Terms of Reference

Social Media Consultant

DER/Global Communications Service

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is offering a UNOPS consultancy within its global Social
Media team, which is a remote team spread across different time zones. The incumbent will
be based in Tokyo, Japan.

The consultancy will be within UNHCR’s Global Communications Service (GCS), which sits
within the Department of External Relations (DER). It will serve both GCS and the UNHCR
Representation in Japan. This exciting consultancy is a unique opportunity to play a leading
role in strategizing and delivering social media content, in support of the refugee participation
at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo, summer 2021.

UNHCR is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a
better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. Every year,
millions of men, women and children are forced to flee their homes to escape conflict and
persecution. We are in over 125 countries, using our expertise to protect and care for
millions.

Title: Social Media Consultant
Duty Station: Tokyo, Japan
Duration: 31 December 2020, with possibility of extension until end September 2021
Contract Type: UNOPS IICA-2
Closing date: 25 October 2020
Start date: ASAP

Organizational context

Social Media is one of UNHCR's most important channels of public communications.
UNHCR's global Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat and TikTok channels
have millions of followers worldwide. Expert management of social media – including
UNHCR's own global social media accounts – is essential to meeting the objectives of the
Global Communications Strategy and UNHCR's broader objectives.

The Tokyo Olympics provide a unique opportunity to engage and inspire audiences in Japan
and abroad on the refugee cause, and to significantly increase UNHCR’s brand awareness
and understanding of the vital role we play in refugee protection. The story of the first-ever
refugee Olympic team at Rio 2016 Olympics saw the highest media coverage that UNHCR
has ever recorded. Over 400,000 Brazilians joined UNHCR’s social media platforms, and to
this day this is a motivated audience that engages and shares UNHCR’s storytelling.
Recognizing the global importance of this event, and the potential opportunities, the social
media consultant will work towards engaging both the Japanese and the global audiences
with the IOC Refugee Olympic Team and the IPC Refugee Paralympic Team.

The position

Based in Tokyo, Japan, the incumbent will report to UNHCR’s Head of Social Media with
day-to-day supervision from the Representative in Tokyo. S/he will work in very close
coordination with the communications unit of the UNHCR Representation in Japan, while
being a member of UNHCR’s global Social Media team. The team is responsible for
developing and delivering the organization’s social media strategy and managing its global
accounts. It nurtures a diverse refugee-supporting community of tens of millions of people
worldwide, leads on social media content partnerships, and provides strategic and
operational support to UNHCR’s leadership, national account managers, regional bureaus
and partners.

The consultancy will be focused on social media strategy and planning, social and digital
partnerships-building, capacity building and content production on refugee athletes and paraathletes. More broadly, it will contribute to showing how sport acts as a bridge and common
ground to create understanding and strengthen relations between displaced and host
communities.

Duties and responsibilities

1. Strategy, Audience Targeting, Growth and Engagement

Focusing on the UNHCR-related social media accounts in Japan:
• Develop proposals for maximizing their potential, after conducting a SWOT analysis
of these accounts and a high-level comparative exercise with the social media
presence of peer organizations. Engage in a similar SWOT analysis of UNHCR’s
website as needed.
• In line with the UNHCR Japan Strategy, the Communications Strategy for Tokyo
2020, UNHCR’s Global Communications Strategy and the Audience Research for
UNHCR’s communications in Japan: (a) narrow-down the target audiences for each
UNHCR social media platform in Japan; and (b) create a dedicated plan to increase
their following, reach and engagement, using the latest tools and content trends,
including targeting posts, and paid as well as organic content.
• Document and analyze social media metrics for the Japan accounts, working closely
with UNHCR’s Corporate Communications Section on reporting, and feed learnings
back to the social media team in a timely manner to ensure the relevant workplan can
adapt.

2. Social Media and Digital Partnerships

• Support the global Head of Social Media and the Senior Communications Officer in
Tokyo to nurture and manage UNHCR's partnerships with social media and digital
companies that have a presence in Japan, including but not limited to Line, Twitter,
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and TikTok.
• Identify upcoming opportunities and best practices for strategic placement of UNHCR
content on third-party platforms in Japan, including social and digital media
companies, and in particular non-traditional UNHCR partners.
• Collaborate with the global Social Media Officer leading on influencer engagement
and the Global Goodwill Ambassador Team to plan the best use of online voices,
accounts, networks and fanbases of UNHCR’s celebrity supporters (in Japan and
globally), in order to meet the objectives of UNHCR’s Olympics strategy.

3. Capacity building

• Analyze capacity gaps in the use of social media by key UNHCR staff and partners in
Japan.
• Develop and conduct training sessions in Tokyo, to strengthen the capacity of
UNHCR and partner staff, and ensure that the output created for the Japan official
and leadership accounts is in line with strategic priorities, the evolving nature of the
social media world and UNHCR’s communications needs.
• Develop and share guidelines and good practices, tailored to the work of UNHCR
Japan.

4. Social Content Production and Publishing

Produce original content for UNHCR’s official and leadership accounts (in Japan and
globally), including social video, working as part of a wider team for platforms which may
include Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Line.
The exact deliverables during the initial three-month contract, will be defined on the basis of
the above in collaboration with the incumbent’s manager and supervisor.

Essential minimum qualifications and professional experience required

The ideal candidate will have:

• A university degree in social media, digital journalism, communications, digital
marketing, media or a related field required. As Master’s degree in one of the same
fields is desirable.
• Minimum of six years’ experience working in communications roles, of which a
minimum of three years working on social media.
• Fluency in Japanese – written and oral with excellent copy-writing skills for social
media.
• Fluency in English – written and oral with excellent copy-writing skills for social
media.
• Experience managing branded accounts with one million or more followers.
• Experience developing and conducting training workshops on social media and
speaking about social media in relevant public forums.
• Experience working in an international non-profit context, ideally including time in
the field, or ability to demonstrate experience of an equivalent working context with
awareness, advocacy and fundraising objectives.
• Experience producing social media content around major international events, in
particular sporting events.
• An understanding of working with Goodwill Ambassadors, celebrities or influencers
and the particular opportunities and challenges around celebrity activity.
• Knowledge of the UN system and the humanitarian community.
• Previous work experience in the humanitarian or development sectors.

Location

The successful candidate will be based within the UNHCR Representation in Tokyo, Japan.

Conditions

UNHCR closely tracks the performance of all social media content and identifies effective
messaging, formats and strategies. Material developed by the Social Media Consultant will
be measured for impact and efficacy.

The incumbent will attend regular editorial meetings and confer regularly with team members
including the Head of Social Media.

Performance will be assessed on an ongoing basis, with established goals, regular informal
feedback, and a formal assessment at the end of the contract period.

To apply

Interested applicants are requested to submit their application to the Profile Social Media
Officer - 13933 on the career page at www.unhcr.org/careers by clicking on the “Vacancies”
tab.

The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and
opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal
opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce.
Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of
race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender
identity.

Please note that UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process
(application, interview, meeting, travelling, processing, training or any other fees).
Closing date: 25 October 2020 (midnight Geneva time).