Communications Officer - Consultant - Sana'a, Yemen

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

Selection of staff is made on a competitive basis, and WFP is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity and promotes gender parity as well as encourages qualified candidates with disabilities to apply.

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.  We are the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace and stability for populations impacted by conflict, disasters and climate change.

WFP’s emergency response in Yemen is the agency’s largest anywhere in the world, and is the largest sustained emergency operation in history, providing lifesaving monthly food assistance to 10.5 million people most in need. WFP also provides nutrition support to 1.7 million children and mothers, and delivers school meals to 850,000 children each day.

STANDARD MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

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

Experience: For holders of an advanced degree, 5 years of relevant work experience and 7 years for holders of a first-level university degree of progressively responsible experience in managing the implementation of communications plans and relationships with various stakeholders including but not limited to donor agencies, government partners, advocacy and faith-based organizations and other stakeholders.

Prior experience working in Communications in Yemen PREFERRED

Language: Fluency (level C) in the English language. Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, and/or Portuguese is an added advatage.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:

1. Develop, maintain and update an appropriate work plan for the assigned area, which implements the corporate communications strategy, in order to maintain and enhance the visibility and reputation of WFP, and support fundraising activities, ensuring alignment with WFP strategy.

2. Plan, manage and evaluate communications campaigns that favourably impact the views of the public, opinion leaders, and donors in order to raise WFP’s profile in Yemen and support fundraising activities.

3. Prepare communications products that effectively convey the desired message to targeted audience(s).

4. Maintain and develop a contact list of journalists and media outlets and manage the regular flow of news/information about WFP’s work in Yemen to the media, ensuring reputational risks are identified and managed.

5. Define a social media plan for the assigned area which leverages social media content, platforms, networks and partners to enhance coverage and support of WFP’s activities.

6. Generate and/or facilitate the production of donor specific visibility content including, text, photos, videos and audio for use across a range of integrated online platforms, in order to support global and country fundraising activities, ensuring consistency with corporate messages.

7. Track and analyse traditional and online media, to identify trends and/or issues, and propose solutions and ideas to improve the effectiveness of communication strategy and activities.

8. Manage junior communications officers/team, develop work plans, monitor performance against objectives, and ensure appropriate development to enable high performance.

9. Coordinate and prepare accurate and timely reporting on communications activities that enables informed decision-making, evaluation of objectives and consistency of information presented to stakeholders.

10. Build capacity of WFP staff on all aspects of external relations communication, providing advice, guidance and training to ensure consistent and quality communications activities that deliver the desired impact.

11. Work in close collaboration with counterparts to align activities and ensure a coherent approach to communications within WFP Yemen.

12. Contribute to preparedness actions, providing technical recommendations and guidance and monitoring the management of communications specific risks.

13. Provide support on the strategic communications planning for the WFP Yemen Country Office; align communications activities with the Country Office goals and strategic priorities; ensure alignment with Partnerships team activities on communications strategy for key audiences and channels; communicate processes, strategies and outcomes with the WFP Yemen team, management, and stakeholders.

15. Plan and initiate communications and promotional campaigns; guide measuring the performance of campaign strategies and improving approaches as necessary; lead the different CAM functions into unified campaigns to enhance WFP Yemen positioning around its areas of strategic priorities.

16. Provide data and analysis to measure the effectiveness of communications work in the region; prepare activity-based material and tools for presentations, other materials, and fact sheets.

17. Undertake advocacy work and establish and maintain supportive networks for national and regional level initiatives within the WFP Yemen areas of strategic priorities.

18. Develop improved, streamlined, and harmonized Operational Information Management and Performance Reporting (OIM & PR) including drafting of OIM & PR related normative guidance, as required.

19. Other relevant duties as required.  

4Ps CORE ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITIES

Purpose

• Understand and communicate the Strategic Objectives: Utilizes understanding of WFP’s Strategic Objectives to communicate linkages to team objectives and work.
•  Be a force for positive change: Proactively identifies and develops new methods or improvements for self and immediate team to address work challenges within own work area.
•  Make the mission inspiring to our team: Identifies opportunities to further align individual contributions with WFP’s mission of making an impact on local communities.
•  Make our mission visible in everyday actions: Helps colleagues to see the link between their individual tasks and the contributions of their unit’s goals to the broader context of WFP’s mission.

People

• Look for ways to strengthen people's skills: Is able to identify, support and encourage focused on-the-job learning opportunities to address gaps between current skillsets and needed future skillsets for WFP.
•  Create an inclusive culture: Recognizes the contributions of teammates, and encourages contributions from culturally different team mates to recognise the value of diversity above and beyond just including it in programming for beneficiaries.
•  Be a coach & provide constructive feedback: Provides and solicits ongoing constructive feedback on strengths and development opportunities to help develop individual skills, whilst also helping others identify areas for improvement.
•  Create an “I will”/”We will” spirit: Sets clear targets for self and others to focus team efforts in ambiguous situations (e.g., unprecedented issues and/or scenarios)

Performance

• Encourage innovation & creative solutions: Thinks beyond team’s conventional approaches to formulate creative methods for delivering food aid and assistance to beneficiaries.
•  Focus on getting results: Maintains focus on achieving individual results in the face of obstacles such as volatile or fragile environments and/or organizational roadblocks.
•  Make commitments and make good on commitments: Takes personal accountability for upholding and delivering upon team’s commitments and provides assurance to stakeholders.
•  Be Decisive: Demonstrates ability to adjust to team’s plans and priorities to optimize outcomes in light of evolving directives, while also responding quickly in high-pressure environments, such as in emergency settings.

Partnership

• Connect and share across WFP units: Demonstrates an understanding of when and how to tactfully engage other units in conversations on impact, timing, or planning
•  Build strong external partnerships: Networks regularly with key external partners using formal and informal opportunities to understand each partner’s unique value proposition, and to build and strengthen relationships 
•  Be politically agile & adaptable: Demonstrates ability to adapt engagement approach in the context of evolving partner circumstances and expectations
•  Be clear about the value WFP brings to partnerships: Demonstrates ability to articulate to internal and external audiences the value that individual contributions and immediate teams bring to partnerships.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

23 August 2022

All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

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.