Communication Officer (Communication and Reporting) - Re-advertised

Established in 2009, UNOPS Ethiopia Office has been providing services to various partners, including the government of Ethiopia, UN agencies such as WHO, UNHCR and WFP, and other international organizations. Since 2014, the UNOPS Ethiopia Multi-country Office (EMCO) runs and coordinates the UNOPS activities in Ethiopia, as well as Sudan and Djibouti. The UNOPS EMCO team is composed of approximately 100 national and international women and men, and offers a broad range of services such as infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial and human resources management.

Currently, UNOPS EMCO is undertaking the EU COVID 19 Pandemic Response project for the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) with a base in Djibouti.

IGAD member states are among the most vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus appears to be spreading rapidly in the sub-region and governments have limited capacity to effectively monitor, contain and mitigate the pandemic. Various containment and mitigation measures are now in place in most countries, including complete lockdown, with the closure of borders and the reduction/suspension of international flights. These measures have however negative secondary effects not only on the movement of vulnerable populations and goods, but also on food security. Very dependent on external markets and investments, the impact of the pandemic on the sub-region economy and in particular employment is already manifesting and could be dramatic in the coming months. Disruptions to supply chains could cause food price hike and shortages, increase nutrition insecurity, halt production in key value chains.

The proposed programme design is intended to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the IGAD sub-region, responding to the call for international support made by IGAD Heads of States, Health and Finance Ministers.

UNOPS seeks an experienced Communication professional to support Ethiopia Multi-country Office (EMCO) projects, and more specifically the EU COVID 19 Response for IGAD.

Reporting to the Senior Project Manager, the Communication Officer will play an instrumental role in supporting the attainment of the project delivery and business targets by taking a lead role in ensuring compliance, monitoring, analyzing, and reporting the results of the project.

The incumbent will be responsible to abide by the security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.

The Communication Officer shall perform, among other things, the following duties and responsibilities:

• Support the development, implementation, and management of a communication, advocacy and branding action plan for PMU to strengthen communication in support of the PMU strategic goals.
• Provide support to the PMU to boost its visibility and awareness including identification of key stories, content, lessons learned, and achievements;
• Support the Project Manager in liaising with the participating donors, other UN agencies and UNOPS communications teams on joint initiatives and messaging.
• Monitor views and perceptions of the various partners, and audiences of the project and make positioning recommendations based on the information collected. This includes the collection and analysis of website and social media metrics to gauge reach, engagement and other performance measures to inform external visibility and branding strategies and perception surveys for the PMU.

• Overall responsibility for the project reports on activities, including newsletters, substantive monthly and/or quarterly progress reports, projects briefs, annual reports,
• Ensure adherence to internal reporting mechanisms;etc.
• Support in the continuous development of the project reporting templates, in particular with the drafting of internal and external reports within given timeline;
• Assist in the documentation of key findings in regular analysis of the project 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;
• 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.
• Produce statistics, maps, charts, presentations and other reports as required by the Project.

• Develop the internal information management capability by way of professional capacity building, assessing training requirements and providing internal mentoring, or requesting external training.

• Develop and facilitate a Project Database that ensures service delivery driven by strategic priorities.
• Develop and facilitate the foundation and maintenance of information management mechanisms to support the Project, eliminate duplication of service delivery, and provide a centralized information management system structure to improve project delivery.
• Coordinate information management tasks and ensure timelines are met.
• Act as the Information Management focal point for the project.

• Support project manager to ensure compliance with donor project agreements and other projects related contracts;
• Support data entry into projects Information Management System (IMS) and other databases;
• Perform any other duties deemed necessary by the Project Manager.

Education

• Advanced University Degree in communications, journalism, public relations, international development, political science, international relations, or other relevant discipline is required.

• A first level university degree combined with two additional years of relevant experience will substitute the requirement for an advanced degree

Experience

• A minimum of 2 years of experience in communications and reporting, media relations, advocacy and/or outreach in international organizations, or other relevant fields is required; 

• Experience in producing analytical reports and video/audio production is required.

• Experience in social media, consultations and stakeholder management in an emergency response or post disaster context is an advantage;

• Experience in graphic design is an advantage.

• Experience of working in developing country’s context is highly desirable; 

Languages

• Full working knowledge of English is essential

• Fluency in French and/or one or more additional official UNOPS languages is an advantage.

• Contract type: ICA
• Contract level: I-ICA 1
• Contract duration: Ongoing ICA – ‘Open-ended, subject to the project duration, 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.
• Djibouti city is a 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
• 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.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.