Communications Senior Officer (Creative Strategy)

UNOPS supports partners to build a better future by providing services that increase the efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of peace building, humanitarian, and development projects.  Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement, and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors, and United Nations organizations.

New York Service Cluster (NYSC) supports the United Nations Secretariat, as well as other New York-based United Nations organizations, bilateral and multilateral partners in the delivery of UNOPS mandate in project management, infrastructure management, and procurement management. 

Sustainable Development Cluster (SDC) supports diverse partners with their peacebuilding, humanitarian, and development operations. It was formed by combining the following portfolios: Grants Management Services (GMS), UN Technology Support Services (UNTSS), Development and Special Initiatives Portfolio (DSIP) It provides Services to partners' programmes that are designed, structured, and managed with a global perspective and primarily serving partners that are headquartered in New York.  The SDC has a footprint of approximately 125 countries.

UNOPS has signed an agreement with the United Nations to implement the project activities for UN Global Pulse. 

UN Global Pulse: UN Global Pulse (UNGP) is an initiative of the Executive Office of Secretary-General (EOSG) founded in 2009.  UNGP works in support of the Secretary-General’s priorities, in the advancement of the UN Charter and serves as a cross-pillar lead and hub for experimentation and digital innovation.  UNGP has globally distributed teams in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia.  The teams work with digital innovation, strategic foresight, real-time data, and artificial intelligence to further sustainable development, humanitarian and peace outcomes.  UNGP’s vision is ‘A world in which responsible and inclusive digital innovation serves to empower people and protect the planet’. The mission is to work at the intersection of digital innovation and science to inform, inspire and support the entire UN and those it serves, to anticipate and respond to the challenges of today and tomorrow.

The goals of the UNGP Network are: i) to generate knowledge, capabilities and approaches that support the transformation of the United Nations into a more agile and resilient ‘next-generation’ institution; ii) to create and accelerate the development of globally accessible approaches that help communities and partners anticipate and address emerging global challenges; and iii) to advocate for the global transformation of policies, practices, and culture required to maximise the impact of digital innovation, minimise its risk of harm, and ensure pathways to scale and sustainability. 

The incumbent of this position will be personnel of UNOPS under its full responsibility.

In May 2022, UN Global Pulse launched its new strategy, now serving as the Secretary General’s Innovation Lab, and reframing its value-add in the context of the UN system. In light of the bold opportunities outlined within the new strategy and recent recruitments undertaken, UNGP looks to build out the Creative Communications and Design portfolio extensively over 2022-2023 and use creative practices to further drive change and support its mission of innovating for our common future.

The Creative Communications and Design portfolio will serve as a “creative studio” to not only support corporate communications but reimagine how creative and science-based communications can be applied to bridge art and organizational change. The portfolio focuses on three strategic pillars across multiple levels of the system UNGP operates, including the UNGP Network, the wider UN system, and our ecosystem of partners working to use values-based innovation approaches to catalyse collective action. 

The three pillars supporting the Creative Communications and Design portfolio are: 

• Demonstrate the value, lessons learned, and examples of innovation; 

• Build a culture for creative communications and design to drive transformative change;

• Reimagine and experiment with how we communicate and undertake design activities. 

As UNGP seeks to build out this portfolio of work over 2022-2023, it is requested that we increase resources to expand the core Creative Communications and Design team and to support wider communications needs of UNGP Finland activities and the wider UNGP network.

The role will act as a critical support function to the Creative Specialist within UN Global Pulse, supporting the on-going Creative Communications and Design strategy development, visual communications and design needs for the wider UNGP, repositioning of UNGP internally and externally, brand and visual identity development in addition to on-going culture change and capacity-building activities.

The Communications Senior Officer (Creative Strategy) supports the work of UN Global Pulse under the supervision of UNGP’s Creative Specialist and will be in close collaboration with others across the network. The Communications Senior Officer (Creative Strategy) will be responsible for the following:

Creative Communications and Design Portfolio - General Communications Support for UNGP Finland and the wider UNGP Network:

• Act as a critical collaborator and member of the Creative Communications and Design team with specific support and coordination for UN Global Finland communications activities;

• Support with the design and development of the Creative Communications and Design strategy in addition to the creation of workflows, infrastructure and processes to support a network-wide communications culture;

• Undertake research into science-based communications and innovation/design frameworks to support the governance of the portfolio;

• Support the development of communications products, including but not limited to the creation of talking points, templates, presentations, publications, graphics, stories, annual reports, and other materials;

• Support creative and innovative approaches to communicating the value-add of UNGP within the UN system in addition to making the portfolio of work more visible, accessible and actionable;

• Support the development of a creative communications culture at UNGP including the design and implementation of network-wide communications training and materials, the creation of a creative practice competency model framework, and the facilitation of workshops of UNGP colleagues and the wide UN system;

• Lead and manage UNGP’s social media platforms in addition to the development of multimedia content, and exploring new avenues and opportunities for digital content distribution;

• Support the development of methods, tools and approaches to sensemaking, learning and exploring how we can better measure the success of the Creative Communications and Design portfolio;

• Support the internal and external communication initiatives surrounding the repositioning of UN Global Pulse and the launch of the new UNGP 2022 Strategy.

