UNICEF NIGERIA LATEST RECRUITMENT
If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world’s leading children’s rights organization would like to hear from you.
For 60 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children’s survival, protection and development. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.
Chief of Communication, P-4, Abuja, Nigeria
Vacancy No: E-VN-2014-000907
Duty Station: Abuja
Country: Nigeria
Region: WCARO
Job Level: P-4
Position#: 00019435
Application Close: 07-May-14
Contract Type: Long-term Staff (FT)
Purpose of the Position
You will be accountable for developing, managing, coordinating, networking, implementing and monitoring an advocacy and communication strategy and associated products and activities on on-going basis with public audiences, with the objective of promoting awareness, understanding, support and respect for children’s and women’s rights, and support for UNICEF’s mission, priorities and programmes in the Nigeria Country Office/media hub, and at a global level and those of the UN Country Team. You will oversee the local private fundraising and partnership activities in support of the country programme.
Key Expected Results
1. Communication strategy
Ensure that the Country Office/Media Hub has a clear communication strategy and associated work plan to support the country programme objectives and get children’s issues into the public domain, strengthen political will in support of UNICEF’s mission and objectives, and enhance the organization’s credibility and brand.
Duties & Tasks:
Develop, maintain and update the country advocacy and communication strategy and associated work plan. Strategy and work plan include: an environmental and stakeholder assessment; objectives; target audiences; messages and media mix; resources; specific actions, activities and products; monitoring and evaluation of impact; success and opportunity for improvement; ongoing refinement of the strategy.
UNICEF’s rights- and results-based programming approach is appropriately reflected in the communication strategy, work plan and products.
Maintain close collaboration with Regional Communication Advisers and HQ Communication Officers for effective overall coordination.
2. Media relations
Ensure that the Country Office/Media Hub has a well maintained and continually developed contact list of journalists and media outlets covering all media – print, TV, radio, web etc. – and a successful process of communicating and maintaining regular contact and close collaboration with the media to communicate the story of UNICEF’s cooperation to a wider audience.
Duties & Tasks:
Promote a better understanding of, respect and support for children’s and women’s rights and issues by carrying out media, information and education activities in support of UNICEF-assisted development programmes or humanitarian efforts in the country.
3. Develop, maintain and update media relations contact list/database.
Establish, document, review and refine process of communicating with media contacts, including press conferences and events, issuing of media materials etc.
Ensure rapid and accurate information dissemination to the media, National Committees, NGOs, the field and other appropriate audiences.
Identify, develop, distribute and evaluate variety of media materials in multiple, appropriate formats. Ensure or enhance the quality, appropriateness of country specific communication materials, activities, processes and messages transmitted to the press, partners and public.
Collaborate with mass media through activities such as organizing project site visits, facilitating photo coverage and TV footage and utilizing both web-based and traditional media as appropriate.
Monitor and evaluate the use and effectiveness of media materials and share results and findings.
Maintain close collaboration with Regional Communication Advisers and HQ Communication Officers for effective overall coordination.
4. Networking and partnerships
Ensure that the Regional/Country Office/Media Hub has a well maintained and continually developed contact list of individuals, groups, organizations and fora (including Government, UN, and bilateral counterparts), whose support is essential to/can assist in achieving the advocacy and communication objectives of the communication strategy.
Duties & Tasks:
Develop, maintain and update partners contact list/database.
Establish, document, review and refine process of working collaboratively with partners, including meetings, joint projects, information sharing etc.
Ensure or enhance the quality, consistency and appropriateness of country-specific communication materials, activities, processes and messages shared with partners.
Identify opportunities to strengthen the capacity of partners through appropriate advocacy and communication training, access to information, supplies and equipment and through knowledge sharing.
Monitor, evaluate and share results and findings with partners.
5. Celebrities and special events
Ensure that the Country Office/Media Hub has a well maintained and continually developed contact list of appropriate, nationally-known personalities who have been identified, engaged and support UNICEF’s effort and who actively participate in special events and activities that support country programme goals.
Duties & Tasks:
Develop, maintain and update celebrities contact list/database.
Establish, document, review and refine process of working with celebrities, including special events, media opportunities, field trips etc.
Participate in global advocacy activities by planning visits of Goodwill Ambassadors, National Committee representatives, Executive Board members etc. including preparing information materials (e.g., press releases, programme summaries, country fact sheets and media kits), and necessary logistic arrangements. Highlight the achievements of the country programme. Maintain close collaboration with Regional Communication Advisers and HQ Communication Officers for effective overall coordination.
