Communications and Advocacy Analyst

United Nations Development Programme

New York, United States of America

Experience: 0 to 3 Years

Skill Required: Media and Communication

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels, forms a contiguous spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in the Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains.

About the Crisis Bureau

Within the GPN, the Crisis Bureau guides UNDP’s corporate crisis-related strategies and vision for crisis prevention, response and recovery. The Bureau has the responsibility for support to prevention, crisis response, resilience and recovery work under the auspices of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. Crisis Bureau staff provide global strategic advice to UNDP management and technical advice to regional hubs and Country Offices; advocate for UNDP corporate messages, represent UNDP at multi-stakeholder and engage in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. As part of the Global Policy Network (GPN), the Crisis Bureau works in an integrated manner with UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) ensuring that issues are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes.

About the Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery for Building Resilience (DRRR) team

The team’s overarching frame of work is risk-informed development. Through four interconnected workstreams, UNDP works towards strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerabilities by increasing risk governance capacity, refining and expanding the understanding of DRR, fostering access to risk information and enhancing prevention, preparedness and recovery processes. UNDP pursues a holistic, conflict sensitive, whole-of-government and -society, gender transformative approach that leaves no one behind. The four areas of work comprise:

  • Integrated Risk Governance: Strengthened disaster and climate risk governance capacities that set incentives for risk reduction and resilience building
  • Climate and Disaster Risk Information: Increased access to and application of climate and disaster risk information to support risk-informed development 
  • Sustainable Recovery: Enhanced recovery assessment, planning and preparedness capacities that ensure resilience after disasters 
  • Early Warning, Preparedness and Anticipation: Strengthened early warning and preparedness systems and capacities to support early action of affected populations 

About the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support

Within the GPN, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP's Strategic Plan. BPPS's staff provides technical advice to Country Offices, advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government, and civil society dialogues, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. BPPS works closely with UNDP's Crisis Bureau (CB) to support emergency and crisis response. 

The UNDP Climate Hub is the arrowhead of UNDP’s commitment to the “Climate Promise” that aims to support programming countries in designing and implementing pledges under the Paris Agreement, including ambitious National Determined Contributions, with climate change mitigation and adaptation interventions fully embedded in the national development planning and budgetary processes. The Climate Hub builds on UNDP’s existing portfolio of over US$4 billion in country-level climate action on Climate Change Policies and Strategies, Climate Change Adaptation, Climate Change Mitigation, Climate and Forests, covering over 142 countries, as well as on UNDP’s Nature portfolio, UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub, UNDP’s Digital offer and other relevant portfolios on youth, gender, health, climate security among others. 

About the Climate Security Mechanism

Together with DPPA, UNEP and DPO, UNDP comprises the core capacities of the Climate Security Mechanism. As the largest implementer of peacebuilding and climate action within the UN system and beyond, including the Climate Promise, UNDP hosts the only global climate security team within the UN, with dedicated specialists/advisors covering all geographic regions. In particular, it supports hotspots and contexts underserved by the climate security agenda thus far in: Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. 

UNDP’s work on climate policy and finance for peace has catalyzed a new field of practice and practice-driven research on climate finance in conflict-affected and fragile contexts and has captured the interest, including of recent COP Presidencies, the Security Council, the World Bank, the Aswan Forum the Stockholm Forum for Peace and Development and Stockholm+50, and ASEAN. UNDP provides dedicated support to regional entities from the Global South on climate security, including the African Union Commission, the Lake Chad Basin Commission, the League of Arab States, the Liptako Gourma Authority, and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, including through the CSM.

The Communications and Advocacy Analyst will work within the BPPS/ Climate Hub - Climate and Security Risk and the Crisis Bureau/ DRRR teams and will contribute to the following areas of work:

Scope of Work 

  • Lead the formulation and implementation of overall communications, outreach and advocacy strategies in on climate, peace and security (CPS) and disaster risk reduction and recovery (DRRR) and support Country Offices on campaigns and other communications efforts;
  • Support broader communications priorities of the Crisis Bureau, including communications support to Crisis Bureau Director
  • Contributes to the development of  messaging to advocate to different audiences, around key events and milestones in the year and builds and maintains a content calendar; 
  • Creates compelling content in multiple media formats with sharp messaging and eye-catching visual style for a variety of global and targeted audiences;  including videos, blog posts, human stories, web articles, infographics;
  • Provides advice on advocacy materials and coordinate launching flagship initiatives and publications at headquarters, Regional Hubs and Country Offices;
  • Develops and implements social media content on CPS and DRRR for UNDP channels on Twitter and LinkedIn;
  • Contribute to outreach plans and promotional opportunities;
  • Coordinates with other teams and team members and supports interns in communications, advocacy and social media outreach;
  • Identifies and launches communications, knowledge management and advocacy opportunities, activities, approaches, and platforms and partners;
  • Develops brochures, factsheets, stories from the field to inform media and general public at the country level;
  • Contributes to Communities of Practice, including UN Community of Practice on CPS and Resilience
  • Regularly tracks and evaluates metrics of success and adapt strategies to grow audiences and improve outreach results over time;
  • Prepares presentations, talking points, workshop reports and periodic updates as requested by senior management, Member States and other partners; 
  • Manage sensitivities and risks related to strategic communication, coordinating with team leader and relevant colleagues to avoid reputational risks;
  • Make sure information, produced products and relevant materials are properly organized and easily accessible to team members
  • Align overall communications approaches and processes with Climate Hub and Crisis Bureau
  • Provide ad-hoc support to wider Climate Hub and Crisis Bureau communications efforts as required
  • The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for theefficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional Arrangement

  • The Analyst will report to Crisis Bureau Communications Specialist with secondary reporting lines to: 
  • Team Leader - Climate and Security Risk on climate, peace and security and coordinates with Communications Lead, Climate Hub on Climate Hub communications approaches and workflow
  • Team Lead, DRRT on DRR and Crisis Bureau matters 

Minimum Qualifications of the Successful IPSA

Min. Education requirements: 

  • Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in International Relations, Media/Journalism, Publishing, Climate Change, Environment, Security or related areas is required.   OR
  • A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) in the above mentioned fields with an additional 2 years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree

Min. years of relevant work experience:         

  • Minimum of two (2)  years’ (with master’s degree) or four (4) years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant experience in journalism, communications and advocacy, multi-media materials (i.e. print, media/social media, video, graphics, web page designing) is required. 

Required skills:             

  • Professional experience with UN, government, bilateral/multilateral organizations, and/or international NGOs is required; 
  • Proven ability to communicate professionally, sensitively, effectively, and creatively across different constituencies is required;
  • Proven experience of excellent communications, presentations, networking, and advocacy skills are required; 
  • Demonstrated experience and knowledge of web-based communications and knowledge management systems, digital tools, and innovative approaches is required
  • Demonstrated experience in the production of multimedia materials for social media platforms and social media outreach is required;
  • Prior experience to workindependently and/or as a team member is required.
  • Desired skills in addition to the competencies covered in the Competencies section   
  • Professional experience in journalism, video production, graphic design, and photography is an advantage;
  • Demonstrated knowledge of the media landscape, national and regional contexts is desirable;
  • Experience in working at the United Nations, and international
  • organizations is an advantage;
  • Practical and demonstrative experience in communications and advocacy on climate, conflict prevention, peacebuilding, climate security is desirable. 

Required Languages:             

  • Fluency in English is required.
  • Good knowledge of other official UN languages is an advantage.

 Source: https://estm.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_1/job/23799