Communications Officer

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME

All Member States of WHO in the European Region share the common value of the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental human right.All of WHO actions are based on this and rooted in the underlying value of equity as described in the General Programme of Work. The 13th General Programme of Work defines the mission of WHO as one to promote health, to keep the world safe, and to protect the vulnerable. The GPW calls for heightened accountability, prioritizing impact and outcome at country level, and to improve the lives of three billion people, through universal health coverage, through addressing health emergencies, and promoting healthier populations.WHO's mandate revolves around six core functions\: (i) providing leadership on global health matters; (ii) shaping the health research agenda; (iii) setting norms and standards; (iv) articulating evidence-based policy options; (v) providing technical support to countries; and (vi) monitoring and assessing health trends.The European Region (EURO) of WHO is made up of 53 countries, with over 880 million people. The diversity of people and health situations requires, on the demand side, a solid understanding of the emerging socio-economic, epidemiologic and demographic patterns and trends at both aggregate as well as national and sub-national levels, with due sensitivity to disadvantaged populations and vulnerable segments of the society. On the supply side, it is equally crucial to have a solid understanding of the commonalities and divergences of the health systems, the circumstances and political economy under which they have evolved and operate and, more specifically, how these bear upon the way the health system stewardship function of health ministries is carried out.The Country Support and Corporate Communications team (CSC) advises the Regional Director and the Regional Office on its strategy for relations and cooperation with Member States and implements the Regional communications strategy. It is responsible for the in-house coordination of country work, as well as the planning and administration of Biannual Collaborative Agreements. Furthermore, the CSC\: I. advises the Regional Office on its country strategy; II. facilitates, supports and contributes to the coordination of all activities undertaken by the technical units within the countries and works closely with the PAR Unit to ensure development of strategic partnerships at country level to the benefit of the WHO country offices and the Member States; III. ensures the implementation of the communication strategy, the coordination of all communications activities in the Regional Office, GDOs and country offices; IV. is responsible for the development, functioning and sustainability of the EURO web site, the EURO intranet and various media channels.The Web and Internal Communications team(WEB), which is part of CSC, supports the Regional Director and the work of the Regional Office by strategically leading, coordinating and overseeing the web communications activities within the Regional Office and by generating visibility for RD's public interventions. The WEB team is responsible for the planning and coordination of all external web and internal communications, for capacity building in web communications across the office, for providing strategic communications advice to senior management, Technical Divisions, Country Offices, GDOs, networks and partners on web and internal communication issues.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

To be responsible for all the day-to-day activities in the area of internal communications in WHO/EURO, including the EURO Intranet.Key duties\: --> Develops style, standards and SOPs under the guidance of the Communications Officer (Multimedia) and ensures their compliance;--> Monitors intranet web analytics and uses the results to make informed adjustments to the Intranet as necessary;--> Liaises with Divisions, units, and Country Offices to develop and build intranet sub-sites; suggests changes and alternative presentation methods to continually improve sub-sites; conducts regular quality checks of sub-sites with appropriate staff in divisions, units or Country Offices and regularly scans sites for errors or problems and resolves them.--> . Trains content providers on using the Content Management System.Intranet and other internal communications channels, including the creation of accompanying multimedia\: --> Suggests changes and alternative communication channels to continually improve internal communications;--> Ensures information products remain timely and up-to-date; --> Liaises with Headquarters and other WHO Major Offices on a day-to-day basis for internal communications items of common interest and participates in the WHO Global Internal Communications Network. Employee engagement and communications capacity building\: The incumbent conducts basic communications skills training for staff. Suggests ideas and changes to improve horizontal peer-to-peer communications. Liaises with the strategic Communications team to provide WHO staff with talking points on WHO topics in the media. Systematically obtains employee opinions on a regular basis. Backup and support during web designer's leave/absences and during surge periods\: the incumbent\: creates banners, icons, design elements for various products in a backup capacity. Contributes to preparing monthly analytical reports for the public website and assists with multimedia production during peak periods. Emergency preparedness and response\: The incumbent contributes to WHO global communications surge capacity as part of the emergency communications team during humanitarian or public health emergencies and may be deployed to the field.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

Essential\: University degree (Bachelor's level) in Communications, Media Studies or in cultural or business anthropology or other related field.
Desirable\: Master's degree in any of the above fields.

Experience

Essential\: At least two years of relevant work experience in internal communications and web-content management.
Desirable\: Relevant work experience within the United Nations or experience in delivering communications trainings.

Skills

--> Demonstrated ability to research and write news articles for different media, understanding the differences in style for each medium;--> Demonstrated proficiency with Web Content Management Systems; Proficiency with the Adobe CC Suite would be an asset.--> Demonstrated presentation skills. --> Photo editing and graphic creation skills- using Adobe Photoshop (preferred) or equivalent software;

WHO Competencies

Teamwork
Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
Communication
Producing results
Moving forward in a changing environment

Use of Language Skills

Essential\: Expert knowledge of English.
Desirable\: Intermediate knowledge of French RussianGerman.

REMUNERATION

WHO salaries for staff in the Professional category are calculated in US dollars. The remuneration for the above position comprises an annual base salary starting at USD 47,322 (subject to mandatory deductions for pension contributions and health insurance, as applicable), a variable post adjustment, which reflects the cost of living in a particular duty station, and currently amounts to USD 2275 per month for the duty station indicated above. Other benefits include 30 days of annual leave, allowances for dependent family members, home leave, and an education grant for dependent children.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• This vacancy notice may be used to fill other similar positions at the same grade level

• Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.

• A written test may be used as a form of screening.

• In the event that your candidature is retained for an interview, you will be required to provide, in advance, a scanned copy of the degree(s)/diploma(s)/certificate(s) required for this position. WHO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed through the link\: http\://www.whed.net/. Some professional certificates may not appear in the WHED and will require individual review.

• Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to WHO Staff Regulations, Staff Rules and Manual.

• Staff members in other duty stations are encouraged to apply.

• For information on WHO's operations please visit\: http\://www.who.int.

• WHO is committed to workforce diversity.

• WHO's workforce adheres to the WHO Values Charter and is committed to put the WHO Values into practice.

• WHO has a smoke-free environment and does not recruit smokers or users of any form of tobacco.

• WHO has a mobility policy which can be found at the following link\: http\://www.who.int/employment/en/. Candidates appointed to an international post with WHO are subject to mobility and may be assigned to any activity or duty station of the Organization throughout the world.

• Applications from women and from nationals of non and underrepresented Member States are particularly encouraged.

• For WHO General Service staff who do not meet the minimum educational qualifications, please see e-Manual III.4.1, para 220.