Communications Senior Officer

Background Information – UNOPS

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 5,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,400 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands

Background information – Implementation Practices and Standards (IPS)

Within UNOPS, Implementation Practices and Standards (IPS) is responsible for the UNOPS delivery practices. IPS provides thought leadership, standards and oversight as support to the successful delivery of programmes and projects within UNOPS service lines (infrastructure, procurement, project management, human resources and financial management services). IPS is comprised of the Infrastructure and Project Management Group and the Procurement Group which aims to reduce organizational risks, improve project performance, and promote excellence across UNOPS projects through the Standards Management Framework; and provides organisational oversight on the application of standards. These Groups also support the positioning of UNOPS in the UN system and development sector in Infrastructure, Project Management and Procurement. IPSO also includes the Office of IPS (IPSO), that includes work streams on organizational excellence, knowledge management and the review of bid protests. As well as the Portfolio support unit, that aims at supporting the organisational readiness of UNOPS and provides support services to the Implementation Practices and Standards function.

Background information – Portfolio Support

Portfolio Support (PS) is a business unit within the IPS function which aims at (a) supporting aspects of the organisational readiness of UNOPS, and (b) managing IPS operations.

Organizational Readiness

UNOPS Organizational readiness is focused primarily on its mandate in infrastructure, project management and procurement. It aims to cover the ad-hoc resource needs of the Regional Portfolios to implement the corporate strategy and address the needs of donors.

The PS team supports the UNOPS Regional Portfolios by supplementing their existing resources on demand. This support includes administering the Corporate retainer pool and developing/co-managing other agreements and partnerships.

Support to IPS operations

PS provides timely support to IPS on operational aspects and takes a coordination function in the areas of human resources (HR), general administration, communication, finance and procurement by working in close relationship with other Headquarter (HQ) units, notably the Shared Services Center (SSC). PS also manages the Project of the Year Award (POTYA).

Background Information – Job-specific

Within the IPS Portfolio Support team and under the supervision of the Portfolio Support Manager, the Communications Senior Officer is responsible for the development and implementation of the IPS internal communication strategy and the implementation of the general communications activities of IPS. The Communications Senior Officer will work in close collaboration with the Communication Group and will develop targeted communication strategies and roll out plans for IPS products. As needed, s/he will provide technical support and/or coordinate the work of ad-hoc resources (retainers). S/he may have to lead the recruitment of additional specialised resources. IPS products range from internal guidance to external publications to internal awards (Project Of The Year – POTYA). S/he must have very good skills in communication, stakeholder management, and coordination as well as an excellent command of written English, and preferably another UN language such as Spanish, French or Arabic. S/he is expected to have a very good understanding of data management and Google suite tools and apps. The successful incumbent needs to have the willingness and ability to learn and familiar with all IPS standards, publications and tools.

An internship position reports directly to the Communications Senior Officer. Communication retainer positions may report directly to the Communications Senior Officer as well.

Functional Responsibilities

Functional Responsibilities include the ownership of various tasks, work packages and projects as outlined in the Portfolio Support annual work plan and IPS annual communication work plan::

Strategic communication

• Develop and maintain the IPS communication strategy based on annual needs.
• Develop and track progress of the annual IPS Communication workplan.
• Develop targeted communication strategy and roll out plan for specific IPS products as defined in the annual IPS Communication workplan. Coordinate with the relevant stakeholders as applicable.
• Support the alignment of the IPS knowledge products with the organisation’s communication strategy/angle.
• Identify areas for improvement of IPS internal communications processes to enhance workflow.

Technical expertise

• Act as main focal point for IPS internal communications, within IPS but also liaising with the Communications (CG) and Partnerships (PLG) Groups on a regular basis to coordinate the communications activities for both internal and external products, and to keep abreast of UNOPS communication standards and practice..
• Provide expert support or coordinate support to be provided by communication-focused retainers for all IPS knowledge products and communication activities, including, but not limited to, drafting of content (inc. COP posts, speech, presentations, Data Studio dashboard layouts and other communications products), translation of content, copy/editing of content, production of videos, infographics and other graphic elements, design of fact sheets and posters, etc. Ensure compliance of IPS knowledge products and publications with UNOPS communication standards.
• Provide technical support to communication-related procurement exercises, including but not limited to Call-Off Orders or tenders for translation, printing, publishing, etc.
• Create and maintain IPS Intranet sites and pages, including but not limited to the text, videos and photos specific to the group, based on the technical inputs from the team. Review and update the content on a quarterly basis.

