Communications Specialist

The Sanitation and Hygiene Fund is a UNOPS Trust Fund committed to saving lives and improving the well being of people by improving access to sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health hygiene. The Fund will invest in country led programmes to accelerate progress and sustainable impact toward the achievement of SDG 6.2. 

The Fund will maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of international development assistance and national investment. Staff at the Fund manage grants, coordinate with partners,support countries, monitor and evaluate results, report on progress, manage donor relations and raise funds.

At the core of the new architecture is a country funding model designed to be an efficient and effective mechanism that can operate at scale and deliver impact and supported by a suite of policies that define how funding is to be invested.  The SHF uses innovative finance mechanisms, including co-financing by recipient countries, to secure sustainable funding and the long term sustainability of its programs.

The SHF is looking for mission-oriented, collaborative, open minded and flexible candidates who are passionate about global development.

 Functional Responsibilities:

• Reporting to the Head of Resource Mobilization and Communication, the role of the Communications Specialist is to manage SHF’s internal and external communication efforts to strengthen  the positioning of the fund at the global, regional and country levels.
• Working with key stakeholders both within and outside the organization, the Communications Specialist manages internal and external communication, including website development, digital engagement, content creation and events, and supports partnerships and external engagements.

External communication and brand building :

• Develop, implement and contribute to the monitoring of SHF’s Communication Strategy and associated workplans.
• Conceptualize all external publications and communication outputs, including the production and dissemination of the SHF Annual Report.
• Develop and manage a content calendar across all platforms (website and social media) and produce high quality content, including web stories, blogs, op-eds and social media content.
• Manage the updating and maintenance of SHF and Capital M websites.
• Oversee SHF’s social media presence for both SHF and Capital M channels and increase digital engagement.
• Manage the event calendar and coordinate the organization of external events.
• Develop, organize and manage photo, video and social media assets library.
• Identify and manage external media and communication contractors ensuring quality, cost effectiveness and timely creation of externally produced work.

Internal communication:

• Develop and disseminate SHF branding guidelines, ensure that all staff are equipped with relevant communication assets.
• Ensure that all communication assets are organized and readily available for internal and external use.
• Build internal capacity on various communications aspects – ex. social media, media training etc.
• Support senior management’s external engagements, through the provision of briefing kits, speaking points, and other public relations support.

Strategic partnerships:

• Support engagement with external partners through development and updating of partners mapping.
• Manage communications and visibility efforts in support of fundraising efforts.
• Support the organization of online and in-person events, including invitations, outreach, coverage and reporting.
• Cultivate relationships with national and international media, manage media relations and seek media placement and other visibility opportunities.
• Liaise with country-level grant recipients to provide guidance, align communications efforts and leverage communications products.
• Develop visibility guidelines for country partners to ensure alignment with SHF branding and visibility requirements.

Knowledge management and innovation:

• Support the documentation of good practices and lessons learnt to establish SHF as a thought leader
• Explore innovative ways to produce and disseminate knowledge on sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health.

Impact of Results:

The effective and successful achievement of results by the communication specialist will support the SHF to achieve its vision of addressing the sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health gap; raise; catalyze and invest resources to accelerate delivery of sustainable sanitation and hygiene services for people with the highest burden and lowest ability to respond.

 Education/Experience/Language requirements:

Education:

• Master’s degree in communications, journalism, public relations, international relations or a related field.
• A bachelor’s degree with a combination of two additional years of relevant experience may be accepted in lieu of the master’s degree.

Experience:

• Minimum five years communications, public relations, media or journalism or related fields in the context of international development
• Experience in conceptualizing and managing the production of communication and public relations materials, including social media and audio-visual content, brand development and detailed reports and presentations is required.
• Proven ability to identify, cultivate and manage partnerships is  required
• Experience with managing websites and media/social media is required.
• Experience working in development or humanitarian contexts is an asset

Language:

• Full working Knowledge of English is essential
• Knowledge of another official UNOPS language is considered an asset

Source: https://jobs.unops.org/Pages/ViewVacancy/VADetails.aspx?id=29972#1