Communications Assistant SC 5 (12 months Renewable contract) Windhoek, Namibia

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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.

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 lifetimes.  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 emergencies, WFP gets food to where it is needed, saving the lives of victims of war, civil conflict and natural disasters. After an emergency, WFP uses food to help communities rebuild their shattered lives. Present in nearly 80 countries, the organization has the global footprint, deep field presence and local knowledge and relationships necessary to provide access to nutritious food and contribute to the lasting solutions, especially in many of the world’s most remote and fragile areas. We manage an operating budget of approximately $5.9 billion each year, distributing 12.6 billion rations to those most in need. We reach an average of 80 million people with food assistance in around 80 countries each year. The World Food Programme office in Johannesburg is a Regional Office coordinating and supporting the delivery of humanitarian assistance to 11 Southern Africa countries including, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Botswana, Malawi, Madagascar, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo Brazaville.

For more on WFP and what we do, please go to http://www.wfp.org/videos/zero-hunger

JOB PURPOSE

Namibia, an Upper Middle-Income Country, has made significant economic and social progress since its independence in 1990. The Namibian economy, until recently, recorded strong and steady economic growth while the country’s poverty rate was reduced significantly from 69% in 1993 to 17.4% in 2018. This impressive achievement has been underpinned by sustained political stability, sound macro-economic management and good governance. Some progress in reducing the pervasive income inequality has also been made. Despite these gains, Namibia remains amongst the most unequal nations in the world. Stunting
and malnutrition continue to stagnate. According to the preliminary findings of a recent assessment carried out following the 2018/2019 drought and COVID situation, an estimated 400,000 people are food insecure with food insecurity more prevalent in the north-western regions mainly due to prevailing chronic poverty, drought and the prevailing COVID impact on households. Main contributing factors to food insecurity and under-nourishment are the high
poverty rate, inequality of the income distribution, and the incidence of HIV/AIDS. This position will therefore be core to WFP’s contribution to the Government of Namibia and other stakeholders in addressing stagnating food and nutrition security situation while putting in place interventions to accelerate the journey towards zero hunger. The position will enable WFP to 2 actively engage in the Namibia Market Systems and Financial landscape in order to co-lead, review, refine and develop programmes and products that support a range food system activities in order to contribute positively to the accelerated journey towards Zero Hunger.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Finance, the communication assistant, will have the following
responsibilities:

1.Provide coordination, administrative and specialised services, to support staff in the development, preparation and execution of communications campaigns for target audiences.
2. Monitor and coordinate materials, schedules, facilities and clearances, and provide support for special events, and video/film, photographic and radio projects. 3. Conduct clearly defined research and prepare reports and provide data that enables informed decision-making.
4. Monitor traditional and social media and report relevant information to senior staff to inform the development and/or evaluation of communications activities and strategies.
5. Under clear guidance, prepare content for traditional and social media platforms and networks, and printed materials, to enhance coverage and support of WFP’s activities, ensuring consistency with corporate messages and standards.
6. Distribute communications guidelines for WFP staff to refer to when creating content.
7. Manage and maintain records and databases, such as journalist and media outlet contact lists, to ensure the information is accurate, organised and readily available for others to access.
8. Respond to a variety of queries and requests for support, following standard processes,and obtaining guidance as required, to ensure timely and accurate resolution of all enquiries.
9. Liaise with WFP staff and the media in a timely manner, to support aligned activities and an effective approach to communications within WFP.

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose

• Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Helps teammates articulate WFP’s Strategic Objectives.
•  Be a force for positive change: Suggests potential improvements to team’s work processes to supervisor.
•  Make the mission inspiring to our team: Explains the impact of WFP activities in beneficiary communities to teammates.
•  Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Articulates how own unit’s responsibilities will serve WFP’s mission.

People

• Look for ways to strengthen people's skills: Trains junior teammates on new skills and capabilities.
•  Create an inclusive culture: Seeks opportunities to work with people from different backgrounds.
•  Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Serves as a peer coach for colleagues in same area of work.
•  Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Tracks progress toward goals and shares this information on a regular basis with supervisor.

Performance

• Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Explores ways to consistently be more efficient and accurate in own areas of work and shares new methods of work with colleagues.
•  Focus on getting results: Focuses on getting results and tracks trends in completion rates for own tasks to identify opportunities for efficiency.
•  Make commitments and make good on commitments: Takes responsibility for own tasks and notifies supervisor as soon as possible of potential delays in meeting deadlines or commitments.
•  Be Decisive: Independently decides what action to take when faced with critical choices in the workplace or in dangerous situations in the field.

Partnership

• Connect and share across WFP units: Suggests opportunities for partnering with other units to supervisor.
•  Build strong external partnerships: Identifies opportunities to work with colleagues and partners in the field towards common goals.
•  Be politically agile & adaptable: Develops an understanding of the value of WFP’s teams and external partners in fulfilling team’s goals and objectives.
•  Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Aligns own activities with supervisor’s priorities to fulfill internal and external partner needs.
   

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education: Completion of secondary school education. A post-secondary certificate in the related functional area is desirable.

Experience:  four years of experience in Media and communications.

Language: Fluency in both oral and written communication in English. Fluency in the
local languages used in Namibia is desirable.

 

CONTRACTUAL INFOMATION

• This is a 12 Months renewable Contract
• Net monthly salary range: NAD24613 - NAD32488
• Benefits: Annual Leave & Medical Insurance

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

Friday, 20  October 2021, 11:59 Namibian Time Zone GMT

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This position is open to Namibian Nationals & Namibian Permanent Residents 

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.