Duties and Responsibilities
Organizational Setting The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the lead United Nations agency for cities and human settlements. The agency is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all and sustainable development. UN-Habitat, being the focal point for all urbanization and human settlement matters within the UN system, has a role in delivering the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, adopted by Member States in 2015, specifically goal 11: make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. UN-Habitat established a country office in Ukraine in June 2023, initially focused on two projects. The first project, “Towards inclusive and resilient urban recovery in Ukraine”, aims to support the recovery of cities and towns in Ukraine through the provision of policy and technical advice on national and local levels, engage regional and local authorities in urban recovery planning, and finally, build capacities among relevant urban stakeholders, including academia and other organisations. The second project is implemented by the United Nations Innovation Technology Accelerator for Cities (UNITAC), an innovation lab based in Hamburg, established in March 2021 by UN-Habitat in collaboration with the UN Office of Information and Communications Technology (UN-OICT) and HafenCity University. This project, “Just transitions in vulnerable places – Digital tools and capacity for inclusive, smart and resilient urban recovery in Ukraine”, aims to develop digital urban data platforms together with national, sub-national and local government institutions and support their efforts to improve climate resilience and recovery planning. UN-Habitat is initiating its activities in Ukraine including the establishment of a junior specialist position responsible for communications, partnerships, and events in support of UN-Habitat country office in Ukraine. The incumbent will have regular interaction with a diverse group of stakeholders, including the Urban Lab team in Kyiv, project teams in Nairobi and Hamburg, local and international personnel, government entities, media representatives, and civil society organizations. Reporting line The Junior Communications, Partnerships and Events Officer will work under the overall supervision from the Head of UN-Habitat Ukraine Office and will work closely with the Urban Lab in Kyiv and in close coordination with project teams based in Nairobi and Hamburg. Duties and Main Responsibilities The duties and responsibilities of this assignment involve support the UN-Habitat country operations in Ukraine with developing an approach and strategy and subsequent delivery of communications services, events organizing and development of partnerships. Within UN-Habitat’s Country Office, the incumbent will be responsible for the following duties: • Develop a communications plan for UN-Habitat in Ukraine to (i) identify and capitalize on opportunities to build and strengthen the visibility of the organization and its projects, (ii) advocate sustainable and inclusive urban recovery, planning and design, and (iii) position UN-Habitat as the lead expert in sustainable and inclusive urban planning and design. • Produce and commission various communications materials including news articles, blog posts, social media content, presentations, brochures, posters and videos. • Establish regular contacts with journalists and media outlets for press briefings and media outreach inside and outside of Ukraine. • Coordinate communication with municipalities, regional government administrations and national government departments, as well as other partners. • Facilitate the establishment of partnerships with government entities, academia, companies and civil society organizations. Increase the visibility of UN-Habitat and its project activities and encourage knowledge sharing amongst stakeholders. • Facilitate UN-Habitat-led events, meetings, conferences and workshops, and ensure targeted outreach, support materials and messaging. • Develop and maintain UN-Habitat web and social media presence, including content creation, design and development of web presences for UN-Habitat projects and initiatives in Ukraine. • Create and maintain a communication database with all documents produced, publications, reports, workshops and conferences reports, photography, videos, etc. • Provide technical support in translating key communications materials, project documents, from and/or into Ukrainian and/or English when necessary.
Qualifications/special skills
• Advanced university degree in communications, journalism, media, social sciences, political science, international development, innovation or related subjects is required. • A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. A minimum of two years in communications, public relations, marketing, journalism or media related fields is required with experience in: • Events organization, including high-level events; • Working with digital platforms and websites, including social media; • Developing communications plans; • Strong skills in writing, including writing web copy, press releases, news articles and publications. Additional experience in: • Media outreach, including engaging with journalists and facilitating interviews: Media/journalist network in Ukraine desirable. • Graphic design and video production skills are desirable. • Knowledge and understanding of urban development, planning and the built environment would be an advantage. Project management skills are desirable.