Communications Specialist

The Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy (BERA) is responsible for UNDP’s external relations and advocacy functions. The Bureau leads and supports the organization in cultivating, building and nurturing strategic relationships and alliances that are essential for advancing and successfully achieving the mission of UNDP. These relationships encompass a wide range and number of key constituencies and development partners, that includes programme countries, existing and prospective donor countries/emerging economic powers, multilateral institutions such as the IFIs, regional organizations, civil society, the private sector, foundations, academia and think tanks, the wider UN system, various UN inter-governmental bodies, as well as global, regional and national media. The Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy comprises the Directorate, including a Strategy and Innovation Unit, and the following groups: Communications; Resource Partnerships and UN System Affairs. In addition, BERA has Representation Offices in five major donor cities: Brussels, Copenhagen, Geneva, Tokyo and Washington.

The Representation Office in Tokyo plays a critical role in UNDP’s deepening partnerships with Japan, for effective policy advocacy and country level implementation for sustainable development, human development/human security, crisis prevention, climate actions and areas of common interests/public goods in line with the UNDP Strategic Plan and corporate External Engagement Plan. Meanwhile, according to the Pew Research Center, 40 percent of people surveyed in Japan have a favorable view of the United Nations, the same figure as in 2022, while 50 percent of people have an unfavorable view of the UN. It is increasingly important for UNDP to outreach the general public with high-quality content and easy-to-understand messages. In addition, over the past years, UNDP has been increasingly engaging the private sector in Japan for joint rollout of SDG impact investment; calibrating Japan’s innovations and technologies for sustainable development; and promotion of social entrepreneurship led by youth.
Position Purpose:

In line with its corporate communications strategy, UNDP Japan requires a skilled communications professional to conceive and execute a range of activities that help us lead the narrative on sustainable development as well as strategically position UNDP’s value additions vis-à-vis Japanese stakeholders. The body of work spans coordination and collaboration with the Advocacy, Marketing and Communications Group at BERA; as well as news and media relations, multimedia content production, social media engagement; cultivating influencers; public outreach and campaigns, while being savvy in the Japanese context and trends.

It is against this backdrop that UNDP Japan seeks a very dynamic and experienced Communications Specialist who supports the Management and spearheads the overall efforts to build partnerships and mobilize an appropriate and sustainable funding base for the UNDP under the guidance and direct supervision of the Deputy Director. S/he develops the Representation Office partnerships building and resource mobilization strategies with non-government donors, leads intelligence and develops strategic partnerships with private sector and civil society.

The Communications Specialist also leads and manages the Partnership and Communication Team (PCT). S/he ensures overall coherence of partnership and communication activities with UNDP’s communication strategy as well as UNDP’s private sector strategy. In addition, he/she maintains a professional network with communications advisors as well as private sector partnerships advisors across UNDP. In the spirit of one UN, she/he is also expected to collaborate with UN entities, in particular the UN Information Centre, for effective media campaigns.

The Communications Specialist reports directly to the Deputy Director of the Representation Office in Tokyo on a day-to-day management basis under the overall guidance of the Director, TRO. S/he also reports directly to the Chief, Crisis, Regional and Representative Office Communications, BERA. For corporate planning purposes s/he liaises with the Directors of Advocacy, Marketing, Communications Group and Public Partnerships Group in New York as required in order to ensure coherence on common vision and goals.

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams in order to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

• Develop news-driven and advocacy oriented authoritative content to lead the narrative on UNDP’s roles in our mandated areas, and show UNDP’s impact through campaigns, interviews, press releases, flagship reports, speeches and creative emotive storytelling to generate empathy and understanding of UNDP’s mandate.
• Identify and seize opportunities to engage journalists and highly reputed magazines/newspapers to present topical issues relevant to UNDP mandate and comparative advantages.
• Position UNDP as a primary partner in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ensure the corporate External Engagement priority themes support communications engagement with the media and other communications channels.
• Monitor and analyze news and popular trends to insert UNDP’s messaging into ongoing conversations while strategically identifying key moments for proactive communications.
• Ensure increased coverage and understanding of the UNDP’s work in Japan and expand a network of media contacts and providing newsworthy information to national public and media outlets in a timely manner;
• Ensure content created reaches maximum impact by developing strategies for distribution from the outset, boosting the visibility of our content on relevant UNDP channels and placing it on external channels.
• Support and guide communication staff in the planning and implementation of communications activities including public events, publications, social media and website;
• Develop, promote and disseminate corporate advocacy materials for launching flagship initiatives, campaigns, and publications such as the Human Development Report;
• Proactively liaise with HQ, Regional Bureaux and Country Offices to identify opportunities and digital content that can be maximized for audiences in Japan.
• Be anticipatory in risk management and reputational management, in close coordination AMCG team/BERA as well as Regional Bureaux communication focal points.
• Engage public figures and celebrities as UNDP national advocates or national Goodwill Ambassadors for sustainable development issues, including gender equality, climate action, youth, etc.

Coordinate and manage the Partnership and Communication Team (PCT)

• Provide inputs and implement a dynamic and creative Partnership and Communications Team (PCT) workplan, including outputs, tasks, required resources and responsibilities within the team.
• Supervise and empower the Public Affairs Assistant and provide guidance and coaching to PCT members, aiming at effective implementation of the work plan.
• Organize and prepare written outputs in a timely manner, including background papers, reports, articles and inputs to publications in contributing to communications, resource mobilization and partnership building.
• Liaise with Regional Bureaux and country offices to ensure UNDP engagement with Japan’s media and the private sector as appropriate.

Facilitation of knowledge building and management:

• In collaboration with BERA, identify and formulate lessons learned and recommendations to be integrated into broader UNDP knowledge management efforts;
• Contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice.

Other duties:

• The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities:

• Public Affairs Assistant

Core    CoreBehaviouralCompetencies.pdf (undp.org)

Achieve Results

• LEVEL 3:  Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact.

Think Innovatively

• LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems.

Learn Continuously

• LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences.

Adapt with Agility

• LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands.

Act with Determination

• LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results.

Engage and Partner

• LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration.

Enable Diversity and Inclusion

• LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity.

People Management:

• UNDP People: Management Competencies can be found on the dedicated site. 

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies:

Communications – Advocacy strategy and implementation         

• Ability to create and implement advocacy strategies which lead to impactful change

Business Management – Communication   

• Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience.
• Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels.

Communications – Campaign management           

• Ability to produce and implement communications and advocacy campaigns which lead to impactful change

Communications – Creative direction and copywriting    

• Ability to creatively communicate concepts in an engaging and simple way

Communications – Media Relations            

• Ability to develop media relations across all aspects of media work including relationships with media and preparing media materials such as messages

Business Direction and Strategy – System Thinking         

• Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.

Business Management – Portfolio Management    

• Ability to select, prioritize and control the organization´s programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity; ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimizing return on investment