Communications Senior Officer

Project Background

The Iraq Information Center (IIC) was launched in 2015 following an inter-agency assessment into the information and communication needs of displaced populations in Iraq. Responding to one of the most complex humanitarian crises in the world, the Humanitarian Country Team agreed to the establishment of an inter-agency accountability mechanism that allows affected populations to directly influence the evolution of humanitarian response in Iraq. 

The IIC is implemented by UNOPS and is funded by a range of partners. Since its launch, the IIC has handled more than 500,000 calls, giving information to more than 3 milliion individuals. The IIC’s primary objective is to promote two-way communication between affected populations to:

• Empower communities through the provision of accessible and timely information on how to access humanitarian services and resources required to improve their situation;

• Help ensure efficient and effective coordination of humanitarian actors operating in Iraq by collecting and circulating information about the urgent needs and priorities of affected populations, as well as the information gaps between them and delivering actors;

• Support an environment of transparency and accountability by establishing an easy-to-access and safe mechanism through which critical feedback and complaints can be submitted and referred to humanitarian actors to influence humanitarian programming and shape advocacy.

Purpose and Scope of Assignment 

UNOPS is seeking Communication and Reporting Officer  to support and enhance reporting, communication, and information management structures. The post aims to further strengthen and streamline the IIC’s data collection, data sharing and reporting processes as part of its overall objective to strengthen accountability to affected populations in Iraq. The incumbent reports to the Project Manager, will supervise three people, two Community Engagement people and one communications/ Social networks Associate. The Communications Officer will work closely with the Information Management and Coordination department in order to contribute to the overall project objectives.

With the aim of strengthening the quality of communications and reporting services provided by the project as well as the internal capacity of the IIC, the Communication and Reporting Officer  will perform the following duties with transparency and integrity, and in adherence to the humanitarian standards for information management as provided by the Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance (ALNAP), the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) and the Sphere Handbook, the Communications and Reporting Officer will conduct the following tasks:

Reporting (internal and external)

• Support in the continuous development of the IIC reporting templates, in particular with the drafting of internal and external reports within given deadlines; 

• Assist in the documentation of key findings in regular analysis of the IIC’s impact on the response, including operational developments, achievements, constraints, concerns, and request for support, and in the communication of these findings to partners, donors and other stakeholders;

• Gather and report on feedback from partners in a systematic way to facilitate analysis, reporting of impact, procedures on referrals, and support the overall accountability of humanitarian actors to the affected population; 

• Contribute to preparation of briefs, talking points, key messaging for discussions with partners in key coordination meetings to discuss data, trends analysis and any identified gaps and/or needs observed.

Communication (internal and external)

• Assist the IIC Information Management Officer, Supervisor and Operators in the implementation of internal and external information structures, policies and standard operating procedures to facilitate, support, and promote data and information sharing within the call centre and the wider humanitarian community;

• Establish and maintain an effective communication strategy for the IIC, incorporating methods for the comprehensive distribution of visibility materials and outreach efforts as undertaken by the Community Engagement team, as well as ensure digestion of public information products and facilitated presence at key coordination forums;

• Represent the IIC at different meetings upon request, including but not limited to cluster-level meetings. In addition to design and deliver cluster-specific, and other tailored presentations as required with the support of the Information Management Officer;

• Draft and edit promotional and/or communication materials and strategy to raise the profile of the call centre among affected populations and humanitarian actors (nationally and globally);

• Serve as the IIC focal point in the Strategic Communications Group and actively promote the project within the inter-agency fora;

• Maintain close interaction with Project team to share information and knowledge as related to project activities and communications; 

• Lead, monitor and supervise the implementation of the IIC community mobilization and information dissemination strategies in collaboration with the IIC communications team;

• Plan monthly missions following the humanitarian response needs and liaise with IIC’s partners to coordinate joint field visits, with the assistance of the Community Engagement Team;

• Ensure all field visits are properly documented and reported in due time and following quality standards;

• Draft, prepeare and monitor quarterly Outreach Activity reports to be delivered to the IIC programme team, ensuring the quality and accuracy of data delivered from the field visits;

• Liaise, coordinate and monitor with other departments that information gathered from the field is taken into consideration; and follow existing information sharing tools by partners and stakeholders, to tailor field activity plans to most updated according to the needs of communities;

• Ensure all AAP concepts and principles are taking into consideration while implementing community engagement activities; 

Other duties as required:

• In collaboration with the Project Manager and Information Management team, support to update the standard operator procedures, internal guidelines, external communications and reporting as required,

• Communicate with partners to provide guidance on IIC procedures, and to update the IIC’s tools, including but not limited to: the service directory for humanitarian services, standard messaging on key issues, and referral agreements for the channeling of feedback and complaints,

• Perform any other duties as requested by the Project Manager.

• Masters degree in communications, journalism, information management, or a related field from an accredited academic institution with two years of relevant professional experience. A Bachelor's degree in the above fields with four years of relevant professional experience can be accepted in lieu of a Master's degree.

• Minimum of 2 years of progressively responsible experience in research and analysis, reporting, external relations, communications, advocacy, and/or outreach including experience at the international level, and/or related field.  

• Fluency in English is required.
• Fluency in Arabic is an asset.

Contract type: Individual Contract Agreement (ICA) Contract level: IICA 2
Contract duration: Ongoing ICA – ‘Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.’

• 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.
• Erbil is not a UN Family Duty Station
• UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• 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.