Communications Associate

UNOP Somalia Country Office (SOCO) exciting career opportunity as we are committed to achieving a truly diverse workforce.

UNOPS - SOCO is recruiting this position: Communications Associate and qualified female candidates are encouraged to apply.


The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners' peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world.  UNOPS supports partners to build a better future by providing services that increase the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of peace building, humanitarian and development projects.  Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors and United Nations organizations. 

UNOPS has been operating in Somalia since 1995. The Somalia Country Office (SOCO) manages and coordinates a diverse portfolio across a variety of sectors, including health, rule of law, crisis recovery, and security and justice reform. Located in Mogadishu, SOCO works with multiple partners, including the Governments of Somalia, bilateral and multilateral donors, United Nations agencies, funds, and programmes. 

Under the supervision of the Partnerships Specialist, the Communications Associate will be responsible for the following responsibilities related to external and internal communications for the Somalia Country Office in full compliance with UNOPS rules, regulations and policies:

S/he will be responsible for all or part of the following duties which are performed according to organizational needs and structure:

• Coordinate development and implementation of an effective and quality communications strategy and work plan for SOCO under the guidance of Senior Management Team and HQ communication group.
• Manage SOCO’s social media accounts, ensuring regular updates and monitoring relevant posts and activities by key partners, including donors and the Somali government counterparts
• Coordinate UNOPS’s inputs to UN Somalia-wide publications, newsletters, websites and other communication products led by the UN Mission to Somalia communications team.
• Develop and maintain a database of local journalists/press contacts. 
• Develop and maintain a database of SOCO partners (including government partners) and the international community.
• Follow local media for humanitarian and development related content. 
• Coordinate inputs from different units and partners and produce consolidated social media posts, factsheets, 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 SOCO personnel and partners.
• Keep up-to-date SOCO communication plans.
• Develop and maintain web content for relevant UNOPS intra-/internet pages and social media.
• Issue bi-monthly internal newsletters.
• Support the Senior Project Manager, the Partnerships Specialist and the SMT as required to organise audio-visual coverage (photography, videography) of project activities and achievements
• Ensure that all UNOPS communication guidelines are consistently applied across all SOCO communication activities and outputs.

• Produce and keep up-to-date communication materials and a photo library with project photos.
• Contribute to communication outputs to share information about SOCO-funded projects and results achieved, in liaison with relevant project and communication teams. 
• Suggest/write stories and topics from the work of SOCO 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.
• Participate in relevant UN Somalia Working Groups or coordination mechanisms and provide necessary UNOPS inputs
• Collaborate with relevant support services units to lead and manage the production and deployment of relevant resources, including booklets, briefing notes, posters and banners, through service providers such as audio-visual production companies, as well as printing and translation companies as required 

• Collect data and carry out research and analytical write ups for concept notes and proposals. 
• Conduct country specific research and analysis on donor and partners focus areas, funding cycles, processes and identify opportunities for SOCO project development.

• Support project visibility activities
• Brief senior management regularly on ongoing communication activities and coordinate efforts to follow up on identified communications needs
• Support the participation and/or representation of the SOCO Partnership Development Office team 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 SOCO monitoring visits or donor field visits of SOCO funded projects. 
• Other duties assigned by the supervisor.

• Completion of Secondary Education is required.  
• Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, Communications, Media, Social Studies, International relations or any related field is desirable, but not required.

• A minimum of six (6) years of relevant experience working in the communications field is required. 
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills and good attention to detail is highly preferred.
• Excellent planning and coordination skills are desired. 
• Experience in social media management is an asset. 
• Experience in the use of the Google Suite application is an advantage
• Experience in graphic design is desired. 
• Knowledge of the UN system is an advantage. 

• Fluency in written, reading and spoken English is required. 
• Working knowledge of Somali will be considered a significant advantage.

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

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.

Africa Region

AFR helps ensure that projects are executed to the highest standards, providing a shared knowledge base and ensuring that best practices and lessons learned are disseminated between projects across the entire region.

Somalia Country Office:

UNOPS Somalia Country Office (SOCO) has had a solid and continuous in-country expert presence successfully implementing programs since the mid-1990s, where it is currently undertaking various projects and initiatives in close collaboration with the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), Federal Member States (FMS) and partners from the global donor community. UNOPS’ projects in Somalia focus on several key sectors that include infrastructure development, institutional capacity building, project management, advisory services, and procurement services. These projects cut across multiple sectors, including education, healthcare, national security, law enforcement, immigration services, justice, transport, and public works among others. UNOPS work in Somalia is geared towards driving growth and development in the country, a process that requires developing a close relationship with the FGS and the other development partners.
  
Through its involvement in Somalia’s development process, UNOPS is providing transparent and accountable solutions in the country’s state and nation-building process. In addition, UNOPS is also committed to implementing the United Nations Strategic Framework Somalia 2017 – 2020, with the aim of helping Somalia achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. UNOPS work within the context of these commitments means that the projects it implements in Somalia are specifically designed to provide long-term solutions in the country, leading to sustainable and inclusive growth.

What drives us is a passion to fight inequalities and to provide opportunities to those most vulnerable. This means we often work in the most challenging environments, building foundations for communities to function and people to live with dignity and respect.

To succeed here, he/she need to be able to combine creativity with the organizational skills to manage numerous different projects to tight deadlines simultaneously, as well as working with the different units to meet their expectations.