Communications Specialist - Digital and Content, Multiple positions

The GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP) supports activities of non-governmental and community-based organizations in developing countries to address climate change abatement, conservation of biodiversity, protection of international waters, reduction of the impact of persistent organic pollutants and prevention of land degradation while generating sustainable livelihoods. Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) as a corporate programme, SGP is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on behalf of the GEF partnership, and is executed by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).

The overall objective of this assignment is to disseminate information on the results of the SGP. As the SGP has generated a diverse range of results, it is highly pertinent to capture these results and the lessons that they bring in a variety of formats including publications, stories, brochures, among others.

Grant Management Services (GMS): GMS – previously named the Small Grants Programme (SGP) – is a one-stop shop for managing environmental programmes and projects through grants. Currently, the GMS operations is spread in around 120 countries. The GMS chief niche is to serve global programmes with its main partner UNDP-GEF, and other bilateral member states and donors. GMS has proven experience in grant management and considered as the gold standard for managing grants in UNOPS. It has pushed the boundaries of grantmaking through innovation and upscaling.

To facilitate the achievement of this objective, the Communications Specialist - Digital and Content is tasked the following responsibilities

The Communications Specialist - Digital and Content will work in close cooperation with the SGP Knowledge Management and Communication Specialist, to fulfil the following tasks:

• Edit or copy edits SGP flag-ship publications, reports, brochures, and other communication materials to ensure accuracy, clarity, cohesion and conformity with SGP and UNDP terminology.

• Proofread the document after it has been designed to make sure no mistakes have been made.

• Focuses on copy-editing and proofreading to ensure final products meet the highest standards, although extensive rewriting may be required in some instances. 

• Restructures, rewrites and abridges text, and consults with authors to rectify substantive errors or ambiguities in text. 

• Ensures final versions of documents and publications are suitable for commercial printing and web posting. 

• Write news, feature stories and profile pieces for SGP digital platforms to raise visibility of SGP’s work.

• Identify and research necessary story ideas and subjects, and conduct interviews with SGP country teams and partners to produce such stories.

• Assist with highlighting, extracting and simplifying key messages/content from technical documents to ensure comprehension for a non-technical audience.

• Reduce overlong texts to brief and concise copy within specific word counts.

• Produce texts for infographics to highlight success stories and including voices of multi-stakeholders.

A. Education

• Masters’ degree in environmental issues or management or related field such as: environmental management & governance, project management, international development, etc

B. Work Experience 

• Minimum 5 years of relevant professional editorial experience, (preferably in climate change, biodiversity, land degradation), working experience in managing and highlighting global activities considered an asset. 

• At least 3 years of experience in writing essays or reports is required.

• Experience in UNDP or similar organization projects, experience in development projects is considered to be an asset; 

• At least 3 years’ experience with creating communication products is desirable

• Experience in photography and design of photo essays is desirable; 

• Contributions to publications on eco-system based approach considered an asset.

• Contract type: Individual Contractor Agreement (IICA). ICA retainer modality. A retainer contract is issued for a period of time during which the services of the individual contractor are required intermittently. The individual contractor agreement on retainer basis will specify a “unit price” per day worked. For budgetary purposes, a monetary cap will be determined when the contract is awarded and issued. Please note that the retainer contract will not provide for a minimum, and payment will be made only after completion of work.
• Contract level: IICA-2
• Contract duration: 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.
• 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.