Background

South-South cooperation, gender equality and social inclusion are promoted across the pillars. The programme is supported by a framework of renewed partnerships and blended finance solutions, strategic innovation and accelerator labs, and data and digital architecture.

You are invited to join a team of future-smart development professionals to support India in achieving the national and globally agreed goals. As part of the UNDP team, your focus will be to work with diverse stakeholders to find country-specific solutions that lead to sustainable development and reach those furthest behind first.

The Communications Officer will be part of the UNDP India Country Office Communications and Partnerships team, with a specific focus on the Sustainable and Inclusive Growth portfolio project including “Boosting FLFPR through strengthened Urban Care Ecosysytem”. The Communications and Partnerships team at UNDP works to strengthen internal and external communications and build strategic partnerships to deliver results at scale and speed to meet the Agenda 2030. The unit is responsible for developing effective and agile communication and partnership strategies to support the development needs of our partners and stakeholders and promote understanding of UNDP’s work in India. The unit delivers communication campaigns that support our diverse priorities, showcases our stories of change, engages media, leverages digital and multimedia for enhanced outreach engagement and advises on reputation management and crisis communications. The Communications and Partnership unit works in close collaboration with programme and project staff across the country, other UN agencies, governments, donors, private sector, civil society and media to deliver on the vision and outcomes in the Country Programme Document.

UNDP’s Country Programme Document (2023-2027) intended outcome 2 states that “By 2027, people will benefit from and contribute to sustainable and inclusive growth through higher productivity, competitiveness and diversification in economic activities that create decent work, livelihoods, and income particularly for youth and women”.

Currently, the unit has programmes and partnerships with national ministries, state government departments, CSOs and private sector. Supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), UNDP is also starting a new pilot programme on “Boosting Female Labour Force Participation through Strengthened Urban Childcare”. Current planned duration of the project is three years, and it is planned to be implemented in collaboration with the DAY - NULM, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs The programme aims to contributes towards the overall goal of “Increased opportunities for urban poor women to participate in paid workforce, driven by the availability of accessible and affordable quality childcare services in their community/vicinity of workplaces.”

To support, facilitate and promote the above-mentioned programmes, the Sustainable and Inclusive Growth (SIG) unit, UNDP intends to engage a Communication Officer to plan and implement a programme communications strategy geared towards influencing the development agenda, ensuring public and media outreach on the programme mandate and results, supporting key flagship events, and supporting donor communications.

Duties and Responsibilities

Reporting To: The Communication Officer will work under the direct supervision of the Head of Communications and Partnerships, and in close collaboration with the National Program Manager, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth Unit.

Reportees to this position (if applicable): NA 

• Facilitate knowledge building and management focusing on project’s best practices, lessons learned, and stories from the ground.
• Support business development focusing on promoting public information campaigns, strengthening coverage and understanding of the project progress and achievements.
• Ensure increased media coverage, public engagement and better understanding of the UNDP’s work in the country, in collaboration with Government, development partners and donors
• Support donor reporting, civic education and community awareness, as and when needed, to support the project implementation.
• Organization of roundtable discussions, press conferences, briefing sessions, interviews, launches
• Any other tasks assigned by Head of Communications and Partnerships Unit and Team Leader, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth Unit

Competencies

Core Competencies:

• Achieve Results: Level 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline
• Think Innovatively: Level 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements 
• Learn Continuously: Level 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback
• Adapt with Agility: Level 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible 
• Act with Determination: Level 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident
• Engage and Partner: Level 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: Level 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:

Communications    

• Advocacy Strategy and Implementation: Ability to create and implement advocacy strategies which lead to impactful change, Ability to write and edit in a clear and concise manner
• Innovation Management: Ability to plan, manage and execute of public and private events to ensure that they support and amplify individual communications and advocacy initiatives, as well as UNDP's overall brand and mandate.

Digital and Innovation    

• Effective Decision Making: Ability to define and create the conditions for trying out new ways of working or introducing new problem solving approaches. Ability to develop, manage and evaluate activities that raises awareness, builds confidence, strengthens innovation capabilities around a certain method, tool or technique; or helps develop an innovation mindset.

Business Direction and Strategy    

• Negotiation and Influence: Ability to reach an understanding, persuade others, resolve points of difference, gain advantage in the outcome of dialogue, negotiates mutually acceptable solutions through compromise and creates ‘win-win’ situations

Monitoring    

• Monitoring: Ability to provide managers and stakeholders with regular feedback on the consistency or discrepancy between planned and actual activities and programme performance and results

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (master's degree or equivalent) in journalism or communication or social science or any related field is required
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• Minimum 2 years of relevant working experience (Bachelor’s degree) or up to 2 years (Master’s degree) in development communication, journalism, public relations or any closely related field.
• Additional years of relevant experience is highly desirable.

Required skills and competencies:

• Demonstrated experience in communications, strategic outreach and media visibility
• Demonstrated knowledge of public information and advocacy techniques
• Proven experience in English editing and writing
• Excellent knowledge of managing social media outreach and content development
• Demonstrable ability to work well in a team as well as take independent initiative
• Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values andethical standards
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP, and partner organizations
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
• Capable of working with deadlines and taking on a range of tasks
• Self-motivated and proactively able to identify and strategically recommend options for resolutions of issues

Desired additional skills and competencies:

• Previous experience in leading/supporting communications/public relations in the development sector or with international organizations
• Knowledge/exp of gender equality, inclusivity related comms work would be an advantage
• Previous experience in journalism/ media

Required Languages:

• Excellent written and oral communications skills in English and Hindi are essential.

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination. 

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles. 

Right to select multiple candidates

UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

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