Communication and Visibility Officer

Background

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is a global leader in the fight against illicit drugs and international organized crime. Established in 1997, UNODC consists of the Drug Programme and the Crime Programme.

UNODC has approximately 2,200 staff members worldwide. Its headquarters are in Vienna, and it has 18 field offices as well as liaison offices in New York and Brussels, and relies on voluntary contributions, mainly from governments for 90% of its budget. UNODC is aiming to implement its operational priorities through an inte-grated approach to counter drugs, crime, corruption and terrorism.

The UNODC Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa (ROMENA) covers 20 coun-tries (Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Israel, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen).

In addition to the Regional Office, there are two Subregional Programme Offices, in Tripoli (Libya) and Abu Dhabi (UAE), and six Programme Offices in Jordan, Lebanon, Mo-rocco, Palestine, Tunisia and Yemen. All these offices have more than 80 staff members. The Regional Office where the UN Volunteer will be placed has a total of 33 staff members (23 national staff, 8 international staff, 1 national consultant and 1 international consultant).

ROMENA has launched the Regional Programme for the Arab States to Prevent and Combat Crime, Terrorism and Health Threats and Strengthen Criminal Justice Systems in Line with International Human Rights Standards 2016-2021 to support government actions in response to the evolving human security threats posed by drugs and crime in the Middle East and North African region.

UNODC’s project portfolio in the region (currently 24 projects) is implemented under this umbrella. The funding allocation for ROMENA in 2015 under all those projects amounted to US$ 17.2 million. The year 2016 should see an increase in the annual funding allocation. The portfolio includes the projects in the areas of migrant smuggling and human trafficking, anti-corruption, counter-terrorism, land/air/sea border control, juvenile justice, prison reform, criminal investigation, violence against women, forensics, and health in prison settings.

The Regional Programme is managed by ROMENA, under the direct supervision and guidance of UNODC Regional Representative. At the institutional level, a Programme Coordination and Analysis Unit (PCAU) has been established in ROMENA to oversee the Regional Programme development and implementation. This Unit, managed by the Deputy Regional Representative, has the overall oversight responsibility for achieving the results of the Regional Programme and works in close cooperation with the Steering and Follow up Committee, established to monitor the implementation of the Regional Programme and composed of the League of Arab States and the 18 participating Arab countries.

Currently there is an Advocacy Officer/Translator managing communication and advocacy ac-tivities. In view of expansion of ROMENA activities and the need to streghten the Advocacy Unit to increase ROMENA visibility and strengthen internal communication, additional commu-nication support is required.

Duties And Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of Advocacy Officer/Translator and the overall guidance of the Regional Representative at the UNODC Regioal Office for the Middle East and North Africa (ROMENA), the national UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks in order to support the Office in raising the profile of its activities and results in the region:.

Assist with the implementation of the ROMENA communication and visibility strategy. Assist in the management, drafting and editing all content for ROMENA website (www.unodc.org/middleeastand-northafrica) in both Arabic and English, specifically focusing on human interest content. Coordinate internal communications to draft the quarterly newsletter and to plan and or-ganize events and international days. Monitor media coverage of ROMENA activities. Assist providing guidance and advice to ROMENA project teams the region on how best raising the profile of their events/results. Manage ROMENA Twitter account and support colleagues in developing tweets. Participate in the development of ROMENA strategies and activities to raise its profile in social media and to tailor its messages to target groups (youth, donors, high-level decision-makers, journalists). Support the organization of various activities, including fund-raising campaigns, high-level meetings, awareness-raising campaigns (on drugs, health, corruption, migration, etc.); Monitor local and international press, and research events and publications relevant to UNODC activities in the region in order to draft and circulate news releases and press clippings to relevant staff, with a special emphasis on informing ROMENA management. Assist in translating and editing documents. Undertake other relevant UNODC communication-related duties, as required.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers Are Required To

Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark IVD); Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities; Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc. Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers; Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

In addition to the above duties, the UN Volunteer may be required to undertake other relevant duties as may be assigned by the UNODC Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa through his or her immediate supervisor.

The work and conduct of the UN Volunteer, in particular during missions in the region, will be subject to and consistent with the rules and instructions provided by the UN Department for Safety and Security, as well as other UN actors involved in staff safety.

Results/Expected Outputs

The Volunteer will be involved in communication and advocacy matters for the Regional Office, with a focus on all UNODC mandates areas (drugs, organized crime, anti-corruption, counter-terrorism, illicit trafficking, health, etc.) and will receive guidance, supervision and on the job-training on a regular basis. Additional training opportunities may become available through participation in specialized courses in the area of work and attendance to substantive events in UNODC mandate areas, including field missions, seminars, workshops, etc. Expected re-sults are:

Articles, press releases, web content, press clippings, social media presence, newsletter, web pages related to activities or themes of the UNODC Regional Office; A practical understanding of how UNODC works on terrorism and transnational orga-nized crime in the region; Active contribution to finding innovative and tailored ways to communicate and to raise the profile of UNODC in the Arab world; Active contribution to mainstreaming communication and visibility in the work of the ROMENA project teams; A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed. The development of capacity through coaching, mentoring and formal on-the-job training, when working with (including supervising) national staff or (non-) governmental counter-parts, including Implementing Partners (IPs); Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for peace and development dur-ing the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed

Competencies

Adaptability and Flexibility;

Building Trust;

Communication;

Knowledge Sharing;

Planning and Organizing;

Technological Awareness;

Working in Teams.



Required Skills And Experience

At least 2 years of work experience in the fields of communication, public relations, media relations/interactions, social media communication, or related fields is required. Experience in providing translation and editing services, in website updating and in organizing events is an advantage. Strong computer skills and good knowledge of relevant software applications. English Fluent (Mandatory) and French (optional) - Working Knowledge

Disclaimer

United Nations Volunteers is an equal opportunity programme which welcomes applications from qualified professionals. We are committed to achieving diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture.

United Nations Volunteers reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this opening for other openings with United Nations Volunteers with similar assignment description, experience and educational requirements