Digital Communications Consultant

👉 Vacancy Announcement n°: 173051

📢 Job Title: Digital Communications Consultant

📌Type of Contract: Consultancy (locally recruited)

⭐ Grade: CST I

✅ Unit / Division: Communications, Advocacy and Marketing

⚡ Duty Station: Dakar, Senegal (Regional Bureau for Western Africa)

✨ Duration: 6 months

⏰ Closing date: 27 September 2022

ABOUT WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP) is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need. To learn more about WFP, visit our website and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters, and the impact of climate change.

The Regional Bureau Dakar (RBD) provides policy guidance, technical support, and oversight for operations in 19 countries west and central Africa where WFP’s efforts contribute towards the eradication of hunger and malnutrition.

To advance its mission to end hunger in the region, WFP must effectively advocate on the issues related to food security and nutrition, engage with policymakers, influencers, decisionmakers, national and regional institutions to help engineer changes in approach or policy that will ensure that no woman or man, girl or boy goes to bed hungry. The purpose of this assignment is to articulate advocacy strategies, identify advocacy opportunities to influence regional and/or country level discourse on WFP areas of interest, undertake stakeholder mappings, support in message articulation to amplify corporate positions and contribute to capacity strengthening for staff on advocacy and influencing.

ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES (not all-inclusive)****:

• Support RBD Management to establish advocacy (influencing, positioning) as an approach to promote lasting change and achieve zero hunger in Western Africa.
• In liaison with HQ CAM Advocacy Unit, roll-out training in advocacy for RB & CO CAM, RBD leadership, HoUs and CO management based on WFP’s global advocacy toolkit.
• Support RBD CAM and Management to analyze and identify opportunities to influence regional and/or country level discourse on WFP areas of interest.
• Identify policy and decision makers, and determine moments to influence them either directly, or indirectly through partners, champions, and supporters.
• Be up-to-date and inform all key stakeholders on regional decision-making processes and fora related to development and humanitarian-related issues to identify opportunities and points of entry/leverage, alerting relevant thematic teams (Social Protection, Resilience, Nutrition, School Based Programmes, Emergencies), and COs where/when appropriate, to enable WFP to influence and contribute to policy discussions.
• Produce well-researched, clear, concise advocacy briefs on agreed agenda, map out key targets, stakeholders, opportunities, messages, and way forward with specific recommendations.
• Lead WFP advocacy publications in the region and provide guidance to COs with regards to events, advocacy initiatives as well as engagement to ensure maximum reach and coherence with regional and corporate narratives and priorities.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to build strategic partnerships and coalitions - cultivating broader advocacy networks or coalitions with like-minded partners in the UN, NGO, regional bodies, national governments, think tanks, media houses, academia, civil and digital society and private sector for advancing WFP’s causes
• Mobilise the public through popular campaigns that combine advocacy with social and traditional media outreach to exert influence on decision and policy makers to support of advocacy goals.
• Any other duties as delegated.

Deliverables

• The work plan for the two advocacy strategies (school health and nutrition; Social Protection) is implemented.
• Training of RBD leadership including Regional Advisors, Country Directors and CAM staff on influencing is successfully implemented.
• Thematic/CO specific advocacy plans are implemented in pilot countries.
• The Regional Director’s social media account is efficiently managed to advance advocacy efforts.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

Education:

A Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy, International Development, Public Relations, International Relations, International Development, Communications and or any other relevant field.

Experience:

Minimum 3 years of experience working in advocacy for policy change, influencing, social mobilisation and campaigns. With an excellent understanding of the development and humanitarian sectors, a strong portfolio of contribution to successful public advocacy, social and policy change initiatives, and engagement with national governments and regional institutions. A developed network of communications and advocacy partners. Experience working in Africa, especially in the west and central Africa.

Languages:

Working knowledge (proficiency/Level C) of English and/or French is required

1. Communication

• Strong writing skills for strategic documents and public-facing content
• Collates accurate and timely information to facilitate information flows
• Excellent writing, conceptual and analytical skills including the ability to present complex processes and issues clearly to a heterogeneous audience and in an actionable manner.

2. Partnerships

• Understands cross-functional relationships and excels in integrating priorities for successful collaboration. Engages and follows up quickly and thoroughly with partners.
• Understands how to maximize all possible elements of a partnership

3. Analytics

• Gathers and summarises relevant information from and for partners to enable efficient decision-making. Knows how to analyse this information and draw and summarize relevant conclusions to then move ahead with decisions.

4. Campaigns

• Supports planning and forecasting – which includes an understanding of sensitivities and complex political landscapes

5. Networks

• Ability to network and function well in a multi-cultural context and working with diverse teams. Willingness and ability to travel in difficult terrain with minimum amenities.

Before you apply...

WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status, physical or mental disability.

All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.

Special notice on office relocation: WFP and other UN Agencies will be moving to the new United Nations House, presently under construction in Diamniadio, 30 kilometers from downtown Dakar approximately around mid-2023. The duty station will remain Dakar, Senegal.