Senior Programme Management Officer

Org. Setting and Reporting

This position is located in the Strategic Management Unit of the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA). OSAA is mandated with the provision of advisory, advocacy, coordination and monitoring services in support for Africa’s development. The Senior Programme Management Officer reports to the Under-Secretary-General. The focus of this job is to lead the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Office’s product delivery operations through the development and implementation of a communications strategy and delivery model as the main tools for ensuring effective and impactful distribution of OSAA’s products, the coordination of the Under-Secretary-General’s strategic communication, the supervision of the product publication and distribution workflows and the review, monitoring and evaluation of product distribution and communication plans.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Senior Programme Management Officer will be responsible for the following duties:

• Takes the lead to develop, implement and evaluate assigned programmes/projects, etc. in particular related to the development and implementation of the Office’s communication strategy; directs subordinates in programme/project development, implementation, monitoring and assessment; directs review of relevant documents and reports; identifies priorities, problems and issues to be addressed and proposes corrective actions; liaises with relevant parties; identifies and initiates follow-up actions.
• Ensures implementation of gender mainstreaming guidelines by assessing the implications for men and women of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels.
• Directs data-based research and programme evaluation and presents information gathered from diverse sources to assess the impact of the Office’s products on target audiences.
• Coordinates policy development regarding product publication, dissemination, and communication; reviews the assessments of issues and trends, preparation of evaluations or research activities and studies,
• Undertakes survey initiatives to assess the impact of the Office’s products; guides design of data collection instruments to optimize the efficiency and quality of the communication function and the interaction with the Office’s stakeholders and target audiences; reviews, analyzes and interprets responses, identifies problems/issues and prepares conclusions.
• Supervises preparation and publication of various written and digital multimedia outputs, e.g. background papers, analysis, substantive sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications, press releases, blogs, flyers, etc., and ensures that communication products effectively visualize data and knowledge.
• Directs substantive support to consultative and other meetings, conferences, etc., including proposing agenda topics, identifying participants, preparation of documents and presentations, supervising the development and implementation of event communication and advocacy plans, etc.
• Manages outreach activities; liaises with stakeholders; leads the promotion of product publication and distribution solutions; designs and conducts training workshops, seminars, etc., makes presentations on assigned topics/activities.
• Leads field missions, including provision of guidance to external consultants, government officials and other parties and drafting mission summaries, etc.
• Coordinates activities related to budget and funding within the areas of responsibility (programme/project preparation and submissions, progress reports, financial statements, etc.) and ensures preparation of related documents/reports (pledging, work programme, programme budget, etc.).
• Serves as an effective spokesperson, advises the Under-Secretary-General in the development of the Office’s strategic communications resources and activities, and establishes collaboration and partnerships with key officials at all levels inside and outside the organization.
• Ensures effective utilization, supervision and development of staff; Guides, evaluates and mentors staff
• May perform other duties as required.

Education

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent degree) in business administration, management, economics or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with additional two years of qualifying work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience

• A minimum of ten years of progressively responsible experience in project or programme management, administration or related area is required. Experience in supervising teams is required. Experience advising a head of entity or equivalent in using data and data-backed evidence for underpinning multilingual strategic communications at the global, regional and local level to advance Africa’s development, including through social media campaigns is required.
• Experience in the use of ICT for the management, visualization and dissemination of data, including desktop publishing and the development of complex data portals and interactive electronic reports is required. Experience preparing multilingual and data-driven audiovisual products for traditional and social media channels as part of multilingual advocacy and communication campaigns to advance development goals is desirable.
• Experience managing procurement processes related to product finalization and dissemination, including preparation of terms of reference, evaluation of proposals, provision of guidance to vendors and assessment of vendor performance is desirable.
• Experience designing and implementing multilingual surveys and monitoring systems to evaluate the impact of products on target audiences is desirable. Experience coordinating with field offices for the dissemination of products and the collection of programme results data is desirable.

Languages

• English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of French is desirable. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is an advantage.

Source: https://careers.un.org/jobSearchDescription/244271?language=en