Communications Manager

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has established a Centre for Humanitarian Data in The Hague, the Netherlands to help increase the use and impact of data in the humanitarian sector. The vision is to create a future where all people involved in a humanitarian situation have access to the data they need, when and how they need it, to make responsible and informed decisions.

The Centre will support humanitarian partners and OCHA staff in the field and at headquarters with their data efforts. It will focus on four areas: 1) data services; 2) data policy; 3) data literacy; and 4) network engagement. The Centre will be part of the city of The Hague’s Humanity Hub, a dedicated building for organizations working on data and innovation in the social sector.

A Communications Manager is required to develop a range of material to help promote the Centre and its service offerings. As a new initiative, there is an opportunity to shape the way the Centre is understood and reach new audiences that can benefit from its services. The Communications Officer will oversee all content related to the Centre and its key products, the Humanitarian Data Exchange and the Humanitarian Exchange Language.  

The consultant will report to OCHA’s Chief of Data Services and lead for the Centre for Humanitarian Data, who is based in The Hague. He or she will be expected to work closely with the Centre’s team including the heads of the Data Partnerships and Design teams and the Coordinator for the Data Fellows Programme.

The consultant will be responsible for the following:

• Develop materials to explain and promote the Centre for Humanitarian Data to key audiences. This may include one-pagers, presentations, and brochures.
• Write a series of impact stories about the work of the Centre, the HDX platform and HXL data standard.
• Oversee content for the Centre for Humanitarian Data’s website, centre.humdata.org and relevant content on the HDX site, data.humdata.org.  
• Write blogs about areas of direct knowledge and interest; edit and provide feedback on in-progress blogs by team members for publication; identify new topics for blog posts.
• Work with the HDX technical team to ensure blogs are posted and distributed through email campaigns. 
• Provide support to the @humdata Twitter handle; work with the HDX team to promote new organizations and data being sharing through the site; engage the @humdata community through direct messages and retweeting of relevant content.
• Provide advice to team leads on developing sub-brands and content for key initiatives of the Centre, such as the Data Fellows Programme.
• Represent the Centre at meetings and events globally with presentations and speaking engagements.
• Work with journalists to develop stories and manage coverage about the Centre and HDX.
• Work with OCHA colleague to promote the Centre and new HDX features, HXL adoption, data policy documents, trainings or events through OCHA internal and external channels.
• Participate in team meetings and in partner forums as required.

Education: 

• An advanced university degree in communications, English literature, social sciences, international affairs or a relevant field is required.
• A first level university degree in relevant field with additional two years of relevant experience can be accepted in lieu of an advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least five years’ experience in communications or content management is required. 
• Experience writing articles for publication is required.
• Experience developing approaches and strategies for community engagement is required. 
• Experience writing about data and technology is required.
• Technical knowledge of WordPress and MailChimp preferred.
• Experience using Google Analytics and Mixpanel preferred.
• Having the capacity to work independently and to take initiative as necessary is preferred. Relevant previous experience and/or interest in the humanitarian sector and in data and technology is preferred.

Language:

Fluency in English is required (both oral and written). Knowledge of an additional UN language is an advantage.  

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

UNOPS supports the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to serve people in need by expanding the ability of the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects, infrastructure and procurement in a sustainable and efficient manner.

Working in some of the world’s most challenging environments, our vision is to advance sustainable implementation practices, always satisfying or surpassing our partners’ expectations.

With over 7,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, wherever they need it.

A flexible structure and global reach means that we can quickly respond to our partners' needs, while offering the benefits of economies of scale. 

Based in Geneva, the Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECR) supports UNOPS offices throughout the region through: management, financial and programmatic oversight of global and country-specific portfolios, clusters and operations centres, including hosting services; fund and management advisory services; project implementation; procuring goods and services; and managing human resources.

ECR ensures that projects are executed to the highest standards, providing a shared knowledge base and ensuring that best practices and lessons learned are disseminated between business units and projects across the entire region.

ECR strategy is to:

• Strengthen UNOPS role in operationalizing the Sustainable Development Goals with particular emphasis on health, environment and economic development.
• Position UNOPS in the Balkan sub-region, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
• Strengthen the implementation of ECR global and regional programmes, with revitalized partnerships in infrastructure, procurement and project management.

ECR operates global portfolios from offices in Geneva, Brussels and New York, and country-specific programmes from its operations and project centres located in Eastern Europe and Central Asian countries.

Based in the New York, the UNOPS Development Group Cluster supports diverse partners with their peacebuilding, humanitarian and development operations. For example, within the United Nations Development Programme, the Cluster works with the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support and the Office of South-South Cooperation.

The cluster also supports the United Nations Secretariat, as well as a broadening community of other New York-based United Nations organizations in the delivery of project management and implementation services