Communication Officer, NO-1, ECARO O/P Bratislava- Slovakia, until 31 December 2024

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, a voice

Since the escalation of war in Ukraine in February 2022, children’s lives and well-being remains under threat. Millions of people, mainly women and children, have been forced to flee their homes and country in search of safety, 100,000 of whom reside in Slovakia.

In response, UNICEF mobilized organization-wide support to upscale its activities in Country Offices and set-up programmatic presence in Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia. After an initial humanitarian response, conducted in coordination with the government, municipalities and civil society, the UNICEF Refugee Response Office (RRO) in Slovakia is now transitioning from emergency interventions tailored towards addressing immediate needs to interventions aimed at the longer-term inclusion of refugees, while addressing residual humanitarian needs of refugees in the areas of Child Protection, Education, including Early Childhood Development and Adolescent Development, Health and Social Policy as well as Social and Behaviour Change .

How can you make a difference?

The Communications Officer will:

• assist in implementing, coordinating and monitoring of the RRO communication and advocacy activities and associated products on on-going basis with public audiences, UN and civil society partners, and key private and public sector donors.
• develop and implement communication activities to promote awareness, understanding, support and respect for children’s and women’s rights, and support for UNICEF's mission, priorities and programmes in the country and at regional and global level.
• support in the coordination of Situation Reports, development of donor proposals and reports and ensure effective communication of UNICEF results to key public and private sector partners, including donor recognition and Social and Behaviour Change activities.

The incumbent will work closely with UNICEF Slovensko, the UNICEF Foundation for Slovakia (National Committee), on social media strategy and copy.

Key tasks and responsbilities include:

1. Communication materials

• Support the development, implementation and monitoring of the RRO communication and advocacy activities.
• Gather content and coverage of relevant RRO efforts to identify effective relevant country programme activities and results. Develop complementary, country-specific and local community materials and activities.
• Support the production of communication materials (e.g. briefing notes, images, video. Web pages etc.) that meet the country and global standards.
• Assist in drafting and editing articles, press releases, human interest stories and other advocacy/information materials for both web-based and traditional media, as appropriate.
• Follow the production of advocacy and communication materials (e.g., films, videos, audio-visuals, etc.), and oversee the qualitative aspects of production, (e.g., quality control, translations, reviews of layout and graphic design etc.) to meet standards as set out in the Communication Toolkit.
• Maintain an up-to-date documentation centre for communication materials including publications, press releases and clippings, photographs, audio-visual materials, web resources etc.

2. Media relations

• Maintain and update media relations contact list/database. Ensure rapid and accurate information dissemination to the media.
• Assist in developing and maintaining close collaboration with mass media, as well as with groups and organizations whose support is essential to the achievement of advocacy and communication objectives.
• Assist in researching, drafting and editing articles, press releases, human interest stories and other advocacy/information materials in all media formats, as appropriate.
• Prepare background communication and promotional materials for briefing and visits of media and other special interest groups. Assist in the planning, logistic and administrative arrangements for them.
• Assist in collaborating with the media through activities such as organizing project site visits, facilitating photo coverage and TV footage and utilizing both web-based and traditional media as appropriate.

3. Monitoring and evaluation

• Monitor the reach and impact of advocacy and communication activities and materials to target audiences, and participate in the evaluation of their impact. Monitor and evaluate the use and effectiveness of media materials. Maintain a library of coverage (clippings, coverage etc.)
• Monitor public perception of UNICEF in country and recommend appropriate action to maintain a positive image for UNICEF’s work.
• Ensure good quality data collection, analysis and evaluation and reporting to ensure effective communication strategies, planning and effective and efficient advocacy.
• Undertake lessons learned review of successful and unsuccessful communication experiences as directed by supervisor.

4. Networking and partnerships

• Help organize and generate public support for special events and activities to engage audiences in UNICEF’s work for children.
• Assist in developing and maintaining close collaboration with influencers and with groups and organizations whose support is essential to the achievement of advocacy and communication objectives.
• Maintain and update influencers key audiences contact lists/database for country office.
• Prepare background communication and promotional materials for briefings and visits of media, Goodwill Ambassadors, donors, National Committee representatives and other special interest groups. This includes preparing information materials (e.g., press releases, programme summaries, country fact sheets and media kits), and assisting in the planning, logistics and administrative arrangements.

5. Donor Reporting & Resource mobilization support

• Support the coordination of inputs into communication materials by programme colleagues, as well as the proof-reading and editing of regular situation reports, donor proposals and donor reports.
• Assist in developing and maintaining snapshots and other programme visibility documents, including PowerPoint presentations, to be used during meetings with potential donors.
• Support the Country Coordinator and section chiefs in identifying and seizing fundraising opportunities.

6. Capacity building and support

• Support programme colleagues and implementing partners in raising the quality of communication products.
• Support the organization of meetings and workshops to discuss specific topics within the areas of Communication and Advocacy as needed.

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

• Bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism, public relations, political science, international relations or related field.
• At least one year of professional experience in communications, media, or digital media.
• Proven experience designing, launching, managing and reporting on traditional and/or digital campaigns, both in-house and through agencies is an asset.
• Strong writing and storytelling skills in English and Slovak are a strong asset.
• Experience in photography, videomaking and/or graphic design is an asset.
• Background/familiarity with emergency situations is an asset.
• Field experience is an asset.
• Fluency in English and Slovak are required. Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish) is an asset.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships (2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness (3) Drive to achieve results for impact (4) Innovates and embraces change (5) Manages ambiguity and complexity (6) Thinks and acts strategically (7) Works collaboratively with others (8) Lead and Nurture people.

During the recruitment process, we test candidates following the competency framework. Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels: competency framework here.

UNICEF is here to serve the world’s most disadvantaged children and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, or any other personal characteristic. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF strongly encourages the use of flexible working arrangements. 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 is committed to promote the protection and safeguarding of all children.

Remarks:

This is a national officer position, open to Slovak nationals only.

This Temporary Appointment (TA) contract will be issued through to 31 December 2024, while any possible extension will be subject to continued organizational or emerging programmatic needs, available financial resources and satisfactory performance.

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station, which will be facilitated by UNICEF, is required for IP positions. Appointments are also subject to inoculation (vaccination) requirements, including against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid). Should you be selected for a position with UNICEF, you either must be inoculated as required or receive a medical exemption from the relevant department of the UN. Otherwise, the selection will be cancelled.

All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles. 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.

Government employees that are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

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