JOB DESCRIPTION

The Position:

The Communications Specialist is responsible for providing strategic advice and hands-on content creation and support, to ensure the best possible coverage of UNFPA’s mandate in the Asia and Pacific region, including in humanitarian and crisis settings, contribute towards effective and efficient donor relations management and strengthen UNFPA’s visibility across traditional and digital platforms. The incumbent will help coordinate and produce relevant, high quality and results-driven communication materials and content for a range of audiences and stakeholders, including media, donors/funders and private sector partners.
You will help establish and maintain effective working relationships with partners, donors, UNFPA Country offices and representatives of all types of media, including traditional and digital media, influencers and online networks.
You will work in an integrated manner with the programme and technical staff at the UNFPA Asia and the Pacific Regional Office (APRO) to raise visibility for the outputs and outcomes of the UNFPA Asia-Pacific Regional Programme and the Global Strategic Plan, underpinned by the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Under the direct supervision of the Regional Communications Adviser, you will support the coordination of communication and creation of critical content, as well as contribute towards the implementation of the Regional Office’s resource mobilization and partnerships strategy.

How you can make a difference:

UNFPA is the lead United Nations agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is intended, every childbirth is safe, and every young person”s potential is fulfilled. The UNFPA Strategic Plan for 2026-2029 articulates the organization’s response to a complex global environment, providing a roadmap for resilience and renewal. It is designed to accelerate the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. This mandate is pursued through a focus on four interconnected outcomes: ending the unmet need for family planning; ending preventable maternal deaths; ending gender-based violence and harmful practices; and adapting to demographic change through evidence and rights-based policies.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates who transform, inspire, and deliver high-impact and sustained results and ensure effective external relations, communications, and partnership-building and resource mobilization in a rapidly changing development and funding landscape. We need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them, and who commit to delivering excellence in programme results.

Job Purpose:

In a complex operating environment, you will play a vital role in supporting the Communications and Resource Mobilization and Partnership Units in coordinating and supporting communication, media and fundraising and partnerships, including digital and crisis communications activities across both development and humanitarian settings in the areas of sexual and reproductive health, gender and population and development.

You will ensure that substantial programme events, success stories and good practices, along with challenges and gaps that must be addressed, are well documented and communicated in social, broadcast and print and digital media, including during emergencies and humanitarian responses, highlighting the roles of the donor community and partners.

You will help support and strengthen the close collaboration between the Communications and Resource Mobilization and Partnerships units, ensuring that the content created, with a focus on storytelling with a human face, demonstrates the crucial impact UNFPA has across the Asia-Pacific region, and demonstrates the return on investment made by donors/funders and other partners. You will also provide support to UNFPA country offices in the region through review and oversight of key external documents such as donor reports, proposals and drafting briefing notes for engagement with donors.

You would be responsible for:

A. Supporting the planning and design of internal and external strategies for communications and outreach, including vis-à-vis the media and public, as well as donors/funders and other partners

• Support the planning and execution of communication needs assessments for the Regional Office.
• Plan and design internal and external strategies for communications and project outreach based on corporate communication strategies.
• Provide constructive advice on incorporation of advocacy and communication components into all aspects of the project implementation framework.
• Support the Regional Office efforts towards enhancing the impact of the “150 Donors” campaign by developing advocacy material that will enable country offices to effectively engage with the host governments.

B. Support the Regional and Country Offices in conceptualizing and creating stories and other content and help build capacity for the same

• Help establish and implement a content creation strategy and plan.
• Ensure or enhance the quality, consistency and appropriateness of country-specific communication materials, activities, processes and messages shared with partners.
• Identify and develop stories for publication and substantive articles contributing to awareness and action on key issues including humanitarian response and resilience building.
• Coordinate and manage project publication activities, including content management, helping the Regional Office set norms for publishing, design, and liaison with printers and other suppliers to oversee production and supervision of dissemination.
• Draft content as required, and oversee design and production of printed, electronic, audiovisual and online materials as needed (reports, brochures, leaflets, booklets, etc.).

