Organization: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Country: United States of America
Closing date: 31 Oct 2015
United Nations Core Values: Integrity, Professionalism, Respect for Diversity
Special Notice
Extension of the appointment is subject to extension of the mandate and/or availability of the funds.
Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures.
Org. Setting and Reporting
This position is located within the Corporate Programmes Division (CPD) of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The Communications Services Branch (CSB) is responsible for OCHA’s public communications, including media relations, public advocacy campaigns and the suite of communications products. The Chief of Strategic Communications reports to the Director of the Corporate Programmes Division (CPD).
Responsibilities
Within delegated authority, the Chief of Strategic Communications will be responsible for the following:
• Design and implement the organization"s communications strategy based on enhanced partnerships with key internal and external constituencies, including field operations.
• Coordinate corporate advocacy efforts of the different divisions, branches and field offices with a view to enhancing the corporate brand of the organization vis-à-vis the public and partners.
• Support and advise the Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) in his/her advocacy role.
• Collaborate closely with the communications departments of Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) partners and provide leadership for the Humanitarian Communication Network
A. Vision and strategy-setting:
• Drive the strategic vision of OCHA on advocacy and communications in support of priorities of the Secretary-General and the ERC, particularly the World Humanitarian Summit.
• Ensure consistency of OCHA"s public position by managing messaging across media and digital platforms including unocha.org, OCHAnet, ReliefWeb, Twitter, Medium and Facebook and other accounts and by closely integrating all related activities.
• Lead the development and implementation of a strategic communications plan to support humanitarian activities.
• Lead the development of a comprehensive training and advancement strategy for communications staff and leadership across the organization (field and HQ) in close collaboration with appropriate departments.
• Provide oversight and quality assurance of communications products and services produced by the organisation.
B. Advocacy and communications:
• Build strategic partnerships to maximize OCHA"s advocacy impact, consolidating and building upon outreach efforts (partners in this context should be understood broadly, to include the private sector).
• Represent the ERC as required at international conferences and meetings on humanitarian issues.
• Identify cutting edge and innovative communication tools and processes and mainstream their use in OCHA.
Lead and ensure the quality of the annual World Humanitarian Day campaign, ensuring global reach with tangible benefits for OCHA and the humanitarian sector.
• Manage OCHA"s proactive relations with global media and OCHA"s involvement in social media.
C. Management and administration:
• Provide strategic leadership, vision and managerial direction to the Branch. Through the Branch management team, ensure coherence of delivery. Guide, mentor and coach staff as required.
• Establish clear priorities for the branch and ensure section and individual goals and work plans are aligned with the corporate Strategic Framework. Promote greater collaboration and linkages between OCHA HQ and field offices.
• Ensure that functions and capacities within CSB are aligned to promote an effective communications function which supports corporate and operational organizational priorities.
• Direct and manage CSB"s financial resources.
• Foster a conducive working environment and provide clear strategic leadership and direction, ensuring a well-motivated team.
• Actively participate in OCHA"s SMT.
Competencies
Professionalism: Knowledge of the substantive field of work in general and of specific areas being supervised. Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; ability to produce reports and papers on technical issues and to review and edit the work of others; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed. Ability to apply UN rules, regulations, policies and guidelines in work situations. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations.
Client Orientation:Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; Identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; Monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep; informed and anticipate problems; Keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; Meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.
Creativity: Actively seeks to improve programmes or services; Offers new and different options to solve problems or meet client needs;Promotes and persuades others to consider new ideas;Takes calculated risks on new and unusual ideas; thinks "outside the box"; Takes an interest in new ideas and new ways of doing things; Is not bound by current thinking or traditional approaches.
Managerial Competencies:
Leadership: Serves as a role model that other people want to follow; Empowers others to translate vision into results; Is proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives; Establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs and gain support; Anticipates and resolves conflicts by pursuing mutually agreeable solutions; Drives for change and improvement; does not accept the status quo; Shows the courage to take unpopular stands; Provides leadership and takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas. Demonstrates knowledge of strategies and commitment to the goal of gender balance in staffing.
Managing Performance: Delegates the appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority; Makes sure that roles, responsibilities and reporting lines are clear to each staff member; Accurately judges the amount of time and resources needed to accomplish a task and matches task to skills; Monitors progress against milestones and deadlines;Regularly discusses performance and provides feedback and coaching to staff; Encourages risk-taking and supports creativity and initiative; Actively supports the development and career aspirations of staff; Appraises performance fairly.
Education
Advanced university degree (Master"s degree or equivalent) in journalism, communications, political or social science or related area. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Work Experience
A minimum of fifteen years of progressively responsible experience in public information, communications, advocacy, journalism, international relations, public administration or related field. Experience in advising senior leaders on strategic communications activities is required. Experience in managing large and diverse teams is required. Experience in public speaking is required. Experience with contemporary media technologies such as social media platforms, web-based and interactive media mechanisms or similar, for use in the field of public affairs is desirable. Experience of humanitarian affairs is desirable.
Languages
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of French is desirable. Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.
Assessment Method
Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.
United Nations Considerations
Candidates will be required to meet the requirements of Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter as well as the requirements of the position. The United Nations is committed to the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity for all its human resources, including but not limited to respect for international human rights and humanitarian law. Candidates may be subject to screening against these standards, including but not limited to whether they have committed, or are alleged to have committed criminal offences and/or violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
The United Nations shall place no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. (Charter of the United Nations – Chapter 3, article 8). The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.
No Fee
THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.
How to apply:
Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the At-a-Glance on "The Application Process" and the Instructional Manual for the Applicants, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of inspira account-holder homepage.
Applications are pre-screened by the system according to the published requirements of the job opening on the basis of the information provided in the application. In relation to the requirements of the job opening, applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their qualifications, including their education, work experience, and language skills. Each applicant must bear in mind that submission of incomplete or inaccurate applications may render that applicant ineligible for consideration for the job opening. Initial screening and evaluation of applications will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted. Applications cannot be amended following submission. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to a reference-checking process to verify the information provided in the application.
Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at midnight (New York time) on the deadline date.
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