Social Media Officer – UNOPS IICA 2

1. General Background

The Regional Bureau for West and Central Africa (RBWCA) with its oversight role continues to provide support to 21 countries, 15 of them with UNHCR presence, in developing and implementing the comprehensive solutions strategies for protracted situations.

2. Purpose and Scope of Assignment

Under the supervision of the Senior Communications Officer, the Social Media Officer will work on the following:

• Production of multimedia content for the UNHCR Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn accounts.

• Publication of content and messaging on UNHCR social media accounts.

• Supporting the External Engagement Service by submitting creative ideas for social videos especially on news issues, drafting social video scripts for his/her Supervisor’s review, providing timely feedback, and editing/production support as needed.

• Leading on the Unit’s strategy for paid social, advertising and boosting of organic content.

• Sourcing and receiving content from country operations and field officers for potential use on the accounts of the Regional Bureau.

• Contribute to the management of the editorial calendar and actively share information on internal collaboration tools, with the ongoing aim of strengthening inter-organization coordination, internal communications and workflow.

• Update other language account managers as required about new / upcoming content and social media campaigns.

• Identify photos from UNHCR’s Refugees Media library and archives which can be used on the social accounts.

• Community Management – listen to and identify conversations on social media around issues related to UNHCR’s mandate and make recommendations on keeping the digital community engaged in interactive and meaningful ways.

• Develop and support social media campaigns, including those involving goodwill ambassadors and other social media influencers.

• Ensure alignment with UNHCR’s global branding and messaging.

• Support the implementation of social media communications strategies for countries, situations, and special projects; identify thematic priorities and target audiences to meet UNHCR’s global communications objectives.

• Monitor news and popular trends to insert UNHCR’s messaging into ongoing conversations on social media; identify key moments for proactive communications.

• Contribute to the development of news-driven and authoritative content to lead the narrative on forced displacement and show UNHCR’s impact, create emotive storytelling to generate empathy and mobilize action by signposting concrete steps people can take to help refugees.

• Support the supervisor in ensuring content created reaches maximum impact by developing strategies for distribution from the outset, boosting the visibility of our content on relevant UNHCR channels and placing it on external channels.

• Closely monitor the implementation of communications projects and adjust accordingly. Benchmark the results of communications projects against set success indicators; build on communications successes.

• Continually maintain and upgrade communications skills, keeping abreast of emerging social media platforms and tools, and systematically reviewing social media impact results and other measurement tools for learning purposes.

• Perform other related duties as required.

3. Monitoring and Progress Controls

The Social Media Officer will:

• Contribute to fine tuning the Bureau’s social media engagement strategy.

• Plan the social media campaign around GRF.

• Share social media good practices with External Relations/ PI/Communication/Reporting staff across the region.

4. Qualifications and Experience

a. Education

Journalism; International Relations; Political Science; Communications; Public Information; Media; Film / Video; or other relevant field.

b. Work Experience **

6 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree (Equivalent of a BA/BS); or 5 years relevant experience with Graduate degree (Equivalent of a Master’s); or 4 years relevant experience with Doctorate degree (Equivalent of a PhD) in journalism, advocacy, communications, marketing or humanitarian work (ideally public information or content production).

c. Key Competencies **

Core Competencies:

Accountability

Communication

Organizational Awareness

Teamwork & Collaboration

Commitment to Continuous Learning

Client & Result Orientation

Managerial Competencies:

Empowering and Building Trust

Judgement and Decision Making

Cross-Functional Competencies:

Analytical Thinking

Innovation and Creativity

Political Awareness

Required Competencies:

• Excellent communication and editorial skills.

• Strong understanding of the international global media environment, including grasp of social media.

• Strong knowledge of UNHCR operations mandate and global affairs.

• Experience with managing UNHCR campaigns.

• Understanding of GFR objectives and knowledge of the regional context.

• Experience producing, editing and disseminating multimedia content for online audiences ideally for media outlets, international brands, political parties, NGOs, or other international institutions.

• Experience using advanced tools for online publishing, including content management systems and social media authoring tools like SocialFlow, Hootsuite or TweetDeck.

• Experience working in sensitive and fast-moving news, communications, advocacy and/or fundraising contexts.

• Experience producing and interpreting web or social media analytics to inform strategies and work plans.

• Strong editorial judgement, including ethical and political awareness.

• Sophisticated understanding of multimedia content, including how it can best be produced, packaged, published, and shared on websites, on social media and with news organizations.

• Proven ability to conceptualize, plan and execute ideas as well as transfer knowledge and skills.

• Proven skills in communication, networking, negotiation, and ability to relate to different audiences.

• Strong diplomatic skills, highly developed political skills and judgement, understanding of UNHCR’s external relationships.

• Excellent command of English and French (written, oral, comprehension) and highly developed writing and editing skills.

• Excellent computer skills (MS Office essential; Adobe Photoshop and/or Adobe Premiere Pro an asset). Familiarity with Slack and Trello an asset.