Communication and Reports Officer SC8, Damascus

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WFP seeks candidates of the highest integrity and professionalism who share our humanitarian principles.

Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis, and we are committed to promoting diversity and gender balance.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

All applications should be received no later than 28th September, 2021

CONTRACT TYPE AND DURATION

This position is open to Syrian or Syrian/Palestinian nationals, or holders of a work permit and residency in Syria.

Contract Type: Service Contract (SC8)

Duration: 12 months

Duty Station: Damascus

Number of required employees: 1

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetime. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need. In 2020, WFP was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to fight hunger globally, including its work during the coronavirus pandemic.

In Syria, WFP provides food assistance to more than 4.6 million people each month. This includes families who require emergency assistance when affected by conflict and displacement and also those who need help to improve their nutrition and food security. WFP supports children across Syria with healthy meals and snacks at school, mothers with nutritious diets, and families and communities with sustainable livelihood projects.

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The Communication and Reports Officer will work in close collaboration with Food Security Sector colleaugues and widely liaise with partners to ensure input in communication products. She/he will ensure that communication materials are prepared and disseminated in a timely manner to sector partners, donors and other audiences to ensure that advocacy messages and other relevant reporting and communication products get the necessary attention in a timely manner. 

This post is based in Damascus, Syria under the direct supervision of the Food Security Sector Coordinator in Damascus, Syria.

JOB PURPOSE

One of the core functions of the Food Security Sector (FSS) is to support communication, advocacy and resource mobilisation with a key focus on strengthening communication of specific food security information needed for decision making; reinforcing active participation in inter-cluster, inter-agency standing committee work and IASC subsidiary bodies and enhancing advocacy with national governance, international humanitarian and development organizations and financial partners. The FSS is responsible to communicate clear messages to decision makers on the situation and severity of food security needs of the affected population through informed and well-targeted situation reports.

In order to prevent the food security situation to deteriorate, communication should start at the onset of a food security crisis, or when Early Warning Signals indicate high levels of risk in order to immediately advocate for lifesaving interventions at the earliest possible stage. Throughout the response, the FSS develops regularly updated communication products, such as alerts, bulletins or newsletters to inform all stakeholders about the evolution of the food security situation over time. The FSS also supports strategic dissemination of monitoring and other assessments’ findings and ensures systematic use of such material for response analysis and decision-making. This includes organizing round table discussion with donors and decision makers to advocate on appropriate food security strategy and funding for the FSS partners. The FSS sustains its social media engagement with partners to communicate in real time the key activities, achievements, constraints and challenges at country level. Ultimately, the FSS develops its own resource mobilization strategy to mobilize necessary funds to support coordination mechanisms ahead and during food security crises.

The overall objective of this position is to hence strengthen internal and external communication and reporting with the aim of achieving one of the core functions of the sector of supporting advocacy and resource mobilisation as detailed above.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Within delegated authority, the Communication and Reports Officer will be responsible for the following:

• Design the Syria FSS communication action plan and the communication strategy aligned with the Food Security Cluster (FSC) global strategic plan with the support and guidance of the head of unit and the global FSC.
• Within the communication strategy, identify targeted audience groups, platforms and key messages to maximize the visibility of Syria FSS activities and its endeavors to respond to food insecurity across the country.
• Act as a liaison between partners to identify communication needs of the different activities and be responsible for the production of communication and visibility materials (photos, videos, stories).
• Provide communication expertise in line with FSS standards and when necessary, externalize the production of communication material to external stakeholders.
• Take the lead to produce content, develop and scale-up the implementation of social media platforms, as communication, advocacy and fundraising tools for national and international audiences
• Improve and increase donor visibility activities on the impacts of Syria FSS interventions through traditional and non-traditional communication material.
• Monitor and analyse traditional and social media to inform the development and/or evaluation of communication activities and strategies.
• Support in generating donor specific visibility content including text, photos, videos and audio for use across a range of integrated online platforms, in order to contribute to global and country fund-raising activities, ensuring consistency with corporate messages.
• Support and train, when necessary, colleagues and field staff to produce communication material (photos, videos, stories) to be used for broad dissemination using different platforms.
• As required, coordinate and translate press releases, opinion editorials and other public documents.

