Communications Associate

Myanmar is one of UNOPS’ leading offices in Asia, acting as fund manager for some of the largest development programmes in the country. In addition, UNOPS is Principal Recipient for the Global Fund in Myanmar and for the Global Fund’s regional artemisinin-resistance initiative targeting drug-resistant malaria in the greater Mekong sub-region. UNOPS also provides procurement, infrastructure and project management services to a wide range of organizations in the country, including international development partners, other UN agencies, NGOs and INGOs. UNOPS plays a critical role in ensuring that the quality of services provided to its partners meets stringent requirements of speed, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.

Project Information

LIFT is embarking on a new strategic period for 2024-2028. The LIFT 2024-2028 Strategy builds on the achievements of LIFT's experience as well as recent adaptations and learning in the face of a changing and dynamic context. The new Strategy outlines an approach to tackle structural drivers of poverty and vulnerability, while also considering immediate interventions to secure and maintain Myanmar's previous development gains. LIFT has proven itself as a key delivery partner across Myanmar’s changing contexts – ranging from post-Nargis recovery, a time of political transition, and relief support during COVID-19. LIFT is managed by the United Nations Office for Projects Services (UNOPS) and has received funding from 16 international donors. The current donors are the United Kingdom, the European Union, Switzerland, Australia, the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, and Denmark.

Job Specific:

Under the supervision of the Communications Specialist, the Communications Associate will support in implementing the LIFT Communication Strategy for donor relations, external, internal, and crisis communications. 

The Communications Associate will assist in the process of writing reports, newsletters, minutes, programmatic updates, and impact stories - producing content for social media and other channels. The person under this position will provide administrative support and participate in field trips, take photos, record footage and audio. The associate will also assist in town hall execution and other internal and external events.  

This way the Communications Associate will contribute to the overall goal for the communication unit, which is to assure that LIFT is well positioned to deliver on its 2024-2028 POA, streamlined through Plans of Action and at any time aligning to UNOPS’ global communications strategy and standards. 

Implement the communications strategy and plan:

• Assist day-to-day communications execution ensuring that high-quality work is delivered in a timely manner to support core LIFT activities in the best possible way.

• Follow the tracking framework to ensure quality and timely delivery of the plan. 

• Support the information update process about the different communication channels to facilitate effective reporting, proper templates, access to information, formatted impact accounts, and more. 

• Provide administrative assistance for the communications budget tracking process execution, ensuring compliance with UNOPS rules and regulations.  

• Assist and provide administrative support to the Communications Officers on the delivery of high-level, strategic messages,  at meetings, reports, and newsletters, and when needed ad hoc.

Content management and creation: 

• Support the process of creating communication editorial content including talking points, FAQs, internal messages, fact sheets, news releases, website content, social media, and videos.

• Assist the Communications Officers in capturing, recording, and transforming content into insightful/strategic information to communicate with LIFT's main stakeholders. 

• Manage multiple deliverables simultaneously and anticipate short-, medium-, and long-term support needs.

Administrative/Operational support:

• Assist with internal and external event organization/management.

• Ensure organizing and administering teams/meetings information - e.g., taking minutes, managing Google Drive, and ensuring information is updated and can be easily accessed.

• Participate in events, footage, interviews, or any other ad-hoc activity that could need support. 

Innovation, knowledge management, and capacity building:

• Identify, capture, synthesize, and share lessons learned to develop knowledge and build stakeholders' capacity.

• Apply innovative approaches to support the implementation and delivery of effective and efficient initiatives. 

• Contribute to the development of a learning management culture within the communications team to ensure sustainable and scalable growth.

Education:

• Completion of Secondary Education with six (6) years of relevant experience is required.  

• Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, Communications, Media, Social Studies, International relations or any related field with two (2) years of relevant experience is desirable.

Experience:

• A minimum of 6 years of experience supporting communications processes, including content creation, digital communications literacy, and strategic communications is required. 

• Experience in editing, writing, and storytelling skills in English and the local required language, to address various audiences, is an advantage. 

• Experience in Social Media tracking tools, CMS systems, and digital content creation is highly desirable. 

• Experience in event management and planning is an asset. 

• Administrative experience in data management in Google Suite, Microsoft Office, or similar is an advantage. 

• Experience working with the UN or international organizations is highly desirable.

• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (e.g. MS Office newer versions, Google Suite Applications) is required.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required.

• Proficiency in  Burmese is required.

Contract type: Local Individual Contractor Agreement (LICA)
Contract level: LICA-6
Contract duration: Open-ended, subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.

• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures,  languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 

• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.

• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process.  If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions 

• 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 ( they take around 4 hours to complete)  in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here.

• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.

• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.