Communication Officer (Innovations), NO-2, Harare, Zimbabwe (readvertised)

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you, in search of a Communication Officer (Innovations).

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you, in search of a Communication Officer (Innovations).

For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

UNICEF Zimbabwe is currently delivering a programme largely funded by donors through multi-donor pooled funds. The Funds are meant to ensure functionality of the social sectors and provide safety nets to poor and labour-constraint families. As a result, UNICEF Zimbabwe is using third party agents to deliver large sums of cash to the health and education infrastructure as well as families throughout the country. UNICEF is undertaking large scale rehabilitation of WASH facilities, procurement of various commodities that include borehole equipment, emergency supplies, medicines, vaccines, and other health commodities, and capacity building of government and NGO partners. The large scope and complex nature of the UNICEF programme poses major risks for UNICEF in Zimbabwe and credibility risks for the organization globally. A major objective of the office is to consolidate innovative approaches that provide real time data for monitoring and response and introduce cost efficient approaches that reduce operational and reputational risks while delivering effective services.

UNICEF Zimbabwe's innovations work is currently focused on the use of technology in selected sectors, and the office is interested in ensuring scale-up of these initiatives, increasing partner capacity building for handing over, further developing, field-testing and deploying of other Innovation initiatives, and moving towards their integration into regular UNICEF and Government of Zimbabwe programming.

Across its country programme, UNICEF Zimbabwe aims to leverage innovations for three core purposes:

• To establish a mechanism through which independent and real-time verification of resource (money, supplies) delivery to intended beneficiaries and institutions can be obtained

• To establish a reporting mechanism that will help collect and collate information on funds & supply utilization (end use monitoring) in real-time

• To enhance the functionality and effectiveness of existing information management systems (viz. RWIMS, EMIS, HMIS, VMAHS) and communication platforms

To coordinate innovative developments, UNICEF Zimbabwe has a team from IT and Communication sections to support innovations across the sectors that allow for real-time monitoring of programme delivery and supplies and provides information to managers to respond in a timely manner. The team focuses on identifying regional and global trends in innovative technologies, reviewing initiatives with programmatic counterparts and assessing opportunities for the use of innovations, advising Government counterparts, strengthening partnerships and supporting capacity building with local and regional stakeholders, managing the design and development of software applications and hardware components, coordinating testing and deployment, and monitoring and evaluating outcomes.

UNICEF Zimbabwe's innovation work currently is focused on use of open source software to promote programme monitoring. Rapid SMS technology (RapidPro) for real-time monitoring and Open Data Kit for near-real-time monitoring are some of the software in use. UNICEF looks for ways of ensuring scale up, increasing partner capacity to own and maintain the deployments, and also further developing, field-testing and deploying of other T4D initiatives and ensuring their integration in regular UNICEF and Government of Zimbabwe programming.

The Communication Officer (Innovations) will be based in the Communication Section and will work closely with the ICT Section and the Deputy Representative's office to provide support to programme sections. He/she will be under the direct supervision of the Chief of Communication.

Purpose of the Position

The Communication Officer (Innovations) will be responsible for supporting a diverse group of technologists and programme staff both within UNICEF and among partners to assess, develop and integrate innovations solutions to support real-time monitoring, citizen's engagement, and cost efficiencies.

The Communication Officer (Innovations) will work with open-source development communities, local innovators, youth organizations, cultural and religious organizations, NGOs, the private sector, local media and academia to provide a space to nurture and test new and innovative ideas, develop the next generation of thought leaders and build local capacity.

Key Accountabilities, Duties and Tasks

1. Consolidate the use of UReport by partners for real-time programme monitoring and citizens' engagement

a) Build the capacity of UNICEF partners to adopt, deploy and use U-Report;

b) Formulate a strategy for recruitment of U-Reporters;

c) Assist partners to analyze U-Report data and use it for advocacy and citizens' engagement;

d) Ensure the effective functioning of the U-Report Steering Committee through regular meetings and information-sharing.

2. Support the deployment of RapidPro applications across the country programme

a) Contribute to the effective running of SlimEMIS for monitoring education sector data;

b) Support deployment of RapidPro to monitor health indicators during humanitarian situations;

c) Support recruitment of an aggregator to provide hosting and maintenance services and monitor usage of SMS credits.

3. Improve internal UNICEF and partner capacity to adopt, test and scale up innovations

a) Identify additional entry points for innovation in the country programme;

b)Work closely with outside experts to assess Country Program and project needs, and develop an overall strategy that seeks to meet immediate UNICEF programmatic demands while building in-country technical project partner capacity;

c) Train UNICEF staff and partners in new innovations;

d) Identify and recruit additional capacity as need arises.

4. Develop innovations partnerships to further country programme goals.

a) Scan the innovations landscape in Zimbabwe and develop academic, civil society, and private sector partnerships to support co-creations and youth engagement in innovative solution design and testing;

b) Work with open-source development communities, local innovators, youth organizations, cultural and religious organizations, NGOs, the private sector, local media and academia to provide a space to nurture and test new and innovative ideas, develop the next generation of thought leaders and build local capacity;

c) Develop partnerships with Innovation Labs in Zimbabwe and support initiatives to identify, deploy, and scale up innovations. The consultant will develop an innovations strategy for the country office that provides options for prioritization within the context of programmatic needs and existing resources;

d) Maintain regular contact with the UNICEF Global innovation centre, other country offices, and HQ-based innovations teams to share information and integrate new developments into UNICEF Zimbabwe programmes. 

Qualifications of Successful Candidate

1. A University Degree in Development Studies, Electronics Engineering, ICT Technology or Communications.

2. Two years of progressively responsible and relevant professional experience with demonstrated results in the majority of the following areas:

a) Innovative use of Technology for Development, particularly in the areas of data, mobiles, open source and development;

b) Identifying a baseline, and measuring improvements in coverage and uptake, geographic, expansion, etc.;

c) Training experience will be an added advantage;

d) Programme communication/Communication for Development experience;

e) Background experience in the International Development sector;

f) Background/familiarity with emergency situations will be an added advantage.

Competencies of Successful Candidate

Core Values

• Commitment
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Integrity

Core competencies

• Communication
• Working with People
• Drive for Results

Functional Competencies

• Relating and networking
• Applying technical expertise
• Planning and organizing
• Formulating strategies and concepts
• Persuading & Influencing
• Learning & Researching

To view our competency framework, please click here. 

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organisation.

UNICEF does not charge a fee or require personal banking details at any stage of the recruitment process