• Play an active role in interagency UN advocacy and media opportunities; in coordination with partners feed and update FSS, UN Syria and other relevant social media and website by developing high quality communication materials reflecting the work of FSS in the country.
• Liaise and interact with FSS staff and external counterparts to support aligned activities and a coherent approach to communications within the FSS.
• Collate outreach data, contribute to the preparation of accurate and timely reports, support communications activities that enable informed decision making and ensure consistency of information presented to stakeholders.
• Perform other duties as required.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Advanced University degree in Journalism, International Relations, Public Relations, Communications or other relevant field, or First University degree with additional years of related work experience and/or trainings/courses

Experience:

• Minimum one year post graduate relevant professional experience with Master’s Degree, or three years post graduate relevant professional experience with a first University Degree
• At least 1 year of professional work experience specifically in utilizing specialist communications techniques to enhance functional outputs.
• Experience in producing tailored products, managing and using social media platforms for communication activities.
• Experience supporting projects and operational activities that maintain and develop donor and host government partnerships.
• Has collated data, assisted in drafting resourcing analysis and collaborated with accurate and timely briefs as well as reporting to donors.
• Practical experience and working knowledge on how to create and use relevant tools and software to edit photos, videos and produce stories.

Language: Excellent command of both oral and written communication in English and Arabic.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Substantive analysis and report writing skills
• A great team player and can work with minimum supervision.

FUNCTIONAL CAPABILITIES

1. Media and Influencer Relationship Management- Demonstrates ability to build and sustain effective collaborative relationships with key contacts and influencers in area of expertise to raise the profile of FSS, build relationships and further organizational aims.
2. Communication Expertise- Facilitates open verbal or written communication with media and influencers as required (i.e. through preparation of tailored written or visual materials presentations, and official documentation) to convey tailored messages. Engages in mutually informative discussion with media and influencers.
3. Specialized Knowledge in Communication- Uses sound theoretical knowledge of communications concepts to generate or facilitate the generation of effective communication materials across various media. Applies this to define work plans aligned to identified areas of FSS’s communications strategy.
4. Sociopolitical Contextual Understanding- Demonstrates deep understanding of the multilateral/interagency environment and the dynamics in which FSS operates which influences approach to working, policy development and decision making.
5. Communication Strategy and Planning- Applies advanced understanding of FSS communications strategy and best practice to effectively develop strategies to engage with media and other significant external stakeholders within area of responsibility. Oversees implementation, providing recommendations for improvement.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• Please upload your professional CV in English in PDF format making sure to include the following in your Work Experience:
  • Company/Organization name and scope of work of the organization
  • Exact Position Title and grade (If UN, state exact grade and level)
  • Contract type: part-time, full-time, volunteer, consultant, or freelancer. (If UN, state exact contract modality)
  • Start and End date of Employment for each position: From (dd/mm/yyyy) to (dd/mm/yyyy)
  • Responsibilities: Main responsibilities that highlight your gained skills and experience
• Proof of your work experience will be required in the final stage of recruitment.
• Only short-listed candidates will be invited to the next stage of the selection process.
• Candidates must get an auto confirmation email once application is submitted.
• Follow the links below to submit your application. If the link does not work, copy and paste it in your browser address bar.

HOW TO APPLY

If any of the below links do not work by clicking on it, please copy and paste it in the browser address bar:

Internal candidates: Ensure that your VPN is connected before clicking on the link below.

https://performancemanager5.successfactors.eu/sf/jobreq?jobId=148661&company=C0000168410P

External candidates: 

https://router.job-listing.wfp.org/sfcareer/jobreqcareer?jobId=148661&company=C0000168410P

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Qualified female applicants are especially encouraged to apply

WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.