Profile Web Editor/Writer

Web Editor/Writer Profile

Various Locations

Grade: Junior (P2), Mid (P3) and Senior (P4) Level Positions

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is mandated to lead and coordinate international action to protect and assist refugees and other persons of concern.
It is constantly seeking talented, compassionate candidates with high-integrity to strengthen its capacity to respond urgently to crises with the right skills. Given the nature of UNHCR's work, it is essential that its workforce has the right mix of skills and qualities to fulfil its mandate. In this regard, Division of External Relations at UNHCR is looking for talented individuals to complement the team.

Typical functions may include:
- Commission and edit news and feature stories for unhcr.org, reflecting UNHCR's communications priorities and key messages and liaising with public information officers at headquarters and in the field and with the photo, video and social media units.
- Report and write news stories for unhcr.org from the field, striving for timely reportage that engages key audiences, respects protection concerns, and navigates political sensitivities.
- Clear news and feature stories with relevant country and regional offices and bureaux prior to publication.
- Write and edit other content for unhcr.org, ensuring that text is accessible, dignified, informative and interesting and paying close attention to narrative flow, messaging, accuracy, tone and house style.
- Collaborate with video, photo and social media colleagues to package multimedia content effectively and compellingly.
- Post stories and other content to unhcr.org via the content management system.
- Produce and publish our weekly newsletter, Refugees Weekly.
- Write and edit op-eds, reports and other text as required.
- Monitor web analytics with an eye to strengthening web content in ways that attract and retain visitor interest and improve user journeys on unhcr.org.

General Requirements for all levels:
- Experience producing, editing and disseminating multimedia content for online audiences ideally for media outlets, international brands, political parties, NGOs, or other international institutions.
- Experience using content management systems and other advanced tools for online publishing and distribution of content.
- Experience working in sensitive and fast-moving news, communications, advocacy and/or fundraising contexts.
- Experience producing and interpreting web or social media analytics to inform strategies and work plans.
- Strong editorial judgement, including ethical and political awareness.
- Sophisticated understanding of multimedia content, including how it can best be produced, packaged, published and shared on websites, on social media and with news organizations.
- Proven ability to conceptualize, plan and execute ideas as well as transfer knowledge and skills.
- Proven skills in communication, networking, negotiation, and ability to relate to different audiences.
- Strong diplomatic skills, highly developed political skills and judgement, understanding of UNHCR's external relationships.
- Excellent command of English and another relevant UN language (written, oral, comprehension) and highly developed writing and editing skills.
- Excellent computer skills (MS Office essential; Slack, Trello and Adobe Photoshop an asset).

Minimum Qualifications and Professional Experience Required:

For positions at the P2 level
- Education: Degree in Communications, Political Science, International Relations or a related field.
- Job experience: Minimum 2 years of relevant experience with graduate degree (equivalent of a Master¿s), 3 years with undergraduate degree (equivalent of a BA/BS) in journalism, communications, marketing or humanitarian work (ideally public information or content production).
- Strong command of multimedia content and digital tools and platforms, including the development of web content, pages and sites.
- Excellent communication and editorial skills.
- Background in journalism, communications and/or advocacy.
- Languages: Proficiency in English is required.

For positions at the P3 level
- Education: Degree in Communications, Political Science, International Relations or a related field.
- Job experience: Minimum 5 years of relevant (international) job experience with graduate degree (equivalent of a Master¿s), 6 years with undergraduate degree (equivalent of a BA/BS) in journalism, communications, marketing or humanitarian work (ideally public information or content production).
- Proven ability to act with discretion and diplomacy.
- Excellent communication and editorial skills.
- Strong understanding of the international global media environment, including grasp of social media.
- Strong knowledge of UNHCR operations mandate and global affairs.
- Languages: Proficiency in English is required.

For positions at the P4 level
- Education: Degree in Communications, Political Science, International Relations or a related field.
- Job experience: Minimum 8 years of relevant (international) job experience with graduate degree (equivalent of a Master¿s), 9 years with undergraduate degree (equivalent of a BA/BS) in journalism, communications, marketing or humanitarian work (ideally public information or content production).
- Advanced professional news writing and editing skills.
- Experience in preparing key messages, speeches, talking points and delivering them to a targeted audience.
- Flexibility to undertake on short-notice field missions to humanitarian emergencies and other situations as needed.
- Languages: Proficiency in English and knowledge of a second UN language (Arabic/ Chinese/French/Russian/Spanish) at B2  is required.

The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.