The Regional Programme for Africa contributes to the UNDP Strategic Plan by focusing on three outcome areas:

• African Union and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) deliver on their mandate, especially cross-cutting issues related to resilience building (contributing to the Strategic Plan Outcome 2).
• Regional growth is inclusive, transformational, and sustainable with reduced economic inequalities, and characterized by structural transformation (contributing to the Strategic Plan Outcome 2); and
• Regional institutions sustain peace and build resilience to crises and shocks (contributing to the Strategic Plan Outcome 3).

In 2021, UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa (RBA) commenced planning of a new initiative, timbuktoo, which aims to galvanize African youth as entrepreneurs, innovators, and problem solvers. Timbuktoo’s ambition is to mobilize one billion dollars with US$ 350 million invested as catalytic and more than US$ 650 million crowded in as commercial capital to transform more than 100 million livelihoods and create 10 million dignified new jobs.

In January 2024, UNDP launched the timbuktoo Initiative which includes a Catalytic Pan-African Innovation Fund designed to support African startups. Announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the Fund has already received a commitment of $3 million from the Government of Rwanda. The ambitious plan aims to mobilize and invest the targeted $1 billion to foster the growth and development of entrepreneurial ventures across the African continent. This focused approach, combined with a “blended capital” model that incorporates both commercial and catalytic funds, aims to reduce risks associated with private investment and foster a comprehensive startup ecosystem. The main target for the Execution Phase is to establish the institutional arrangements for the Fund, and crowd in additional investments on the catalytic side as well as kick off effective operationalization of the Initiative.

The timbuktoo initiative will establish 8 thematic vertical Hubs in Accra, Cairo, Cape Town, Casablanca, Dakar, Kigali, Lagos and Nairobi – to serve as critical intervention nodes with full innovation ecosystem support. Each hub will be sector-specific and engage with startups across Africa rather than only those based in the host country. These hubs will catalyze innovation for sustainable development transforming ideas into viable businesses critical for powering Africa’s transformation including through the African Continental Free Trade Area.

The timbuktoo initiative also features University Innovation Pods (UniPods) – bridging the gap between academic research and entrepreneurial application. The 13 UniPods already established within public universities in Benin, Guinea, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Liberia, will be linked to the above – mentioned hubs and act as a pipeline for the tech and tech – enabled innovation ventures that will receive ecosystem support and early-stage risk capital investment under the Hubs.

The timbuktoo initiative is multi-pronged, focused on supporting and growing innovative, scalable, and impactful entrepreneurship by African young people, while relying on a springboard of partners who together contribute meaningfully to building an African youth innovation and startup ecosystem.  The timbuktoo approach will be anchored in seeking, nurturing, and building African solutions forwarded by Africa’s youth that directly address one or more of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa is seeking a highly qualified individual to serve as Communications and Liaison Analyst for the Africa Service Centre for timbuktoo – a UNDP – managed facility offering development services to the timbuktoo Africa Innovation Foundation. The Communications and Liaison Analyst will report to the Director, timbuktoo initiative.

Position Purpose

UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa has entered in the Phase II (The Execution Phase) of the initiative and is seeking a Communications and Liaison Analyst on a full-time basis located in the New York office.  The Communications and Liaison Analyst will enhance and guide timbuktoo’s communications, digital presence, and strategies.

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. This is a recognition of interconnected nature of development risks & crises that the world is facing and that call for assembling of multidisciplinary teams for an integrated & systemic response. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across issues, units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

Duties and Accountabilities

Develop and implement communications strategy and ensure effective engagement:

• Develop communication strategies that support timbuktoo objectives and translate into agile workplans.
• Supervise overall communications efforts online (including social media) to ensure the activities serve the strategy and directions.
• Build and manage media relationships with key outlets (traditional and online) for positioning timbuktoo in the digital development space.
• Work closely with relevant UNDP communications colleagues at Headquarter/ regional/ country level.

Lead the development, production, and design of digital communication projects:

• Direct and oversee the implementation of a Portfolio Information Management System to constantly gather standardized high-quality data on UniPods performance, while ensuring coherence with existing corporate M&E tools.
• Oversee delivery of quality data, dashboards, and analytics for Senior Management to make data driven decisions on effective operationalisation of existing UniPods and the establishment of more UniPods across Africa.
• Support CO senior management to identify and follow up on strategic opportunities for resource mobilization for implementation of the UniPods.

Ensure effective management of digital distribution, promotion, monitoring and website analytics:

• Oversees the distribution of content on marketing channels (newsletters, Google ads, etc).
• Arrange for or undertake the set-up of templates and Trello boards, as needed, for major external communications initiatives and outreach purposes.
• Monitor and report on website analytics to inform digital strategies online (e.g., user experience, information architecture, SEO, etc).

Produce and coordinate creative content and strategies for social media:

• Actively develop and curate social media ready content for engagement across preferred mediums.
• Monitor and conduct ongoing analysis of timbuktoo’s audiences and use the data and evidence to adjust the communication strategy as appropriate.
• Provide occasional reports to internal audiences on performance of social media activities.

Ensure building of strong partnerships:

• Contribute to partnership development including traditional and non – traditional partners and propose partnership initiatives that advance resource mobilization.

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

Competencies

Core: Full list of UNDP Core Competencies can be found here
Achieve Results:

• Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline.

Think Innovatively:

• Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements.

Learn Continuously:

• Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback.

Adapt with Agility:

• Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible.

Act with Determination:               

• Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident.

Engage and Partner:

• Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships.

Enable Diversity and Inclusion:

• Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination.

Cross-Functional & Technical 
Business Management: Communications

• 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: Web and Social Media Analytics           

• Ability to analyse and interpret data and statistics to measure web and social media performance.

Communications: Writing and editing 

• Ability to create and/or edit written content in different UN languages.

Digital & Innovations: Social Media

• Knowledge of social media and ability to advise the use of social media for development outcomes.

Business Management: Project Management

• Ability to plan, organize, prioritize and control resources, procedures and protocols to achieve specific goals.

Business Direction & 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.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (master’s degree or equivalent) in Communications, Journalism, International Relations, Fine Arts or related fields is required, or
• A first-level university degree (bachelor’s degree) in the areas mentioned above in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• Minimum of 2 years (with master’s degree) or 4 years (with bachelor’s degree) of relevant work experience in the field of digital communications, journalism, media, marketing, or another relevant field is required.
• Demonstrated experience in digital campaigns and content creation required.
• Experience in partnership development is an asset.
• Prior experience in managing challenges connected to international development, international relations, the environment, or other relevant topics is preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to thrive within a complex multicultural and multinational environment strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience in social media is highly desirable.
• Experience in creative content and strategies is desirable.

Language:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Working knowledge of another UN language is an asset.