Reporting & Tools

• Develop tools and dashboards in Google Suite enabling reporting and data analysis on IPS communication activities.
• Identify areas for improvement of IPMG internal communications processes to enhance workflow.

1. Knowledge building and knowledge sharing

• Organize, facilitate and/or deliver training and learning initiatives, guidance, SOPs and templates for personnel on areas of expertise
• Provide sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice by synthesizing lessons learnt and disseminating best practices in his/her area of work
• Collect feedback, ideas, lessons learned and internal knowledge about innovative or efficient processes and best practices and put to use productively
• Undertake research on a range of issues related to IPS knowledge products development and roll out and provide content for notes/reports including quarterly and year-end reports for monitoring, statistical and review purposes by management

Monitoring and Progress Controls

• Setting standards, personal and development objectives in Performance Evaluation Review;
• Responsible for monitoring and reporting on set objectives and performance standards against the agreed Performance Evaluation Review and PS workplan; reporting on own progress against work plan.
• Ongoing assessment of task completion, which meets quality expectations;
• Successfully meeting deadlines based on workplan; and
• Completing progress reports as requested.

Competencies

Treats all individuals with respect; responds sensitively to differences and encourages others to do the same. Upholds organizational and ethical norms. Maintains high standards of trustworthiness. Role model for diversity and inclusion.

Acts as a positive role model contributing to the team spirit. Collaborates and supports the development of others. For people managers only: Acts as positive leadership role model, motivates, directs and inspires others to succeed, utilizing appropriate leadership styles.

Demonstrates understanding of the impact of own role on all partners and always puts the end beneficiary first. Builds and maintains strong external relationships and is a competent partner for others (if relevant to the role).

Efficiently establishes an appropriate course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a goal. Actions lead to total task accomplishment through concern for quality in all areas. Sees opportunities and takes the initiative to act on them. Understands that responsible use of resources maximizes our impact on our beneficiaries.

Open to change and flexible in a fast paced environment. Effectively adapts own approach to suit changing circumstances or requirements. Reflects on experiences and modifies own behavior. Performance is consistent, even under pressure. Always pursues continuous improvements.

Evaluates data and courses of action to reach logical, pragmatic decisions. Takes an unbiased, rational approach with calculated risks. Applies innovation and creativity to problem-solving.

Expresses ideas or facts in a clear, concise and open manner. Communication indicates a consideration for the feelings and needs of others. Actively listens and proactively shares knowledge. Handles conflict effectively, by overcoming differences of opinion and finding common ground.

Education/Experience/Language requirements

Education:

• Master’s or equivalent in Communication, Journalism, Graphics Design or other relevant discipline is required
• A first-level University degree or Bachelor’s or equivalent in a related field of study with 2 additional years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of Master’s Degree requirement
• A technical/professional diploma, in relevant discipline, in combination of 2 years of experience may be accepted in lieu of a first-level University degree.

Work Experience

• 2 years of experience in a communications focused role (in combination with a Bachelor’s degree) is required; 4 years of experience in a communication focused role (in combination with a technical/professional diploma) is required.
• Experience working with content management systems, such as metadata management, site architecture and Google Analytics is required
• Experience/knowledge of Google Suite is required
• Experience with Adobe Creative Cloud applications, in particular Adobe InDesign, is required
• Experience with applying best practices for data management (metadata, content hierarchy, document libraries), workflows, import/export of data etc. is highly desired
• Experience with online communications and social media is an asset
• Experience with UN/UNOPS is an asset

Languages

• Fluency in English is required, with excellent English writing skills and copy editing
• Fluency in Spanish and/or French is highly desirable

Additional Considerations

• 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.
• Qualified female candidates and candidates from the Global South are strongly encouraged to apply.
• 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
• All UNOPS personnel are required to share a common understanding of UNOPS’ and the UN’s mandate, policies and activities. To this end, UNOPS Personnel must complete a set of mandatory courses.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.

Contract type, level and duration

Contract type: ICA Contract level: IICA1 /ICS9 Contract duration: Ongoing – renewable subject to needs and budget availability

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link: https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx