RBA and BERA Communications.
- Provide communications support to UNDP senior management visiting the region.
- Foster outreach partnerships with new media, innovation groups and social media influencers who can help UNDP achieve its global and regional objectives.
Promote visibility for UNDP’s Regional Programme for Africa work:
- Project UNDP as a substantive thought leader within Africa, promoting its mandate, mission and purpose via effective communication, promoting UNDP’s principles as a tangible value proposition with regional audiences.
- Work closely with UNDP experts to produce and market RBA/Regional Programme publications and campaigns, using innovative communication tools and various types of media including digital and social media content creation, graphic design, and more.
- Increase coverage and understanding of UNDP’s Africa work through strategic media and/or donor outreach.
- In collaboration with BERA HQ and the RBA Partnerships and Communications team, produces results-based communications materials for distribution to donors and other key constituents.
- Support regional public campaigns that promote UNDP and influence the development agenda based on the current programme and new initiatives.
Ensure provision of strategic guidance and training:
- Provide support to senior officials working in Africa on media outreach, messaging, positioning and interview techniques in close collaboration with the communication team at BERA;
- Work to produce op-eds and speeches, organize interviews and support country visits and attendance of flagship conferences and events;
- Provide strategic training and support to guide country offices on cohesive region-wide campaigns, Regional Programme-related outreach, and timely responses to reputational management inquiries raised by media and donors, in close consultation with the Communications Group at HQ;
- Provide support and guidance as needed to regional innovation initiatives, including Accelerator Labs, on communications activities and opportunities for amplification;
- Work with various RBA units on knowledge management, mitigating risk to institutional reputation, and sharing successes/information internally.
Core Competencies:
- Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact
- Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems
- Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences
- Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands
- Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
- Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
- Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity
Cross-functional & Technical competencies:
- General – across functions): Public relations: Ability to build and maintain an overall positive public image for the organisation, its mandate and its brand, while ensuring that individual campaigns and other communications and advocacy initiatives are supported in reaching the public
- Communications: Advocacy strategy and implementation: Ability to create and implement advocacy strategies which lead to impactful change
- Communications: Campaign management: Ability to produce and implement communications and advocacy campaigns which lead to impactful change
- Business development: Portfolio Management: Ability to select, prioritise and control the organisation’s programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity; ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimising return on investment
- Cross functional: Business management: Communication: Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience.
Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels - Cross functional: Business direction and strategy: System thinking: Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system
- Cross functional: Business direction and strategy: Negotiation and influence: Ability to reach an understanding, persuade others, resolve points of difference, gain advantage in the outcome of dialogue, negotiates mutually acceptable solutions through compromise and creates win-win situations
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Communications, Journalism, Development/Development Studies, Social Policy/Sciences, International Relations, or related field is required; or
- A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas stated above, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Experience:
- Minimum 5 years (with master’s degree) or 7 years (with bachelor’s degree) of work experience in the field of communications, media relations and/or journalism is required.
- Demonstrated experience and ability to convey complex development concepts and recommendations in a clear and persuasive manner tailored to a range of audiences with English and French communication skills is required.
- Proven networking experience and ability to interact with staff at all levels, including senior management is required.
- Proven ability to organize high-level events, both in terms of content and logistics is required.
- Experience and understanding of different communications tools are desired.
- Proven experience and excellent knowledge of international media, social media tools and applications is an asset.
- Demonstrated experience and ability of effective outreach and monitoring is desired.
- Proven ability to shape messages and stories for media placement is desired.
- Demonstrated track record of success in garnering earned media is an asset.
- Relevant media relations experience especially in international development issues is an asset.
- Communications or campaigns experience preferably within the UN system and other international public-sector organizations is an asset.
- Experience of media training and briefing spokespeople is an asset.
Language:
- Fluency in written and spoken English and French is required.
- Working knowledge of another UN language is an asset.
Disclaimer
Under US immigration law, acceptance of a staff position with UNDP, an international organization, may have significant implications for US Permanent Residents. UNDP advises applicants for all professional level posts that they must relinquish their US Permanent Resident status and accept a G-4 visa, or have submitted a valid application for US citizenship prior to commencement of employment.
UNDP is not in a position to provide advice or assistance on applying for US citizenship and therefore applicants are advised to seek the advice of competent immigration lawyers regarding any applications.
Applicant information about UNDP rosters
Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.
Non-discrimination
UNDP has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual exploitation and misconduct, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.
UNDP is an equal opportunity and inclusive employer that does not discriminate based on race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.
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