Project Management Support- Monitoring and Communications Associate

The Austria Multi-Country Office (AUMCO) was set up in August 2019 as a part of the UNOPS Europe & Central Asia Region (ECR). Specifically, AUMCO aims to enable achievement of Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement through global programmes and tailored interventions in the Balkans, South Caucasus, and Central Asia, focused on:

• Infrastructure

• Procurement 

• Project Management (full service, back on track)

• HR and Transactional Services

• Grant Management 

• Technical and Advisory Services

UNOPS, through ECR AUMCO, is partnering with the Government of Albania and the European Union, as well as with the UN system, to facilitate the post-earthquake rehabilitation and reconstruction of a large number of key cultural heritage sites, museums, and cultural hubs and to promote tourism and economic development of the sites. 

On 26 November 2019, Albania was hit by its most deadly earthquake in a century. The earthquake measured 6.4 on the Richter scale and caused significant casualties and property damage, resulting in 51 deaths, over 1000 injured, and nearly 14,000 people displaced. To measure and assess the economic damage, a Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) was conducted, estimating the total economic losses at nearly EUR 1Billion.  

The PDNA documented the destruction of public and private infrastructure. Of particular concern was the destruction of cultural heritage monuments and property, as 53 cultural heritage properties were significantly damaged by the earthquake. This project seeks to remediate the effect of the earthquake on Albania’s cultural heritage through the rehabilitation of monuments, as well as contribute to Albania’s socio-economic recovery through the construction and upgrade of these sites. It will be important also to support improvements in the capacity of institutions responsible for the management of these cultural monuments and sites to better accommodate tourism. A final outcome of the project is the effective communication of project results to the wider public and developing and implementing an advocacy platform resulting in better recognition of the important role of culture in the social and economic well-being of Albanian

Specific responsibilities and duties include, but are not limited to:

• Provide effective support to the Partnerships Specialist Liaison - Communications (PSLC) on all issues relating to project operations and implementation.

• Assist in developing a Communications Plan, in accordance with the overall Communication Strategy developed by the EC under Special Measure 2 and coordinate with other implementing partners, the EC and the Government of Albania.

• Assist in providing information on the EU assistance activities and benefits delivered as part of the Project to all key stakeholders and the end beneficiaries.

• Promote the EU values and contribute to better understanding and participation in EU Projects at different levels in Albania including national, regional and local authorities as well as citizens and private sector. 

• Assist PSLC in communication and visibility activities of the project, coordination of the development and implementation of the stakeholder management and communication strategy. 

• Ensures visibility of the donor in line with the EU guidelines, identifying specific and measurable goals, opportunities and tools for promotion of each result area, as well as target audiences and clear messages.

• Ensure accuracy, consistency, filing and record-keeping of all project documents in an efficient manner.

• Provide input for the narrative progress reports and other reporting/outreach products as requested by the PSLC.

• Collect and maintain electronic files  of the project related  documents.  

• Assist in designing  project monitoring and evaluation and  plan.

• Assist in drafting project progress reports as per the project milestones.

• Coordinates   and monitors the work of communications and outreach components of the project.

• Contribute to draft  the detailed work plan and strategy on communications and outreach components.

• Provide meaningful assistance in monitoring the project implementation  and coordinate project  outreach activities.

• Support the PSLC in preparing press releases and articles on the Projects’ for both internal and external publications.

• Liaise with Reporting focal points of other offices.

• Support communications activities of Tirana Office.

• Assist by developing concepts and approaches and any other activities required for effective lessons learned and sharing within the organization.

• Facilitate execution of any and all project issues as may be required for efficient implementation.

• Secondary school diploma is required.

• A Bachelor degree in communications, journalism media relations or relevant discipline is desirable.

• Certification in communications, monitoring and reporting desirable.

• Six years of relevant experience in communications support in combination with a secondary school diploma is required. Bachelor’s degree may substitute for years of experience.

• Experience in work with the international aid development sector, including the UN system, European Union is desirable.

• Previous UNOPS experience is desirable.

• Fluency in English and Albanian is required.

Contract type: Regular, Local Individual Contract Agreement (LICA)

Contract level: ICS-6 / LICA-6

• 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.
• 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
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
• 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.