Communications Officer

The UNOPS Africa Regional Office, based in Nairobi, Kenya, oversees the delivery of over 250 projects across 40 countries, with a focus on fragile and conflict-affected settings. Supported by more than 1,000 personnel across five multi-country offices—spanning North, West, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa, and the Horn of Africa—the office advances national priorities through strategic initiatives in Climate Action, Health, Infrastructure, Peace and Security, Middle-Income Country Support, and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The Regional Office provides strategic leadership, operational support, and oversight in key areas including Partnerships, Communications, Management and Oversight, Infrastructure and Project Management, Health and Safety, and Security. By promoting excellence in project delivery, fostering knowledge sharing, and driving continuous improvement, the office contributes to sustainable infrastructure, transparent resource management, and a better quality of life for communities across the continent.

Based in Tunis, the North Africa Multi-Country Office (NAMCO) oversees operations in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, and Morocco, delivering project management, financial services, infrastructure, procurement, and human resources support. With active project offices in Morocco and Libya, NAMCO works in close partnership with governments, NGOs, and international financial institutions to advance socio-economic development across the region. NAMCO’s portfolio spans health, justice, climate action, and environmental preservation, while promoting youth and women's empowerment through improved access to education and employment opportunities. Key initiatives include: supplying digital learning materials for Tunisian schools (World Bank), supporting Tunisia’s national development plan (AICS), enhancing maritime border management (EU), delivering high-tech health equipment to 75 hospitals (World Bank), supporting resilient agriculture in Libya (IFAD), and advancing vocational training in Morocco (KOICA). NAMCO’s work contributes directly to inclusive growth and progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Communications Officer develops and executes strategic communication plans to support project and programme objectives. This role requires analyzing communication contexts, managing editorial calendars, and producing a wide range of high-quality content, including press releases, social media posts, and reports. The incumbent also serves as a key point of contact for external partners and donors, ensuring effective stakeholder engagement and representation. 

1. Communications Strategy and Planning 

• Support the creation and execution of approved project/ programme communication strategy and plans.

• Provide analyzed data and insights to inform the communication strategy definition.

• Ensure timely high-quality execution of communications activities aligned with project/ programme objectives.

• Track implementation and ensure compliance with UNOPS rules and regulations. 

• Analyze local communication context, target audiences and channels to optimize outreach.

• Support the delivery of strategic messages across various fora and media

1. Content Creation and Management 

• Develop editorial content - including talking points, frequently asked questions (FAQs), press releases, social-media and website posts, videos and fact sheets, customized for target key audiences.

• Collect and structure data into accessible communication outputs.

• Manage editorial calendars and coordinate content production across channels. 

• Partner with technical experts to produce comprehensive reports and features

• Develop contents, presentations, correspondence, briefings, talking points and all other external communication material including content for social media

• Support ensuring that the achievements of the MCO’s outstanding projects are properly captured in the right communication formats for external outreach purpose

• Develop any other external communication material necessary for visibility purposes.

1. Stakeholder Engagement and Representation

• Maintain effective communication with donors, clients, partners and other stakeholders.

• Support organization of external events and ensure representation meets UNOPS standards.

• Support organization of high-level ED/RD/MCO Director missions 

• Collaborate with subject-matter experts for strategic reporting and visibility initiatives. 

1. Knowledge Building and Sharing 

• Support the organization, facilitation and delivery of training and learning sessions on communications topics.

• Participate in knowledge-sharing initiatives and Communities of Practice (CoPs), contributing insights and lessons learned from communications project implementation, 

• Conduct research on communication-related topics and contribute to the drafting of reports, summaries and briefing notes.

1. Partnerships 

• Support in identifying funding/partnership opportunities within governments, UN agencies, bilateral and multilateral organizations, non-governmental organizations,foundations and the private sector

• Assist the Partnerships Specialist to develop expression of interests, concept notes and proposals for potential new projects

• Participate in meetings with donors and partners and produce high quality documents to position UNOPS with partners 

• Preparation of briefing materials as required for mission travel and/or discussion on project activities

• Maintain up-to-date repository of all donors, funding cycles and engagement modalities

Required

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) with 2 years of relevant experience OR

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in any discipline with 0 years of relevant experience is required

Desired

• A globally or nationally recognized professional certificate in communications, journalism, or digital and social media communications is desired.

Required

• Relevant experience is work in communications, public relations, media, journalism or related fields.

• Experience in the use of collaboration and productivity tools (e.g. MS Office, G-Suite, etc) and web-based management systems is required.

Desired

• Experience of working in multicultural environments or UN system organizations in a developing country is desired.

• Experience in development or humanitarian contexts is desired.

• Experience in developing and monitoring content for grassroots-level audiences is desired.

• Experience in use of graphic design, video production, and content creation tools is desired.

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• Please note that UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience requirements outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to considering all candidates in a fair and transparent manner, and we value diverse perspectives and experiences, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals with diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.
• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.