Covid19 Crisis Communications Specialist

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Application deadline 3 years ago: Sunday 30 Aug 2020 at 23:59 UTC

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Contract

This is a International Consultant contract. More about International Consultant contracts.

Background

The position is located in the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office in Fiji, with multi country responsibilities for Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu. The UN Resident Coordinator (RC) provides leadership to the Pacific Joint UN Country Team and the UN’s programming work, as outlined in the UN Pacific Strategy, in support of national priorities. The RC has a team composed of national and international staff, forming the Fiji RC Multi-Country Office (RCO), and is based in Suva, Fiji. Twenty-six resident and non-resident UN entities are signatories to the UNPS and members of The Pacific Joint UN Country Team.

Over the past few months, the escalating situation of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Pacific is being felt across Pacific Island Countries, where health systems are one of the weakest globally. Countries in the Pacific are particularly vulnerable and will require all humanitarian partners to look at their existing operations to see how they can be reprioritized and adapted. To date, UN has been engaging with development partners and Governments through the Joint Incident Management Team focusing mainly on ongoing health preparedness and response activities and the Pacific Humanitarian Team (PHT) to look at other key areas of concern such as education, water and sanitation, food security, logistics, livelihoods and early recovery and protection of women, children and other vulnerable groups.

In response to the requests of Governments to support development and implementation of multisectoral plans and in line with the UN Development System Reform Agenda UN’s Resident Coordinator’s office in Fiji is leading a cohesive UN System response to COVID 19 in the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, leveraging the critical expertise and delivery capacities of UN Agencies to ensure a coordinated, system-wide and multi-sectoral approach to a quickly evolving situation.

Recognizing the importance of effective communications and public information sharing, especially in times of crisis, as both a practical tool and an operational necessity United Nation’s Communication Group has been working on development of COVID 19 Crisis Communication plan. The proposed position, as part of United Nation’s Communication Group, will be based with RCO Fiji and will support the implementation of COVID 19 Crisis Communication plan. The incumbent will report to the UN Resident Coordinator and will work under the overall supervision of the RCO Team leader.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

The Crisis communication specialist is responsible for the following duties:

  • Supports coordination and implementation of system wide COVID 19 communication strategy; in coordination with UNCT Fiji;
  • Coordinates, provides advice and expertise to the RC and UNCT on a range of communications and public affairs issues, methods, and approaches; anticipates and resolves communications/strategic public engagement issues/problems, to include the provision of an effective crisis communications support and/or surge capacity mechanisms in the event of a crisis in the region of responsibility;
  • Develops and coordinates strategic partnerships with key constituencies, including members of the United Nations communications groups in the region, to elicit support for and maximize impact of promotional objectives; may serve as a spokesperson/principal liaison to media organizations, governmental bodies, national groups, private sector organizations, educational organizations, international organizations, etc.;
  • Prepares communication material for UN websites and social media accounts, newsletters, periodicals, reports and books, and edits draft materials prepared by junior officers;
  • Evaluates results and impact of communications activities; reports on developments, trends and attitudes regarding the UN;
  • Documents UN Response to COVID 19 in the Pacific.

Institutional Arrangement

  • The consultant is expected to report directly to the UN Resident Coordinator and work under the overall supervision of the RCO Team leader.
  • The consultant will be required to bring his/her own laptop.
  • The RCO will provide working space/desk.

Duration of the Work

  • The assignment will be carried out for 3.5 months with the expected start date 15th September 2020 till December 2020. There is expected to be 70 days of engagement under this assignment.

Duty Station

  • The Consultant is expected to be based in the UNRCO office in Suva, Fiji.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

  • Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards
  • Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of the UN
  • Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability
  • Treats all people fairly without favoritism
  • Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Functional Competencies:

  • Professionalism: Knowledge of different aspects of public information and communication, particularly in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the region. Ability to address a range of issues in the context of political developments, public attitudes and local conditions. Ability to conceptualize, design and implement major information campaigns. Ability to rapidly analyze and integrate diverse information from varied sources. Ability to diplomatically handle sensitive situations with target audiences and cultivate productive relationships. Ability to produce a variety of written communications products in a clear, concise style. Ability to deliver oral presentations to various audiences. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.
  • Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify, and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.
  • Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely;

Technical Competencies:

  • Ability to undertake extensive research.
  • Demonstrates strong analytical oral and written communication skills
  • Ability to engage effectively with other implementing agencies supporting the respectiveUN agencies, development partners, civil society organizations, the private sector, etc.
  • Good understanding of the governance structure and systems in Pacific, including the current political economy context.

Required Skills and Experience

Educational Qualifications:

  • An advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in communication, journalism, international relations, public information or related field is required.
  • A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

  • A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience in communication, journalism, international relations, public information or related area is required;
  • Prior experience with Communications in UNRCO and /or UN System in the Pacific is desirable;
  • Experience developing and implementing strategic, multimedia communications campaigns for a diverse audience is required;
  • Experience interacting and managing relations with the media is required;
  • Experience in working with and/or managing the work of teams in multiple field offices is required;
  • Experience managing resources, including personnel and budget, to support communications and advocacy activities, is desirable;
  • A minimum of one-year of experience working in the political, social and economic context of the region of responsibility is desirable.

Documentation required

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications.

  • Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided in Annex II.
  • Personal CV, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.
  • Financial proposal, as per template provided in Annex II.

Note: Successful individual will be required to provide sign the UNDP Statement of Health Form and proof of medical insurance coverage for the duration of the assignment before commencement of contract. Such cost if any shall be part of the ICs proposed fees unless there is already an existing medical insurance coverage hence no additional cost shall be proposed.

Incomplete and joint proposals may not be considered. Consultants with whom there is further interest will be contacted. The successful consultant shall opt to sign an Individual Contract or a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA) through its company/employer with UNDP.

Annexes

All forms (Annex’s) can be downloaded from the Procurement Section of UNDP Pacific Office in Fijis website (www.pacific.undp.org)

Interested individuals shall submit their proposal via UNDP Etenderbox email address (etenderbox.pacific@undp.org) or via UNDP Jobs. Please note the when submitting proposals via UNDP Jobs website group the proposal document into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload maximum one document. All proposals shall be submitted by/before 30th August 2020 (Fiji Time)

For any clarification regarding this assignment please write to Mr. Ronald Kumar on procurement.fj@undp.org.

Added 3 years ago - Updated 3 years ago - Source: jobs.undp.org