Senior External Relations Associate at UNHCR

Hardship Level

A (least hardship)

Family Type

Family

Family Type

Family

Residential location (if applicable)

Grade

GS7

Staff Member / Affiliate Type

General Service

Remote work accepted

No

Target Start Date

2025-01-01

Deadline for Applications

November 28, 2024

Standard Job Description

Senior External Relations Associate

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The Senior External Relations Associate is to be a key external point of contact for the UNHCR office with media and other external organisations. The incumbent will be responsible for creating greater public (Donors, NGOs, Government, Refugees, Civil Society, etc.) awareness and understanding of refugee issues and the work of UNHCR and for amplifying the voice of refugees and other people of concern (PoC). S/he will have a pivotal role in drafting reports, updates, briefing documents, maintenance of the UNHCR local web site and social media channels and providing support to the supervisor.

The Senior External Relations Associate supports activities, events, campaigns and outreach, working with partner organisations to support the protection of PoC. Essential to these efforts are coherent and consistent visual and verbal messaging and linking the substantive media elements (news) to milestone events (World Refugee Day, Nansen Refugee Award, #IBelong Campaign to end Statelessness, HCs Dialogues, and the launch of one off campaigns and events.) The overall aim is to mobilise further financial support, increase awareness and empathy for forcibly displaced people.

The incumbent normally reports to a Representative, Head of Office/Section or a Senior Communication or External Relations Officer, depending on the office setup.
All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR's core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Duties

• Support UNHCR's media relations and advocacy work in the geographic and thematic area.

• Monitor evolving issues concerning asylum seekers, stateless persons and refugees within the Area of Responsibility (AoR) and suggest stories and topics for media coverage.

• Provide support to Senior Management in dealing with the challenges posed by the political context, the UN and humanitarian reform, and institutional developments.

• Ensure that the office is kept informed of local developments which may have a political or operational impact on its activities.

• Provide background briefings to local and international media.

• Accompany visits of foreign delegations and the media to refugee sites, give appropriate briefings, commentaries and prepare briefing material for visitors.

• Assist in the dialogue with donors and embassies and provide accurate information by organizing regular briefings, bilateral meetings and missions.

• Assist Senior Management in disseminating information on UNHCR's global funding situation and mobilize additional funds to implement special projects aimed at enhancing the quality of protection for PoC.

• Manage budget, when requested, including tracking expenditures and incoming donations. Ensure payments through UNHCR and prepare budget documents for partners and reports on spending.

• Assist in the drafting of situation reports, briefing notes, background material, talking points, fact sheets, press releases and articles.

• Assist in planning and organizing advertisements, exhibitions, training seminars, conferences, meetings, social events, campaigns and other activities to promote a better understanding of UNHCR's activities and accomplishments by the general public and/or organized groups.

• Organize press briefings for external parties as required.

• Reach out proactively to a broad range of external actors, including social media influencers, good will ambassadors and the private sector to build new alliances within the AoR in order to promote the protection of PoC.

• Manage preparation of contracts for artists, production companies, journalist, photographers etc.

• Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision making in risk based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s).

• Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Years of Experience / Degree Level
For G7 - 4 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 2 years relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher

Field(s) of Education
Not applicable.

Certificates and/or Licenses
Political or Social Sciences, International Relations, Journalism, Communication
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience
Essential:
Not specified

Desirable:
Experience with event management. Demonstrated ability to work against tight deadlines.

Functional Skills
MS-Advocacy
CO-Journalism (incl. print, broadcast, photography, video )
CO-Multimedia storytelling
ER-External Relations in UNHCR or other humanitarian agencies
EX-Experience in an international, decentralized and/or multinational environment
MG-Project Management
FR-Marketing
MG- Partnership Development
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements
For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination and abuse of power.

As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.
This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.

Desired Candidate Profile

Previous experience working with the UN is an advantage. Field and management experience is also required. Knowledge and / or experience of UNHCR mandate is an advantage too. Fluency in English and Kinyarwanda is mandatory. Knowledge of French is desired. This position requires prior proven experience within the field of external relations, including communications (content development, media relations and events coverage), reporting, and donor relations, preferably a mixture of all three strands as all are applicable to the role. Strong analytical skills, as well as high quality drafting skills and written and verbal communication skills are a must. Given the highly demanding workload of the ER team in the country office, the incumbent would need flexibility to take on a wide range of tasks which may change over time depending on the needs of the operation, and have experience of working with a wide range of colleagues to achieve external relations goals. Knowledge of budgeting, programming, as well as procurement processes is also a bonus as the incumbent will be supporting the head of unit in administering the unit budget and UNHCR / donor visibility actions across the operation.

Additional Qualifications

• Skills

• Education

• Certifications

• Work Experience

Competencies

Accountability, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Empowering & building trust, Innovation & creativity, Managing resource, Organizational awareness, Political awareness, Stakeholder management, Teamwork & collaboration

Additional Information

Functional clearance

This position doesn't require a functional clearance