Job Requisition Type

Evergreen (Formerly known as talent pools, in order to have a balanced number of ready-to-hire candidates who can be deployed at short notice to a vacancy that best matches their skills. Evergreens are primarily used to fill Temporary Appointments.)

Current UNHCR staff members holding an Indefinite or Fixed-term Appointment in the international professional category who are looking for Internal Temporary Assignment (ITA) opportunities – instead of applying to an Evergreen profile – should contact the Emergency and Temporary Staffing Unit.

Call for applications - Communications Officer, P4

Location: Various location

Why should you join us?

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, takes the lead in protecting people forced to flee wars and persecution around the world, providing life-saving aid including shelter, food and water to ensure their basic safety, rights and dignity. With 18,879 women and men working in 137 countries, we work tirelessly to make a difference in the lives of 89.3 million forcibly displaced people worldwide.

Our dedicated and professional staff work around the clock in roles including legal protection, community services, public affairs, health and more. Despite the challenges they can face, our staff are proud to work for UNHCR and determined to make a positive impact.

How can you make a difference?

Senior Communications Officer

UNHCR’s Senior Communications Officers need to cultivate a keen understanding of our target audiences—including an up-to-the-minute grasp of the methods and tone of voice that resonate deeply, win trust and spark quality engagement. They must be vigilant about editorial and journalistic standards, attentive to protection concerns and political sensitivities, and focused on communicating successfully with key demographics. These audiences will vary by location, language and platform, among other factors, as well as whether the aim is to inform, advocate or raise funds.

Senior Communications Officers’ functions, working relationships and skills specializations differ depending on language, location, grade, and whether they sit within a country operation, a regional bureau or the Global Communications Service. UNHCR’s primary target audiences include public, media and policymakers, while our main partners and influencers include peers and private sector, trusted figures and our own workforce. Some communicators will focus mainly on news and media relations, for example, while others will produce multimedia content, manage social media accounts or lead advocacy campaigns. Forging partnerships with media outlets that reach target audiences is a central role for all Senior Communications Officers.

Key responsibilities and duties:

• Lead thematic and geographic communications workstreams inside UNHCR headquarters liaising with Divisions and Bureaux to draw up and clear external messaging, news outputs and multimedia content

• Lead strategies on formulating and publishing content and messaging to a variety of external audiences, especially media [will be a bit hard to do when Bureau lead on the strategies for country level..

• Develop news-driven and authoritative content to lead the narrative on forced displacement and statelessness, and show UNHCR’s impact (including drafting press releases, briefing notes, op-eds and social content etc)

• Act a senior external voice for UNHCR in support of our mandate and the people we serve, whether as spokespersons or through social media or other channels.

• Provide strategic guidance and communications leadership support for UNHCR senior executives and other management on public positioning and in the organisation of external interviews and ad hoc events

• Actively maintain media relations for UNHCR, ensuring that media and other important stakeholders in the area of responsibility are briefed regularly on issues of importance to UNHCR and have access to information and UNHCR expertise. Engage with journalists, ensuring timely responses to requests for information and interviews. 

• Undertake missions and field trips with media and other official visitors in support of UNHCR and its work, as required

Who are we looking for?

Candidates with 9 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 8 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 7 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree.

Requirements

Minimum 7 years of professional experience in journalism and/or communications, mainly at international level.

Advantage

Depending on the specific role, the following areas of experience may be essential or desirable: Experience developing and implementing communications strategies. Strong social media presence. Experience working on advocacy campaigns. Experience working with goodwill ambassadors and other high-profile influencers. Experience with brand management. Experience with measurement and evaluation, especially providing analysis of media coverage, social media engagement, web traffic, etc. Experience reporting, writing, editing for magazines, newspapers and websites. Experience using digital asset management systems. Experience with digital analytics and performance reporting.

Senior Social Media Officer

The  Senior Social Media Officer is part of UNHCR’s Global Communications Service, within the Social Media Section. The Global Social Media Section oversees UNHCR’s social media strategy and manages the global social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, among others). The Section also provides training and strategic and operational support to UNHCR’s leadership, national account managers and regional bureaux, manages partnerships with social media platforms, and leads on social media collaborations with Goodwill Ambassadors and influencers.

Key responsibilities and duties:

• Lead day-to-day management and overall editorial content planning, production and review process for UNHCR’s global social media accounts.

• Support the Chief of Social Media with platform and content-specific strategies, providing analysis and recommendations based on audience insights, to nurture existing communities and engage new ones, in support of the Global Communications Strategy.

• Lead on certain special projects, such as World Refugee Day, or thematic campaigns.

• Contribute to UNHCR’s refugee-led strategy to identify and amplify refugees, displaced and stateless people on social media, including by amplifying their posts and by co-creating content with them.

• Maintain an overview of community management.

• Report imposter accounts and problematic social media posts, providing advice to country-level social media managers, and liaising with platforms and stakeholders to improve reporting processes.

• Support on paid social, liaising with the paid media team.

• Support partnerships with social media companies.

Who are we looking for?

Candidates with 9 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 8 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 7 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree.

Requirements

Minimum 8 years of professional experience in journalism and/or communications, mainly at international level. Experience managing social media accounts for an international brand or organization, working as part of a geographically diverse team (across time-zones). Experience producing social content for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and LinkedIn. Experience working on advocacy campaigns. Experience with measurement and evaluation, especially providing analysis of social media coverage, engagement, trending conversations, etc. Experience overseeing a small team of communications or social media professionals.

Advantage

Experience reporting, writing, editing for magazines, newspapers and websites. Experience using digital asset management systems. Experience working with goodwill ambassadors and other high-profile influencers. Active personal social media presence.

For a more detailed description, please review the job description:

https://www.unhcr.org/642298714

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

UNHCR’s workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and opinions. We seek to sustain and strengthen this diversity and to ensure equal opportunities, as well as an inclusive working environment, for our entire workforce. Joining us means living, sharing and promoting these core values of inclusion, diversity and gender equality.

Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on the grounds of race, colour, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.