Jobs at United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

The Associate Communications Officersfunctions, working relationships and skills specializations differ depending on language, location, grade, and whether they sit within a country operation, a regional bureau or the Global Communications Service. UNHCR primary target audiences include public, media and policymakers, while our main partners and influencers include peers and private sector, trusted figures and our own workforce. Some communicators will focus mainly on news and media relations, for example, while others will produce multimedia content, manage social media accounts or lead advocacy campaigns. Forging partnerships with media outlets that reach target audiences is a central role for all Associate Communications Officers. All Associate Communications Officers are expected to work strategically in support of UNHCR operational and communications objectives for their geographic area of responsibility (AoR) as well as global priorities. Communications approaches should reflect our core values as an organization that is caring, trustworthy, proactive, outcome-focused and responsive. This will reinforce UNHCRs role as the lead agency that protects refugees, internally displaced and stateless people and mobilizes action to provide solutions.

Duties

Support the implementation of communications strategies for countries, situations and special projects; identify thematic priorities and target audiences to meet UNHCRs global communications objectives.

• Monitor news and popular trends to insert UNHCRs messaging into ongoing conversations; identify key moments for proactive communications.
• Forge strategic partnerships with individuals and organizations who can help produce and promote UNHCR content, activities and messaging as well as provide research insights to improve communications; promote the work of engaged businesses and civil society actors.
• Contribute to the development of news-driven and authoritative content to lead the narrative on forced displacement and show UNHCRs impact (e.g. interviews, press releases, flagship reports, speeches), create emotive storytelling to generate empathy (e.g. stories, multimedia content) and mobilize action by signposting concrete steps people can take to help refugees (e.g. digital diplomacy, action-driven campaigns, fundraising).
• Support the supervisor in ensuring content created reaches maximum impact by developing strategies for distribution from the outset, boosting the visibility of our content on relevant UNHCR channels and placing it on external channels.
• Closely monitor the implementation of communications projects and adjust accordingly. Benchmark the results of communications projects against set success indicators; build on communications successes.

Additional duties for news and media roles:

• Implement communications strategies, campaigns, events and other initiatives in support of UNHCR's strategic objectives, including its need for leading share of voice on refugee and related matters, and ensure coverage of refugee situations in their country or region in global and domestic media.
• Research, prepare, fact-check, edit and produce professional media and communications materials for target audiences and ensure their timely dissemination via UNHCR's communications channels, ensuring highest quality standards.
• Draft media releases, statements and media briefing notes, and secure clearances, working in conjunction with relevant focal points and keeping sensitive to needs of both internal and external audiences.
• Act as a spokesperson for UNHCR, organizing press events, handling interviews requests and providing responses to requests from media relating to UNHCR and its work.
• Engage with journalists and public audiences via social media channels.
• Regularly provide ideas for communications initiatives and considered professional communications advice to senior staff of UNHCR.
• Undertake missions and field trips with media and other official visitors in support of UNHCR and its work.
• Actively maintain media relations for UNHCR, ensuring that media (and other important external stakeholders, such as governments, embassies, NGOs etc.) are briefed regularly on issues of importance to UNHCR, and have access to information and UNHCR expertise.
• Prepare and manage communications budgets.
• Ensure alignment with UNHCRs global branding and messaging.
• Continually maintain and upgrade communications skills, keeping abreast of emerging platforms and tools, and systematically reviewing media impact results and other measurement tools for learning purposes.

Additional duties for news and media roles within the Global Communications Service

• Oversee coordination of communications work for their designated regions and thematic issues, working closely with communications staff in bureaux and country offices and in collaboration with senior communications officers/advisers in that region.
• Manage a wide network of relationships at all levels across bureaux, divisions and offices (including the Executive Office) to ensure timely internal information sharing as a foundation for grounded communications, and to build consensus around communications proposals.
• Maintain close involvement in communications recruitment and training needs for assigned regions, keeping in mind UNHCRs goals of employing and retaining the worlds leading humanitarian communications expertise.

