Senior Communications Consultant, Fluent in English

Senior communications consultant

Division: Statistics Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs

Duty station: New York (Home based in project partner countries may be considered)

Duration: 1 year (Part-time)

Languages: English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. Knowledge of Spanish highly desired.

The United Nations Statistics Division is looking for applications from qualified, eligible professionals to work part-time (three days per week) as Senior Communications Consultant under a one-year consultancy contract.

Background and objectives:

The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity are the implementing agencies of the project “Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services.” By integrating environmental and economic information, NCA can supplement measures such as GDP with information on assets of natural resources and ecosystems and encourage improved management of natural resources. This three-year project, funded by the European Union, aims to advance the development of natural capital accounting (NCA) and mainstream ecosystem related analysis and decision making. The project will initiate pilot testing of the System of Environmental Economic Accounting Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EEA) – the statistical framework used for NCA – and valuation of ecosystem services in five strategic partner countries: Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa.

Accounting in general is not an easy topic to communicate given its highly technical and multi-disciplinary nature. There is a great need to better explain and demonstrate the usefulness of NCA for informing policy. The communication and visibility plan of the project has two main objectives. First to raise awareness and gain support among key groups and stakeholders for the implementation of the project in partner countries as well as globally. Second, communication on the project deliverables to as wide of an audience as possible.

The outputs of the project are expected to 1) ensure awareness-raising among key groups and stakeholders including the private sector and civil society; 2) influence policy-makers at national, regional and local levels to take action in line with national environmental priorities and international commitments; 3) scale up the use of NCA to other countries as part of the overall effort global implementation for the SEEA EEA.

Work assignment:

In order to contribute to these objectives, the following is a summary of the scope of the activities to be performed and deliverables to be provided by the consultant.

Communications strategy and process:

• Assess the overall effectiveness of the existing communications strategy and make changes as needed by liaising with senior management. The goals of the strategy are to improve outreach for the SEEA at a global and national level and gain support and visibility for the implementation of the project, with a focus on the partner countries;
• Take the lead in the strategy, planning, development and implementation of communications and knowledge dissemination activities;
• Identify opportunities to amplify SEEA messages and their use in decision making with focus in the partner countries;
• Liaise with United Nations Department of Public Information partners as needed, to help to optimize branding and dissemination of new products;
• Liaise with partners such as national statistical offices, UN Regional Offices, and other stakeholders, as needed.
• Support national-level communication teams in the partner countries in contributing to project objectives;
• Establish monitoring and evaluation of the impact of communications activities and products of the project;

Media relations and social media:

• Promote and ensure media coverage of the project and programme activities (e.g. press releases, press conferences, photo coverage and interviews, etc.) by building and maintaining a network of communications contacts with the press, governmental agencies, international institutions and other organizations in civil society in partner countries;
• Develop a social media strategy for various platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. and train staff in social media;
• Develop and grow contacts for newsletter subscribers.

Communications products and outputs:

• Produce and/or oversee frequent and regular new outputs (briefing notes, press releases, fact sheets, talking points, audio-visuals materials, presentations, media kits, infographics, etc.) as needed, by working closely with project managers, national statistics offices, and subject experts;
• Design and produce a range of promotional brochures for the SEEA (e.g. “Why SEEA?”) targeted towards different groups of stakeholders, for adaptation and use by countries;
• Assess the overall effectiveness of the existing SEEA website (seea.un.org) in reaching various audiences and improve the website as needed;
• Develop short stories/best practice stories, op-ed pieces and articles to be published in the quarterly SEEA newsletter and SEEA website (seea.un.org), as well as edit articles received from collaborators;
• Support the organization of national seminars in the project countries to ensure communication and outreach with the broader national stakeholders’ communities, as well as the international community, including the EU delegation.

Deliverables

Means of verification of the project include the number of countries engaged in NCA in the world and media coverage of NCA (both nationally and global). Specific deliverables for this consultancy include:

• A proven process for obtaining regular content from project partners and experts;
• A SEEA newsletter developed quarterly that will showcase minimum one article from one of the partner countries;
• A blog that will feature, at least once in a month, an article or opinion piece authored by technical experts, project country directors and experts, and other experts and policy-makers;
• Social media platforms, regularly updated, with a strategy for increasing followers/re-tweets/likes, etc.;
• Communications products designed, developed, updated and disseminated to target audiences;
• Quarterly reports on the progress and achievement of defined communication products and outcomes.

Education and Experience

• Advanced degree in communications, journalism, public affairs, public relations or other related fields. A first-level university degree in combination with additional two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree;
• At least seven years’ post-graduate experience in strategic communications and public information, journalism, development studies, or related area.
• Experience in covering economics, environment policy or sustainable development is highly desirable.
• Experience creating and managing social media accounts on development issues is highly desirable.
• Experience in website development and management, including creating and uploading content is highly desirable.
• Experience in international organizations, government or non-profit sectors would be a strong asset.
• Proficiency with Microsoft word; proficiency with Prezi, Adobe Creative Suite package and visualization tools are an asset.

Competencies

• Ability to rapidly adapt and respond to changes in environment and priorities.
• Ability to work on multiple projects which includes prioritizing, tracking, attention to detail, follow-up and follow-through to project completion.
• Strong project management, problem-solving, written and verbal communication, public speaking, presentation, and meeting leadership/facilitation skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to establish effective working relationships with a broad range of internal and external stakeholders/partners.
• Enjoys the dynamics and challenges of working in an international environment.

Supervision

The consultant will work under the supervision of the Project Manager, Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services within the Environmental-Economic Accounts Section, Economic Statistics Branch of the Statistics Division, DESA.

How to apply

Interested candidates are requested to send, by 4 June 2018, their application letter and CV to seea@un.org with the following subject line: “Senior Communications Consultant”.

Interested candidates are requested to send, by 4 June 2018, their application letter and CV to seea@un.org with the following subject line: “Senior Communications Consultant”.