Communication for Development Officer (TA/NOA, 11 months, ), Bishkek. This vacancy is open to Nationals of Kyrgyzstan only

Contract

This is a NO-1 contract. This kind of contract is known as National Professional Officers. It is normally only for nationals. It's a staff contract. More about NO-1 contracts.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, development

The fundamental mission of UNICEF is to promote the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything the organization does — in programmes, in advocacy and in operations. The equity strategy, emphasizing the most disadvantaged and excluded children and families, translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. For UNICEF, equity means that all children have an opportunity to survive, develop and reach their full potential, without discrimination, bias or favoritism. To the degree that any child has an unequal chance in life — in its social, political, economic, civic and cultural dimensions — her or his rights are violated. There is growing evidence that investing in the health, education and protection of a society’s most disadvantaged citizens — addressing inequity — not only will give all children the opportunity to fulfill their potential but also will lead to sustained growth and stability of countries. This is why the focus on equity is so vital. It accelerates progress towards realizing the human rights of all children, which is the universal mandate of UNICEF, as outlined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, while also supporting the equitable development of nations.

Purpose for the job: The Communication for Development Officer reports to the C4D Specialist for close supervision and guidance. The Officer provides technical and operational support to the supervisor and internal colleagues by administering, executing and implementing a variety of tasks to promote community engagement and participation, and measurable behavioral and social change/mobilization, requiring the application of technical and theoretical skills and the study of organizational goals, rules, regulations, policies and procedures.

How can you make a difference?

1. Support to strategy design and development of C4D activities

▪ Participate in conducting C4D situation analysis of social, cultural, economic, communication and political issues in the country/region. Collect and synthesize qualitative and quantitative information and data to support the establishment of comprehensive and evidence-based information for developing and planning the C4D activities in the areas of Immunization, Attitude to Children with Disabilities and Prevention of COVID-19.

▪ Collect, draft and/or organize materials and related documentations for C4D strategies and plans to ensure optimum impact, scale and sustainability of achievements/results.

▪ Assess and/or recommend appropriate information and materials for C4D initiatives verifying accuracy and quality for dissemination.

▪ Assess the impact of C4D activities on the CO and UNICEF goals to achieve measureable behavioral and social change resulting in the improvement of children’s rights and wellbeing. Submit qualitative report/synthesis of results for development planning and improvement.

2. Support to the implementation of C4D activities

▪ Collaborate with internal and external partners in the areas of Immunization, Attitude to Children with Disabilities and Prevention of COVID-19 to provide operational and technical support to the design of C4D strategies, and research, develop, test, produce and use quality C4D materials and/or organize events and activities to ensure maximum outreach and impact on behavioral and social change of target audience.

▪ Provide technical, administrative and logistical support and background materials to carry out C4D activities and recommend operational strategies, approaches, plans, methods and procedures.

▪ Assess and recommend potential contacts, networks, resources and tools to support the maximum impact and outreach of C4D initiatives.

▪ Follow up on the production of C4D materials to ensure technical quality, consistency and relevancy of communications materials that are developed, produced and disseminated to target audience (e.g. individuals, communities, government officials, partners, media etc).

▪ Collect, assess and organize information for budget planning and management of programme funds and prepare documentations and related materials for financial plan for C4D initiatives. Monitor/track the use of resources as planned and verify compliance with organizational guidelines, rules and regulations and standards of ethics and transparency.

▪ Support the management of Partnership agreements with NGOs, including funding management, monitoring of the implementation, providing timely support to partners and reviewing/analyzing report to identify corrective actions as necessary.

3. Advocacy, networking and partnership building

• Build and maintain partnerships through networking and proactive collaboration with national and international civil society organizations, community groups, leaders and other critical partners in the community and civil society to reinforce cooperation through engagement, empowerment and self determination and to pursue opportunities for greater advocacy to promote UNICEF’s mission and goals for child rights, social equity

and inclusiveness.

• Collaborate with internal global/regional communication partners to harmonize, link and/or coordinate messaging to enhance C4D outreach and contribution to programmatic outcomes.

4. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building

▪ Institutionalize/share best practices and knowledge learned/products with global/local partners and stakeholders to build capacity of practitioners/users, and disseminate lessons learned to key audiences including donors and partners.

▪ Support the organization, administration and implementation of capacity building initiatives to enhance the competencies of clients/stakeholders/partners across programme sectors in C4D planning, implementation and evaluation in support of programmes/projects. Develop training materials for training activities, and revise them periodically for improvements and updates.

Impact of Results

The efficient and effective technical, administrative and operational support provided to the development and implementation of C4D advocacy initiatives and products directly impact on the ability of UNICEF to promote social, political and economic action and changes in behaviors, social attitudes, beliefs and actions by communities, individuals and societies on children’s rights, survival and wellbeing. This in turn contributes to enhancing the ability of UNICEF to fulfill its mission to achieve sustainable and concrete results in improving the survival, development and wellbeing of children in the country.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

• Education: A university degree in one of the following fields is required: social and behavioral science, sociology, anthropology, psychology, education, communication, public relations or another relevant technical field.
• Experience: A minimum of two years of professional experience in one or more of the following areas is required: social development programme planning, communication for development, or another related area, management of development project, community-based programming. Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organization is considered as an asset.
• Language Requirements: Fluency in English and Russian is required. Knowledge of Kyrgyz language is considered as an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA) and core competencies in Communication, Working with People and Drive for Results.

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are...

Core Competencies

▪ Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (1)

▪ Works Collaboratively with others (1)

▪ Builds and Maintains Partnerships (1)

▪ Innovates and Embraces Change (1)

▪ Thinks and Acts Strategically (1)

▪ Drive to achieve impactful results (1)

▪ Manages ambiguity and complexity (1)

Functional Competencies:

▪ Persuading and influencing (1)

▪ Applying technical expertise (1)

▪ Learning and researching (2)

▪ Planning and organizing (2)

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

Click here to learn more about UNICEF’s values and competencies.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.