Digital-Ecosystems Interface Specialist

Contract

This is a UNV International Specialist contract. This kind of contract is known as International UN Volunteer. It is normally internationally recruited only. More about UNV International Specialist contracts.

In 2019, the UN General Assembly decided to dedicate the years 2021 through 2030 as “UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration”. This overlaps with the timeline climate and biodiversity scientists have identified as the final opportunity to avoid catastrophic climate change and mass biodiversity loss.

In the year since the UN Decade’s inception, momentum for the idea of restoration has been on the rise: More than 150 organizations have pledged their support to the UN Decade, Google searches for “ecosystem restoration” have soared and Twitter’s own market analysis identified “The Great Restoration” as one of three trends to watch. Ecosystem restoration has left the scientific niche and entered mainstream thinking. The increased interest in ecosystem restoration is reflected in the uptake of the UN Decade’s own communication products and channels: The website is visited 100,000s of times in some months, campaign and explainer videos are viewed by millions of people, and social media users regularly inquire “how can I get involved?”. However, the internet is not where restoration takes place. Ecosystem restoration is a long-term and complex process, led by thousands of organizations within their local ecosystems – often underfunded and undervalued. The continued challenge faced by the UN Decade thus remains: How can we translate online enthusiasm into real-world action?

The incumbent will support the overall core team of the UN Decade on Ecosystems Restora-tion Secretariat while based within UNEP’s Communication Division, as well as the different arms of the UN Decade such as the Task Forces, partnership network, governance bodies, as well as with the Multi-Partner Trust Fund.

Specifically, the International UNV will undertake the following tasks: • Improving the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration’s digital presence (see www.decadeonrestoration.org), measured by such Key Performance Indicators like monthly page views, bounce rate, user journeys, etc. • Working closely with the UNEP Communication Web team on identifying user needs and developing new user stories, programming new functionalities based on these needs. • Supporting the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration’s vast network of partners by onboarding new partners and restoration initiatives to the digital interface. • Connecting online-users to the resources, knowledge, and tools they need to support restoration on the ground. • Connecting on the ground restoration efforts to the UN Decade’s digital interface. • Tracking the impact of combined UN Decade efforts on the ground – measured through such Key Performance Indicators (KPI) like number and type of organizations involved, number of volunteers involved, hectares and types of ecosystems covered, regions represented, volunteers and employees engaged, etc. • Selecting content for and running the UN Decade’s monthly newsletter, closely monitoring KPIs such as absolute and relative opening rates, user journeys, links clicked, etc. • Supporting UN Decade Partners by coordinating monthly UN Decade Learning Sessions, aiming at such KPIs as number of people registered, regional, gender, and eco-system diversity, number of people attending, number of materials accessed, etc. • Any other tasks related to (digital) communication and outreach under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

Results/Expected Outputs • Functional digital ecosystem to connect the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration to activities on the ground. • Functional digital ecosystem channelling support to ecosystem restoration on the ground. • Improved website, newsletter, and Learning Session performance, as measured by Key Performance Indicators.

• Professionalism: Ability to identify issues, formulate opinions, make conclusions and rec-ommendations; 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 ra-ther than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations; takes responsibility for incorporating gen-der perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work. • Planning and organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appro-priate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently. • Communication: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly in-terprets messages from others and responds appropriately; proven interpersonal skills; 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 in-formation and keeping people informed; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to conduct presentations, ar-ticulate options and positions concisely; ability to make and defend recommendations; ability to communicate and empathize with staff (including national staff), military person-nel, volunteers, counterparts and local interlocutors coming from very diverse back-grounds; ability to maintain composure and remain helpful towards the staff, but objective, without showing personal interest; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups. • Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement, which includes solidarity, compassion, reciprocity, and self-reliance; and commitment towards the UN core values.

either communication, environmental education, community out-reach, partnership management. • Demonstrated experience with Content Management Systems (ide-ally Drupal). • Work experience in website development is desirable. • Work experience with multi-stakeholder or multi-partner projects and programmes is desirable. • Work experience in community organizing is desirable. • Familiarity with digital design processes is desirable.

The Republic of Kenya is an equatorial nation on the coast of East Africa, neighboring Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, and the Indian Ocean. Kenya has two levels of Government; National Government and 47 sub-national Governments called Counties. Counties are further divided into sub-counties. Kenya is a multi-party state with Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. Kenya’s population of more than 40 million is growing at an annual rate of 2.2%. The country’s GNP per capita estimated at purchasing power parity (PPP) is $975, and the GNP is growing at an average rate of 0.1% annually. More than 26% of Kenya’s people live below the international poverty line of $1 per day. Kenya’s main food crops are “maize, wheat, pulses, roots and tubers.” (FAO). Nairobi is a modern metropolitan city where most basic goods and services, health facilities, public transport, telecommunication and banking services, and educational facilities are readily available. The city is widely connected through its main airport, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, and the smaller Wilson Airport. Air transport is also available to many up-country destinations. The city is home to some 3,000 UN personnel mainly attributed to the fact that it serves as the headquarters for both the UN-HABITAT and UNEP. The socio-economic and cultural background of the immediate society the UNV would be living and working in is diverse and prevailing security conditions at the place of assignment is modest. The topographic and climatic features of the assignment location is a highland cool and warm tropical climate. Inclusivity statement: United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme that welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, care protected characteristics. As part of their adherence to the values of UNV, all UN Volunteers commit themselves to combat any form of discrimination, and to promoting respect for human rights and individual dignity, without distinction of a person’s race, sex, gender identity, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, age, language, social origin or other status.