Mission and objectives

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on December 14, 1950, by the United Nations General Assembly. UNHCR provides protection and assistance to refugees worldwide. UNHCR currently works in more than 120 countries and helps over 43 million people worldwide; refugees or those uprooted within their own countries. The UN Refugee Agency also cares for asylum seekers, returnees, and stateless persons. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally, or resettle in a third country (www.unhcr.org).

Context

The assigned photographer will take the overall responsibility of photographing and filming for UNHCR’s Sub Office Mafraq, including the Zaatari camp. S/He will edit both, photos and videos, under the supervision of the External Relations officer, as part of the larger External Relations team in the country. Visuals produced will support the overall storytelling and narrative of the operation at a time of change and include videos and photos for the country’s website, different social media accounts, and the global photo archive Refugees Media. The visuals will cover human interest stories and everyday situations. Also, he/she will be requested to document donors, VIPs, and other visits to the operation through photos and, occasionally, videos. The UN Volunteer must exercise great diplomacy in his/her tasks and enable harmonization in assistance across the operational area. S/He should also proactively assist in the planning and delivery of the opertion’s external relations priorities. The working conditions at the field level require flexibility, work against tight deadlines, service-orientation, and excellent interpersonal skills to ensure a solid team spirit. Availability that his/her likeness appears on media, social media, photos and videos as it will be impossible for UNHCR to prevent such appearances on the public or external occasion s/he will perform duties. S/He will need to understand that her/his picture will possibly be seen on the internet. Qualified female candidates are highly encouraged to apply. Additional information: Refugee UN Volunteers in Jordan are entitled to: • Monthly Volunteer Living Allowance (VLA) at the amount of JOD 1,101.58; • Annual and learning leaves; • Free Medical and life insurance; and • Free access to different learning platforms.

Task Description

Under the direct supervision of the External Relations officer in Sub-Office Mafraq, the Refugee UN Volunteer will: • Coordinate, manage, and support all Office photographing/ filming activities. • Following the request of the External Relations officer, s/he responds to other units’ requests for filming/photographing services in a clear, consistent, and timely response. • Support in preparing the Social Media monitoring. • Support in video editing. • Identify success and human-interest stories in the camp, including from a refugee perspective • Support communication regarding content items and collect quotes from refugees. • Any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor. Furthermore, Refugee UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UNV programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities during their work. As such, they should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities: • Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and taking an active part in UNV activities; • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country; • Provide annual and end-of-assignment self-reports on UN Volunteer actions, results, and opportunities. • Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers; • Promote or advise local groups in online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever possible.

Competencies and values

• Integrity and professionalism. • Accountability. • Commitment to continuous learning. • Teamwork and respect for diversity. • Communication. • Genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement.

Living conditions and remarks

Mafraq, the assignment’s duty station, is the capital city of Mafraq Governorate and is located 80 km to the north of Amman. People are friendly to visitors. Services in terms of banking, transportation, health and communications are easily available. Road network is good both in terms of spread and quality of the roads. Public transportation in Mafraq is limited. Taxis are relatively cheap and easily available. There are a number of shops and restaurants. Accommodation options can be found; however, it is worth noting that prices have generally increased in the past few years. There are no specific security threats. According to the assessment of the UN Department of Safety & Security (UNDSS) Jordan is a family duty station (category B hardship). As this is a refugee UNV assignment, s/he will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials. Refugee UNVs are part of the insurance plan.