Communications and Media Senior 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

Under the direct supervision of the Country Manager, the Communications and Media Senior Associate will carry out the following duties, in full compliance with UNOPS rules, regulations and policies to support Communications Unit  for Albania Office within UNOPS key focus and service areas:

Communication:

• Implement and update the Project Communication Strategy and visibility guidelines

• Develop and maintain a database of local journalists / press contacts. 

• Develop and maintain a database of Albania Office partners and the international community.

• Co-organize media facilitation for donor visits and field visits. 

• Follow local media for humanitarian and development related content. 

• Coordinate inputs from different units, donors and partners and produce consolidated reports, presentations and other written documents for internal and external use.  

• Liaise with the HQ Comms team and UN Communication Group and participate in relevant meetings.  

• Support the development and facilitation of in-house communication training for Albania Office personnel and partners.

• Keep up-to-date Albania Office’s communication plans.

• Develop and maintain web content for relevant UNOPS intra-/internet pages and social media.

• Contribute to the elaboration of periodic internal newsletters. 

  Reporting/Knowledge Management:

• Produce and keep up-to-date communication materials and a photo library with project photos.

• Contribute to communication outputs to share information about Albania Office projects and results achieved, in liaison with relevant project and communication teams. 

• Suggest/write stories and topics from the work of Albania Office and its partners for publication in local and other appropriate media. 

• Share publication, information and knowledge with colleagues, clients and partners.

• Prepare communication materials as required for events, mission travel and/or discussion with partners.

• Identify and collect communication KPIs to monitor and evaluate communication performance

• Participate in relevant UN Working Groups or coordination mechanisms and provide necessary UNOPS inputs, including for UN INFO in selected priority countries. 

• Prepare draft monthly reports to the Regional Office. 

Stakeholder Management:

• Maintain an online filing system for the Communications Unit.

• Support in building good relations with relevant stakeholders, including government agencies, civil society organizations, private sector companies, UN agencies, INGOs, research institutes and media. 

• Conduct country specific research and analysis on donor and partners focus areas, funding cycles, processes and identify opportunities for Albania Office project development.

• Keep the Albania Office’s business plan and business acquisition trackers up-to-date in coordination with relevant personnel.

Other duties: 

• Support the participation and/or representation of the Country Manager at events and technical meetings as required.

• Participate in meetings with donors and partners and produce high quality meeting minutes and action-oriented summaries.

• When needed, join Country Manager monitoring visits or donor field visits of UNOPS projects. 

• Other duties assigned 

• 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.

• Seven 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-7 / LICA-7

• 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.