Communications and Visibility Officer

The Cities Alliance (CA) is the preeminent global partnership for the promotion of cities in poverty reduction and sustainable development. Headquartered in Brussels, it is a unique partnership with diverse members – local authorities, national governments, international non-governmental organizations, foundations and multi-lateral organizations – which have come together to strengthen both impacts and coherence in urban development.

The CA’s overall objectives are to support cities in providing effective local government, an active citizenship and a growing economy characterized by both public and private investment. The Cities Alliance is hosted by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). More specifically, Cities Alliance is implementing a number of donor funded programmes through its Liberia Country Programme (LCP)

The current Medium-Term Strategy is focused on Promoting Equity in Cities through equitable economic growth, gender equality and partnerships.

In Liberia, waste collection and waste management services fall within the mandate of cities. The City of Monrovia and the City of Paynesville fall within the Electoral District referred to as Greater Monrovia. Municipal solid waste collected in Greater Monrovia is currently transferred to the Whein Town landfill, located in Paynesville. This is Liberia’s only sanitary landfill and was constructed in 2011 under the World Bank’s Emergency Monrovia Urban Sanitation (EMUS) project. The EMUS project was financed by the Liberia Reconstruction Trust Fund (LRTF), with majority funding from the European Union (EU) and made significant progress in establishing an effective waste collection and disposal system for Monrovia. The EMUS project ended on 30th December 2016. Cities in Greater Monrovia area are at different stages in what regards their waste collection and waste management systems.

Cities Alliance is implementing two EU-financed projects, one on Primary Waste Collection (PWC) and the second on Waste to Energy Alternatives for Greater Monrovia. Together, these two projects aim to support Liberia’s Nationally Disclosed Contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by improving the Primary Waste Collection System as well as providing viable alternatives to waste recycling, composting and Waste-to-Energy alternatives.

Cities Alliance is seeking to implement their projects in close alignment in order to provide a holistic approach to waste management and to ensure that Solid Waste Management in Liberia is viewed as a value chain from the household to the landfill site. To support this aim, there is a need to acquire the services of a local expert to provide professional services to develop and implement the two key lines of work related to the social component of the two projects. Namely: 1) Outreach campaign and, 2) Capacity building. All activities and sub-activities should be developed and implemented along with Cities Alliance partners in Liberia accordingly to the project guidelines.

Under the direct supervision of the Cities Alliance country project manager based in Liberia, the communications and visibility professional will be responsible for efficient and effective management of communication activities. He/she will play a lead role in supporting and advising regarding the strategies and best social communication techniques for the implementation of the outreach campaign. Additionally, He/she is responsible for the design, monitoring, and evaluation of communication material and activities to rise awareness, while ensuring full compliance with both Cities Alliance guidelines and the donor’s visibility requirements.

• Establish a solid relationship with relevant communications counterpart of the Delegation of the European Union to Liberia.
• Establish good relationship with communications professionals from Cities Alliance Headquarters, other donors, partners and key stakeholders within the Cities Alliance Liberia Country Programme.
• Establish and cultivate partnerships with the key national, regional and local media.
• Play a leading role in collating external reports and news in the local context, analyse media trends and potential for social media activities used to inform donor and the key stakeholders.

• Manage activities related to the visibility and publicity during the implementation of the 4 components of the EU-funded projects within Cities Alliance Liberia Country Programme.
• In coordination with administrative department, manage and supervise the organisation of public joint activities carried out by Cities Alliance, as well as donor’s, key stakeholders and government officials visits.
• Manage organisation of press conferences and/or public events to raise awareness of the actions implemented by Cities Alliance Liberia Country Programme.
• In coordination with other experts in the Cities Alliance Liberia Country Programme, provide communication and logistical support for organisation of trainings, workshops and community-based activities within the Programme events.
• Under the supervision of the project manager, drafts Terms of Reference for communications and visibility services and other activities needed for this portfolio.
• In coordination with the finance analyst, support in the preparation of tenders for the publicity material and communications services, including printing material, graphics, web, audio and video)
• Ensure proper gender equality principles and practices are incorporated into the communications products as a cross-cutting priority for all components of the projects, in accordance with the Programme’s objectives and methodology.

• Formulate a communications and visibility plan for the 2019 year accordingly to the activities and indicators in the logical framework matrixes of the projects of the Cities Alliance Liberia County Programme.
• Lead in the development and manage implementation of the Cities Alliance Liberia Country Programme’s Internal and External Communications strategy and plan.
• Lead in providing cross-cutting communications support to other components and activities of the Cities Alliance Liberia Country Programme, such as photographing, video-recording, drafting minutes and other means of verifications related to communication and visibility.
• Establishment and maintenance of the contact database of media and the library of Cities Alliance Liberia Country Programme.
• In coordination with the communication and visibility expert from Cities Alliance headquarters, responsible for drafting project briefs, press and media releases to enhance the visibility of the Cities Alliance Liberia Country Programme.
• Responsible for design and manage the social media networking of the Cities Alliance Liberia Country Programme.

Undertake any other function/activity directly related to the efficient execution of the outreach campaign and capacity building components of the projects.

• Advanced level (master's) university degree in communications, journalism, public relations, international relations, linguistics or related discipline is required.
• A first level university degree with a combination of relevant academic qualifications and experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

• Minimum of five years of relevant work experience in communications, public relations, media or journalism is required.
• Minimum of 2 years of experience in implementing social awareness campaigns and develop didactical materials for communication and sensitizing targeting at the community level is required.
• Experience working in the implementation of projects in the sustainable development sector or environmental management initiatives is considered an advantage. 
• Experience in the implementation of projects under the European Union communications and visibility regulations is an asset.

Fluency in  English is required.

• Ability to facilitate/moderate workshop with in the context of long-term strategic planning projects.
• Ability to build consensus amongst wide range of views and complex personal and inter-organisational dynamics.
• Ability to systematize open and public processes.
• Ability to demonstrate initiative and sound judgement
• Demonstrated organizational skills and ability to prioritize and coordinate discussions
• Strong interpersonal and verbal communication skills in order to deal tactfully and effectively with internal/external contacts at all levels.

• 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 are strongly encouraged to apply.
• 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
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

ONLY LIBERIAN NATIONALS OR THOSE WITH RIGHTS TO LIVE AND WORK IN LIBERIA ARE ELIGIBLE FOR CONSIDERATION FOR THIS LOCAL POSITION.

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 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 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.