6. Global priorities and campaigns
In addition to local/national campaigns, ensure that the Regional/Country Office/Media Hub has an effective process in place for integrating and taking action on UNICEF’s global communications priorities and campaigns, both disseminating these elements in a locally-appropriate way, as well as providing/enabling coverage of the work in the country for global use.
Duties & Tasks:
Support the UNICEF global communications objectives and strategies through development of complementary country specific and local community materials and activities. Work plan should anticipate the inclusion of work on global priorities and campaigns.
Develop and deploy country office communication capacity to gather/facilitate the content and coverage of relevant country efforts. Use the opportunity to identify/highlight effective programme activities and results.
Ensure regular communication and co-ordination with relevant communication focal points in regional offices and headquarters divisions.
7. Resource mobilization support
Ensure that global and country level fund-raising activities are supported by effective advocacy and communication strategy and activities.
Duties & Tasks:
Mobilize country office communication capacity to support and gather/facilitate the gathering of content and coverage of relevant country efforts. Use the opportunity to identify/highlight effective programme activities and results in support of fund-raising.
Mobilize resources for fund-raising support by regular communication and co-ordination with relevant communication focal points in regional offices and headquarters divisions as well as oversee the development and implementation of private fundraising and partnership strategies to raise funds and leverage resources locally in order to support implementation of the country programme.
8. Management
Ensure that human resources (the communication team) and financial resources (budget planning, management and monitoring) are both effectively managed and optimally used.
Duties & Tasks:
Develop a work plan for communication activities, monitor compliance and provide support and guidance to ensure objectives are met.
Plan and monitor the use of communication budgetary resources. Approve and monitor the overall allocation and disbursement and liquidation of funds. Take appropriate actions to optimize use of funds.
Identify, recruit and supervise staff, technical resources and consultants as necessary. Conduct and Implement effective performance planning, monitoring, performance development programme as required.
Ensure communication effectiveness, efficiency and delivery as well as a rigorous and transparent approach to planning, monitoring and evaluation.
9. Monitoring and evaluation
Ensure that communication baselines are established against which the achievement of objectives of the communication strategy are regularly evaluated; analysis is undertaken to continuously improve the effectiveness of communication strategy, approach and activities; results and reports are prepared and shared on a timely basis.
Duties & Tasks:
Provide technical support to ensure that a set of communication performance indicators is identified and adjusted as necessary, and these communication indicators are incorporated or fed forwarded in the Annual Management Plan, Annual Work Plan, etc.
Conduct timely and accurate monitoring and evaluation activities to ensure the communications objectives are met and the strategy is effective.
Undertake lessons learned review of successful and unsuccessful communication experiences and share observations/findings with country, regional and HQ communication colleagues so that best practices benefit UNICEF’s communication work.
10. Capacity building and support
Ensure that the Representative and the country programme team are provided with professional expertise and advice on all aspects of external relations communication as required; opportunities are identified and addressed for building communication capacity among country communication team, media and other relevant partners.
Duties & Tasks:
Advise UNICEF management, colleagues and staff on media strategy and implications for action and policies proposed.
Support communication activities through knowledge management, information exchange and building capacity of the country communications team. Enable appropriate advocacy and communication training, access to information, supplies and equipment, and developing training and orientation material.
Assist the Programme Communication Officer in the development of communication tools and/or strategies.
Identify opportunities to strengthen the capacity of partners through appropriate advocacy and communication training.
Qualifications of Successful Candidate
Advanced university degree in Communication, Journalism, Public Relations.
Eight years of progressively responsible relevant work experience in communication, print, broadcast, and/or new media.
International and national work experience.
Background/familiarity with Emergency situations.
Fluency in English and another UN language.
Competencies of Successful Candidate
Has highest-level communication skills, including engaging and informative formal public speaking.
Able to work effectively in a multi-cultural environment.
Sets high standards for quality of work and consistently achieves project goals.
Has good leadership and supervisory skills; co-ordinates group activities, ensuring that roles within the team are clear.
Quickly builds rapport with individuals and groups; maintains an effective network of individuals across organizational departments.
Translates strategic direction into plans and objectives.
Negotiates effectively by exploring a range of possibilities.
Demonstrates and shares detailed technical knowledge and expertise.
Seeks and proposes opportunities for advancing UNICEF’s mission.
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organisation.
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I have a B.Sc in Physics/Electronics with a Second Class Upper Division from the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Sir, is it possible for me to apply?