Media and Communications Officer, Multiple positions

The “Enhancing Good Governance and Social Inclusion for Municipal Development” Programme (Swiss PRO) will improve local capacities primarily in 99 municipalities in Šumadija and Western Serbia, and South and Eastern Serbia regions to apply good governance (GG) principles in local policies and regulations and thus increase social cohesion. The Government of Switzerland has allocated CHF 6.9 million for the Programme, with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) responsible for its implementation, in cooperation with the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities (SCTM).

The Programme has to fulfil two main goals:

1. To contribute to the enhancement of organisations and officials’ knowledge and skills
2. To positively change the scope and quality of public services rendered to citizens, especially to those from excluded groups.

Both goals will lead to improved regulations, institutional, technical and human capacities for the enhancement of e-services. In addition, capacity building will be provided to local civil society organisations (CSOs) as well as institutions dealing with social inclusion and gender equality.

Overall, this will contribute to the improved rule of law at the local level, increased accountability, transparency and efficiency and effectiveness of the local governments (LSGs), and ultimately improvement of quality of life of citizens, especially excluded citizens.

The Programme will coordinate its activities with the key line-national-level institutions, while observing the national strategies, laws and relevant development documents, which will contribute to sustainability, ensure national ownership and develop national capacities. The content and the scope of the Programme will significantly complement the European Union Support to Municipal Development – EU PRO Programme.[1]

Under the direct supervision of the National Programme Manager, the Media and Communications Officer will be responsible for efficient and effective management of communication activities. He/she will play a lead role in the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of communication activities, while ensuring full compliance with the donor’s visibility requirements and guidelines, with objective to raise awareness of target audiences about activities, results and impact of the Swiss PRO Programme.

The Media and Communications Officer will undertake the following activities/responsibilities:

Stakeholder Management:

• Establish and cultivate relationship with the counterparts in the Swiss Cooperation Office (SCO), relevant ministries and governmental bodies, SCTM, complementary EU PRO Programme, local self-governments, development organisations and programmes and other key stakeholders
• Establish and cultivate partnerships with the key national, regional and local media
• Collating and developing external reports used to inform donor and the key stakeholders of Swiss PRO interventions, and key developments in the Programme Area
• Contribute to presentation of the Programme’s support to key stakeholders, as per agreement with the National Programme Manager

Delivery and Performance:

• Conduct at least one annual mapping of Swiss PRO stakeholders
• Prepare briefs and analysis of political, socio and economic trends relevant for the Programme
• Ensure and lead the implementation and evaluation of the Swiss PRO Communication Strategy and the Programme’s Internal and External Communications Plan in consultations with the RSOC Communications and Partnership Specialist.
• Manage activities related to the visibility and publicity of the support which the Swiss Government and the Serbian Government provide to the Swiss PRO area
• Lead and supervise the organisation of the donor’s, Embassy’s, Government officials visits
• Lead organisation of the press conferences/public events to raise awareness of the Programme
• Provide communication support for organisation of trainings, workshops and other Programme events
• Provide communications support to Swiss PRO sectors in order to promote activities, results and impact of the Programme
• Ensure cooperation with media and provision of information on the Swiss PRO activities
• Maintain the media contact database and the library of Swiss PRO’s media coverage
• Ensure monthly qualitative and quantitative analysis of Swiss PRO’s media coverage to the National Programme Manager and all Programme personnel and informed on any news, which may affect the Programme activities
• Ensure that the Swiss PRO’s website and social network accounts are systematically updated and maintained
• Supervise the retainers designers work on visibility/promotional material in accordance with the approved Communication and Visibility Plan
• Prepare Terms of Reference for communications and other consultants needed for this portfolio
• Supervise the communications consultants and service providers
• With the guidance of the Procurement Officer, prepare tenders for the publicity material (including print, graphics, web, audio and video)
• Ensure the quality of implemented activities and products are accepted by the National Programme Manager and the SDC
• Ensure good governance and gender equality principles and practices are incorporated into the communications products, in accordance with the Programme’s objectives and methodology.

Procedures:

• With support from the National Programme Manager and in consultations with the Head of Programme, ensure respect of project management requirements
• With support from the Head of Support Services and the Procurement Officer, ensure respect of UNOPS’ procurement procedures
• In cooperation with the National Programme Manager and with support from the Head of Support Services and the Finance Officer, ensure efficient and effective management of the communications budget and that all expenditure complies with UNOPS Financial Rules and Regulations (FRR)
• Contribute to development, update and implementation of the Programme’s plans
• Contribute to identification and assessment of risks and implement mitigation measures in accordance with the Programme’s Risk Management Strategy
• Contribute to the Programme planning activities and ensure timely delivery of approved work, procurement, and financial plans for the Communications activities
• Provide accurate and high quality inputs to Swiss PRO reports
• Provide accurate and quality inputs needed for monitoring of the Programme’s performance, outputs and benefits as required by the National Programme Manager
• Ensure respect of UNOPS and Swiss PRO configuration management requirements

Knowledge Management:

• Participate in the UNOPS’ Communities of Practice
• Provide feedback to Practice Leads on policy, supporting guidance with an aim towards continuous improvement of UNOPS policies
• Contribute to identification and sharing of the Programme’s lessons learned and the best practices as per reporting format.

Personnel Management:

• Manage, lead, and motivate the communications personnel and ensure they respect professional standards of conduct
• Ensure good quality conduct of full performance evaluation cycle, completion of mandatory courses and encourage personnel continuous learning and development
• Closely monitor and assess performance of external consultants

Education

• Bachelor degree preferably in communications, journalism, public relations, international relations or a related field is required

Work Experience

• Minimum two years of relevant work experience in communications, public relations, media or journalism is required
• Experience with international organisations is desirable but not mandatory

Language Requirements

• Fluency in Serbian and English is required

Driving license

• Driving license and ability to travel independently is required

Certification

• PRojects IN Controlled Environments (PRINCE 2) Foundation Certification is an asset

• 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
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• 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.

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.