Additional duties for news and media roles within Country Offices

• Act as the primary interface on communications matters between the country office and the Global Communications Service.
• Support the supervisor in crisis communications work for the country within the AoR, alerting the GCS/News & Media Sections crisis communications lead to risk issues and ensuring close coordination.

Additional duties for news and media roles within Regional Bureaux

• Regularly provide ideas for communications initiatives and considered professional communications advice to senior Bureau staff and Representatives of Country Operations overseen by the Bureau.
• Oversee data and information gathering and sharing of information with a view to ensuring the Bureaus authority as a centre of up to date knowledge and expertise relating to its region. 
• Ensure Bureau staff are aware of UNHCRs global positioning needs.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Education & Professional Work Experience

Years of Experience / Degree Level

• For P2/NOB 3 years relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or 2 years relevant experience with Graduate degree; or 1 year relevant experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education 

• Journalism
• International Relations
• Political Science;
• Communications
• Public Information
• Media
• Film / Video;   or other relevant field.

go to method of application »

The Assistant Protection Officer reports to the Protection Officer or the Senior Protection Officer. Depending on the size and structure of the Office, the incumbent may have supervisory responsibility for protection staff including community-based protection, registration, resettlement and education. S/he provides functional protection guidance to information management and programme staff on all protection/legal matters and accountabilities. These include: statelessness (in line with the campaign to End Statelessness by 2024), Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) commitments, age, gender, diversity (AGD) and accountability to affected populations (AAP) through community-based protection, Child protection, Gender-Based Violence (GBV) prevention and response, gender equality, disability inclusion, youth empowerment, psycho-social support and PSEA, registration, asylum/refugee status determination, resettlement, local integration, voluntary repatriation, human rights standards integration, national legislation, judicial engagement, predictable and decisive engagement in situations of internal displacement and engagement in wider mixed movement and climate change/disaster-related displacement responses. S/he supervises protection standards, operational procedures and practices in protection delivery in line with international standards.

Duties

• Stay abreast of political, social, economic and cultural developments that have an impact on the protection environment.
• Consistently apply International and National Law and applicable UN/UNHCR and IASC policy, standards and codes of conduct.
• Assist in providing comments on existing and draft legislation related to PoC.   
• Provide legal advice and guidance on protection issues to PoC; liaise with competent authorities to ensure the issuance of personal and other relevant documentation. 
• Conduct eligibility and status determination for PoC in compliance with UNHCR procedural standards and international protection principles.  
• Promote and contribute to measures to identify, prevent and reduce statelessness.
• Contribute to a country-level child protection plan as part of the protection strategy.
• Contribute to a country-level education plan as part of the protection strategy.
• Provide inputs for the development of protection policies and standards within the AoR.
• Implement and monitor Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all protection/solutions activities.
• Manage individual protection cases including those on GBV and child protection. Monitor, and intervene in cases of refoulement, expulsion and other protection incidents.
• Recommend durable solutions for the largest possible number of PoC through voluntary repatriation, local integration and where appropriate, resettlement.
• Assess resettlement needs and apply priorities for the resettlement of individuals and groups of refugees and other PoC. 
• Contribute to the design, implementation and evaluation of protection related AGD based programming with implementing and operational partners. 
• Contribute to and facilitate a programme of results-based advocacy with sectorial and/or cluster partners. 
• Contribute to and facilitate effective information management through the provision of disaggregated data on populations of concern and their problems.  
• Assist capacity-building initiatives for communities and individuals to assert their rights.
• Participate in initiatives to capacitate authorities, relevant institutions and NGOs to strengthen national protection related legislation and procedures.
• Intervene with authorities on protection issues. 
• Assist the supervisor in deciding priorities for reception, interviewing and counselling for groups or individuals. 
• Assist the supervisor in enforcing compliance of staff and implementing partners with global protection policies and standards of professional integrity in the delivery of protection services.
• Enforce compliance with, and integrity of, all protection standard operating procedures.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Years of Experience / Degree Level

For P1/NOA 1 year relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or no experience with Graduate degree; or no experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education 

• Law
• International Law
• Political Sciences  or other relevant field.