Communications Officer, NOB SSA at World Health Organization

Objectives of the Programme 

•  The mission of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme is to support the WHO Country Office (Kenya) to coordinate national action to rapidly respond to emergencies related to the cholera outbreak.
• Under the immediate supervision of the Incident Management System (IMS), the incumbent will deliver a well-rounded Communication plan, and to contribute to global communication strategy; identify subjects of interest to develop advocacy/communication activities; ensure the accurate and timely production and dissemination of high quality public information products to highlight WHO’s work on the ground; promote achievements and results in emergency prevention, preparedness, response and recovery efforts at all stages of the incident; build contacts with the press/media and optimize networking opportunities

Scope of work:

The communication officer will work under the overall supervision of the WHO’s Health Emergencies in the country office and day to day guidance of the WHO Incident Management System and will perform the duties as below; 

During deployment, the duty station may change, and duties may be modified, based upon the technical needs of the Programme.

• Identify subjects of interest to develop and improve media/communication activities pertaining to the incident management efforts at the country level. Design state-of-the-art communication materials and tools; ensure the rapid and timely dissemination of information to all partners. 
• Conceptualize a set of new advocacy documents to inform humanitarian and development stakeholders and the public about WHO’s response, co-develop, as relevant, high quality media tools, including audio-visual, photographic and printed materials, television and radio programmes, multimedia presentations, social media, videos and press releases, etc., to promote WHO’s visibility, achievements, and success stories. 
• Support the country’s Communication Officer, if any, in liaising with the press/media to advocate and disseminate information on emergency prevention, preparedness, recovery and response strategies and efforts. Organize interviews and filming opportunities to support high visibility of WHO achievements through television, radio and newspapers, etc.
• Manage the development and maintenance of the emergency related websites, in compliance with guidelines and standards used throughout the Organization, to ensure consistency of approach. Critically review and improve contents, architecture, and design. 
• Research and write feature stories and messages, ideally bringing in a human element from real life experiences 
• Prepare communication and advocacy products and statements to be used by the Resource Mobilization team in convincing and encouraging donors to rapidly fund the overall health sector response to affected populations. 
• Collaborate with all relevant actors, including the health cluster, regional and field offices, other WHO departments, UN agencies, and other partners to identify and create communication opportunities and prepare communication campaigns on specific topics. 
• Perform any other incident-specific related duties, as required by the functional supervisor. 

 Functional Knowledge and Skills

 Essential knowledge and the skills specific to the position

• Proven skills in the development and implementation of communication strategies/plans.
• Proven skills in photography, video editing and graphics design
• Proven experience in management of social media and other online platforms
• Proven experience in story writing and editing
• Excellent interpersonal skills complemented by the ability to conceptualize ideas and advocate consensus.
• Ability to "think out of the box" and to make innovative proposals as related to communication.
• Knowledge or understanding of health and humanitarian emergencies operations will be an added advantage.

Education Qualifications

 Essential

• A first university degree in communication, journalism, political science or international relations or related field from an accredited/recognized institute.

 Desirable

•   Courses/training in communication techniques such as graphic design, visual language and in the use of social media.

 Experience

 Essential

•  At least five years’ related experience, at the national and international level, in communication and/or advocacy, part of which supporting humanitarian emergency or health outbreak response and recovery activities.
•  Proven experience in writing advocacy documents and in the production of communication material.

 Desirable

•  Prior working experience with WHO/UN or with an international nongovernmental organization.
•  Experience in organizing advocacy campaigns.
•  Experience in managing publishing processes

 Other Skills (e.g. IT)

•   Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office applications.
•  Familiarity with the use of graphic design, visual design, social media, website development and publishing software.