Communications Specialist - Public Relations and Outreach

Rural communities in Cameroon lack access to safe drinking water supply, with a detrimental impact on their health and life quality. KOICA and the Government of Cameroon have identified access to potable water as a priority need, and the exchanges within KOICA and several Ministries such as MINEPAT, MINEE and MINSANTE have resulted in the development of the “Potable Water Supply Project in Rural Areas of Cameroon” to be implemented in 3 Regions: Centre, Littoral and West.

The Project targets a maximum of 80 communities and is articulated into 3 main components:

• Provision of Drinking Water Supply (Facilities)

• Capacity Building of Stakeholders

• Project Management

The Project implementation has been divided into two subsequent phases: the first one for all preparation activities (completed) and the second for physical implementation (construction and rehabilitation of water supply facilities and training/capacity building), to start after the completion of phase 1.

Based in Kinshasa, DRC, the UNOPS Multi country Office (CDMCO) in Central Africa covers eleven countries including DRC, RC, CAR, Angola, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, Burundi, and Madagascar. The office has developed strong working relations with the international partners, UN agencies including UN Missions and Governments across Central Africa over the years. It provides technical support and capacity building in strategic development areas including infrastructure construction and rehabilitation and development across health, education, public works, governance/public administration sectors; procurement, project management, amongst others.

UNOPS in Cameroon provides services from its main office in Yaoundé and will be opening offices located in several regions of the country. The organization responds to the needs of the Cameroon Government through funding from bilateral donors such as KOICA and AFD, international financial institutions such as the World Bank and Islamic Development Bank and United Nations agencies such as UNHCR. UNOPS in Cameroon provides a wide range of procurement, contract management and human resources services and aims to expand into project management, basic service provisions and other related services, specifically in economic and social infrastructure (construction and rehabilitation) and financial management in sectors such as WASH, Agriculture, Health, Environment & Climate Change Mitigation.

Under the leadership of the Senior Programme Manager, the Communications Specialist-Public Relations and Outreach will oversee the Cameroon office  communications and outreach activities in order to position UNOPS uniqueness in the country. She/he will be responsible for the following: 

• Maintain a strategic perspective on the communications and outreach needs of the region, and identify opportunities for visibility and outreach related, including media events, speaking opportunities, conferences and strategic meetings with existing and potential partners. 

• Promote, advocate and raise awareness around UNOPS activities, results, flagship initiatives through a variety of communication vehicles in LCR. 

• Establish mutual benefit relationship with distinguished Universities, Epistemic Communities, Technical Experts networks, Professional Organizations in the region. 

• Identify, connect and cultivate relevant influencers on UNOPS mandate area, and nurture long lasting relationships with the target audience. 

• Oversee the production of communication materials and be responsible for media relations.

• Coordinate communications and outreach network to ensure it supports and is aligned with UNOPS strategy for Latin American & Caribbean region. 

• Ensure that all regional messaging and communications are in harmony with global messages and goals.

• Master’s Degree or equivalent in Communications, International Relations, Political/Social Science or related fields is required. 

• Bachelor’s Degree in Communications, International Relations, Political/Social Science or related fields
  in combination with two (2) additional years of relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of the Master's degree. 

• Technical/Professional Diploma in Communications, International Relations, Political/Social Science or related fields in combination with four (4) additional years of relevant professional experience may be accepted in lieu of the Master's degree.
   

• A minimum of five (5) years or more of relevant experience either in Communication and/or Public Relations and/or Outreach at the national (government) or international level, non-governmental organizations or private sector in the field of development cooperation or public administration is required;

• A minimum of two years experience on international politics, diplomacy, partnership development, institutional and government relations, public relations/public affairs, and/or resource mobilization is required; 

• Experience in leading institutional/external relations or advocacy activities is an asset;

• Experience in working with Partnership Development, Outreach, Marketing and/or Communication programmes/activities is an asset ; 

• Experience within the Central African region, or experience in an organization that has been engaging with one or several governments in the region in the context of humanitarian or development work is desirable;  

• UN/UNOPS experience would be an added advantage.

• Experience /knowledge of web-based applications and Google Suite products, especially google forms, sheets, docs and slides is an asset.
  
  

• Fluency in French and English (reading, writting and speaking) required.

Contract type: International Individual Contractor IICA 

• 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.  
• Yaounde is a family duty station 

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.

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.