C. Online knowledge management system and digital and social media platforms

• Design/develop content for UNFPA and partner online platforms, with a focus on social media (currently Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and podcasts) that is creative, compelling and strategic, with a view to attracting and expanding audiences, including influential personalities and organizations.
• Manage and grow UNFPA’s digital presence through strategic planning, content scheduling, community engagement and performance analytics.
• Develop and adapt content for multiple formats – reels, stories, infographics, blogs – and support digital storytelling and rapid communication in humanitarian or crisis contexts.
• Use analytics and social listening tools to guide engagement and adjust strategy.
• Ensure rapid and accurate information dissemination to the media, partners, donors and other appropriate audiences.
• Strengthen and expand the current digital management system of project visual and audio assets including photography, video footage, podcasts and sound bites.
• Maintain and update media relations, donor and partners contact databases.
• Support capacity building of country offices in resource mobilization and digital communication.
• Conduct regular monitoring and evaluation to ensure objectives are met and lessons learnt are shared.

D. Resource Mobilization, Networking and Partnerships

• Share resource mobilization opportunities with country offices and where required, provide guidance and support with pursuing these opportunities in line with corporate guidelines.
• Familiarize yourself with key donor priorities, processes and procedures as well UNFPA rules and regulations related to co-financing agreements and ensure compliance with these through effective oversight of all new/pipeline donor agreements at the regional and country levels.
• Maintain the regional funding pipeline and engage with the country offices to ensure that the latest information is reflected in the pipeline.
• Help establish and maintain close working relationships with representatives of the media, partners and donors.
• Help develop and maintain collaborative and mutually beneficial relationships with communications counterparts from other UN agencies, government institutions, funders/donors and other partners to enhance cooperation and to ensure coherence in joint communications and public information activities and messages.
• Participate in planning events and donor, partner and Ambassador-level visits, including preparing information materials and supporting necessary logistic arrangements.

E. Carry out any other duties as may be required by UNFPA leadership.

Qualifications and Experience:

Education:

Advanced university degree in communications, media relations, journalism or relevant social sciences.

Knowledge and Experience:

• At least 5 years of increasingly responsible professional experience in communications, advocacy, social marketing, resource mobilization and partnerships, or other relevant fields, preferably including humanitarian or crisis communications experience.
• Substantive knowledge and practical experience in communications and partnerships strategy development.
• Knowledge of donor policies and procedures would be a distinct advantage.
• Experience in editing/reviewing of donor agreements and reports.
• Proven experience of managing partners or a strong track record of developing effective partnerships with donors, media and other stakeholders
• Strong experience in digital and social media, including content creation, analytics, digital strategy and digital engagement
• Excellent research and writing skills, with experience in writing reports, e-newsletters, factsheets, talking points, brochures, video production and developing multimedia web content.
• Good knowledge and handling of web-based content management systems; and experience in the use of MS office and creative software packages such as Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Premiere Pro and Illustrator.
• Field experience is strongly desirable, and knowledge of the UN system would be an advantage.

Languages:

Fluency in English is required, and knowledge of other official UN languages is desirable.

Required Competencies:

Values:

Exemplifying integrity,

Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system,

Embracing cultural diversity,

Embracing change

Core Competencies:

Achieving results,

Being accountable,

Developing and applying professional expertise/business acumen,

Thinking analytically and strategically,

Working in teams/managing ourselves and our relationships,

Communicating for impact

Functional Competencies:

Advocacy/Advancing a policy-oriented agenda
Leveraging the resources of national governments and partners/ building strategic alliances and partnerships
Delivering results-based programmes
Internal and external communication and advocacy for resource mobilization and partnerships
Crisis and humanitarian communications and advocacy

Compensation and Benefits:

This position offers an attractive remuneration package including a competitive net salary plus health insurance and other benefits as applicable.

UNFPA Work Environment:

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of UNFPA”s workforce – click here to learn more.

Disclaimer:

Selection and appointment may be subject to background and reference checks, medical clearance, visa issuance and other administrative requirements.

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process and does not concern itself with information on applicants” bank accounts.

Applicants for positions in the international Professional and higher categories, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.