Communications Senior Officer

The European Union for Local Development Programme - EU PRO Plus will contribute to more balanced socio-economic development in Serbia by enhancing territorial development management, supporting economic growth, and improving social infrastructure and social cohesion of 99 local self-governments in two regions: Šumadija and Western Serbia and South and Eastern Serbia. The European Union (EU) has allocated 30 million Euros through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) 2020 to fund the Programme which will be led by the Ministry of European Integration and  implemented by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) over a period of 36 months.

There are three results that the Programme will achieve in targeted municipalities:

• Result 1: Improved development planning and introduction of the Integrated Territorial Investments (ITI) concept

• Result 2: Enhanced economic growth 

• Result 3: Improved social infrastructure and social cohesion

While building on the momentum created by its three predecessors, the Programme also focuses on four cross cutting aspects: good governance, digitalisation and innovations, environmental and climate change aspects and gender equality. In addition, EU PRO Plus will, through its activities, where relevant and feasible, strive to remedy some of the negative COVID-19 effects.

The direct beneficiaries of the EU PRO Plus are the Ministry of European Integration, 99 local self-governments, local administration structures, regional development agencies, other business support organisations, local SMEs, and civil society organisations (CSOs). The final beneficiaries are the inhabitants of 99 municipalities. 

All programme activities will be undertaken in partnership with the Government of Serbia, while respecting the national policies and priorities, in order to ensure national ownership and help develop national capacities. The EU PRO Plus is based on the National Priorities for International Assistance in the Republic of Serbia until 2025 (NAD), crucial for economic and social development and the EU integration process, while particularly contributing to preparation for the fulfilment of the requirements under Chapter 22 of the EU acquis - Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments.

Under the direct supervision of the Project Manager, the Communications Senior Officer will provide a strong contribution to the overall success of the communication projects and activities. S/he will play a leading role in the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of communication activities, while ensuring full compliance with the donor’s visibility requirements and guidelines, with the objective to raise awareness of target audiences about activities, results and impact of the EU PRO Plus Programme. 

The Communications Senior Officer will undertake the following activities/responsibilities:

Stakeholder Management:

• Establish and cultivate relationship with the counterparts in the Delegation of the European Union,  relevant ministries and governmental bodies, beneficiary local self-governments, development organisations and programmes and other key stakeholders 

• Establish and cultivate partnerships with the key national, regional and local media 

• Play a leading role in collating and developing external reports used to inform donor and the key stakeholders of EU PRO Plus interventions, and trends and conditions in the Programme Area 

• Represent the Programme, as agreed with the Project Manager 

Delivery and Performance:

• Manage conduct of at least annual Analysis of EU PRO Plus stakeholders 

• Lead on development, implementation, and evaluation of the EU PRO Plus Communication Strategy that will identify goals, opportunities and tools for the promotion of the Programme actions

• Ensure continuing visibility and publicity of the support which the European Union and the Serbian Government provide to the EU PRO Plus area of responsibility

• Lead on the organisation of the donor’s/VIP visits 

• Provide communications support to EU PRO Plus  sectors in order to promote activities, results and impact 

• Provide media with timely and punctual information on EU PRO Plus activities

• Identify, develop, and manage media partnership projects  

• Supervise establishment and maintenance of the contact database of media and the library of EU PRO Plus’s media coverage 

• Provide qualitative and quantitative analysis of EU PRO Plus’s media coverage

• Take a lead in creation and continuous improvement of EU PRO Plus’s website design and ensure the portal is regularly updated and maintained 

• Work with the designers on visibility/promotional material in accordance with the approved communication and visibility plan 

• Organise press conferences/public events to raise awareness of the Programme 

• Provide communication support for organisation of trainings, workshops and other Programme events 

• Take a lead in development and implementation of the Programme’s Internal Communications Plan

• Keep the personnel informed of any news, which are relevant and may affect the Programme activities

• In cooperation with the Project Manager and the Support Services Team, ensure efficient and effective management of visibility related budget 

• Draft Terms of Reference for communications and other consultants needed for this portfolio 

• With the guidance of the Procurement Officer, prepare tenders for the publicity material (including print, graphics, web, audio and video) 

• Manage and review quality of implemented activities and ensure products are accepted 

• Manage and oversee communications consultants and service providers

• Ensure good governance concept, principles and practices are incorporated into the communication activities and products where applicable, in accordance with the Programme’s objectives and methodology. 

Procedures:

• With support from the Project Manager, ensure respect of relevant project management requirements

• With support from the Head of Support Services and the Procurement Officer, ensure respect of UNOPS procurement procedures 

• With support from the Head of Support Services and the Finance Officer, ensure 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 

• Provide timely, accurate, and high quality inputs to EU PRO Plus reports as is confirmed 

• Provide timely, accurate, and quality inputs needed for monitoring of the Programme’s performance, outputs and benefits as required by the Project Manager 

• Ensure respect of UNOPS and EU PRO Plus configuration management requirements 

• Address relevant requests from the Project Management Office and the Head of Programme

Knowledge Management:

• Participate in the relevant 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 

• Support personnel development through mentoring.

Perform other duties as may be reasonably required and in line with the incumbent’s scope of services above.

Education 

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

• A relevant Bachelor degree in combination with four years of relevant professional experience would be accepted in lieu of Master degree

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 English and Serbian is required

Driving License 

• Driving license and ability to travel independently is required

• 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.

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.

The UNOPS Republic of Serbia Multi Country Office (RSMCO) is implementing 15 projects in Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Ukraine. 

In Serbia, where UNOPS has been active since 2000, and North Macedonia and Montenegro where UNOPS works since 2017, the organisation provides support in demanding socio-economic reforms and facilitating accession to the European Union. The projects focus on sustainable socio-economic development, good governance, social cohesion, environment and emergency response. The projects are implemented with the funding from the European Union (EU), Kingdom of Norway, Governments of Switzerland, Sweden and North Macedonia.

In Ukraine, UNOPS support to the partners in their reform agenda since 2017 spans the rule of law, social protection, demining, emergency response and security. The projects are funded by the EU, UNHCR, the Governments of Japan and Canada.

All projects have gender equality as a transversal theme, and have been contextualised within the broader Sustainable Development Goals frameworks and objectives.