Supporting Visual Communications and Art Direction for the UN Global Network:

• Support the leading of visual communications and art direction for the wider UNGP network in alignment with the Creative Communications and Design strategy;

• Support the Creative Specialist in the coordination and management of graphic designers, illustrators, artists and other consultants as needed;

• Support the reimagining and implementation of of UNGP’s brand and visual identity to better align with the new UNGP strategy and positioning;

• Support the launch and operationalization of the new UNGP brand/visual identity through the creation of guidelines, workshops and trainings for UNGP colleagues;

• Develop illustrations and visual communication products to support communicating complex ideas and the wider UNGP portfolio and programmes.

Experimenting with Novel Approaches to Strategic Communications and Design:

• Support the identification and development of experiments in the Creative Communications and Design Portfolio in addition to mapping assumptions, creating project structures and outlining the innovation process; the documentation of experiments and lessons learned;

• Undertake research into how creative practice/art and its intersections with technology and innovation, can better support organizational and culture change;

• Undertake research into creative and future-oriented methods such as narrative foresight; art in policy making, worldbuilding, speculative and critical design; and other creative areas of opportunity can support the UNGP strategy and the Secretary General’s Common Agenda;

• Undertake research into possible partnerships and collaborations within the wider UN system, academia; research institutes, community and youth-led arts institutions, design studios, and others working on future-oriented projects that emphasise creative practice and art for transformation.

Perform other duties as may be reasonably required and in line with the incumbent’s scope of services above

Monitoring and Progress Controls

The Communications Senior Officer (Creative Strategy) will meet weekly with the Creative Specialist to outline ongoing deliverables and ensure that projects and engagements have realistic deadlines and workflows. 

In coordination with the Creative Specialist, the Communications Senior Officer (Creative Strategy) will report on progress to ensure the timely deliverables of the agreed outputs.  The Communications Senior Officer (Creative Strategy) is expected to exercise flexibility in the consultancy assignment regarding the potential of dynamically changing delivery requirements, for example adapting working arrangements so that outputs can be delivered online/electronically.

The Communications Senior Officer (Creative Strategy) will work on the assignment as needed for an estimated total of max 100 working days. And while this position is home-based, it may require international travel.

 Education

• Advanced University degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) preferably in communications, social sciences, politics and/or policy, design or in a field related to the post description is required.

• A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) with 2 years of additional relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience 

Required:

• A minimum of 2 (two) years of progressive experience in one or more of the following: strategic communications, innovation, design, visual communication or a related field.

Desirable:

• Experience in supporting innovative and science-based communications approaches, methods and tools;

• Experience in graphic design, visual communication and leading art direction for projects and publications;

• Experience and curiosity for future-oriented creative practices such as collective imagination, speculative design, worldbuilding, and design fiction; 

• Experience in strategic communications and communicating complex ideas areas such as climate change, data and artificial intelligence, innovation, etc.

• Experience in developing learning and evaluation strategies for creative communications and design portfolios;

• Experience  working within the United Nations or other international institutions is a plus.

Languages Requirements

• Fluency in English (read, write, speak) is required. 

• Knowledge of another official United Nations language is an asset.

Contract type: International Individual Contractor Agreement (IICA)

• 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.
• UNOPS embraces diversity and it is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.
• 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.  
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.
• 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 – an operational arm of the United Nations – supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by successfully implementing its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian, and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve peace and sustainable development.
UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management, and human resources.


Working with us
We are proud of our people. With a wealth of knowledge and skills in various disciplines – engineering, finance, human resources, ICT, leadership, project management, procurement, and more – they help tackle some of the biggest challenges of our time. Their work around the world supports progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).


At UNOPS, we offer a range of short- and long-term opportunities in various environments and duty stations – from Denmark and Kenya to Mexico, Switzerland, Myanmar, Senegal, Uganda, and many more.


Diversity
With over 5,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,400 personnel recruited on behalf of our partners, spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced and diverse labor force — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs. We continually strive to maintain our gender-balanced workplace. We encourage qualified underrepresented groups as per UNOPS Gender, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategy to apply for our vacancies.


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

Background Information - Sustainable Development Cluster 

Based in New York, the Sustainable Development Cluster (SDC) supports diverse partners with their peacebuilding, humanitarian and development operations.

The SDC’s services include grants management, development and special initiatives support, and technology support to the UN and UN agencies.

The SDC is part of the New York Service Cluster that supports the United Nations Secretariat, as well as a broadening community of other New York-based United Nations organizations, bilateral and multilateral partners in the delivery of UNOPS mandate in project management, infrastructure management, and procurement management.