Job - Research and Communications Expert, UNDP, Armenia

Research and Communications Expert

Location :	Yerevan, ARMENIA
Application Deadline :	09-Jul-17 (Midnight New York, USA)
Time left :	11d 18h 46m
Type of Contract :	Individual Contract
Post Level :	National Consultant
Languages Required :	English
Starting Date : (date when the selected candidate is expected to start)	17-Jul-2017
Duration of Initial Contract :	17 July – 31 December 2017 (up to 120 working days)
Expected Duration of Assignment :	17 July – 31 December 2017

Background

The United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office (UNRCO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Armenia in partnership with the Government of Armenia work to advance the national reform agenda and develop the capacities of counterparts at a national, regional and local level.
In 2013, UNDP established an innovation lab, called Kolba. The lab is an incubator and a design lab which seeks to solve big social challenges by harnessing citizens’ insights and ideas alongside public services and development projects. Kolba enables UNDP to partner with citizen experts and bring cutting edge solutions into its projects and programmes. Kolba is intended to reach across sectors in order to provide the Government of Armenia and other partners with innovative solutions to meet the increasingly complex demands of Armenian society.
In addition to Kolba Lab, the UN in Armenia is in the process of developing a National SDG Innovation Lab, hosted in the Center for Strategic Initiatives, the government’s own ‘reform accelerator’. The Lab will be a hub for data, analytics and policy recommendations and will ensure that government reforms contribute to a sustainable development path, have systems thinking at their core, and create an ecosystem for innovation and impact investment.
To support this work, an expert is sought to provide strategic advice on the communication strategy of the SDG Innovation Lab and oversee its implementation, while working together with the communications team of the Center for Strategic Initiatives. The expert will work with the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office (UNRCO), to ensure strategic and coherent communication across the agencies (in line with the principle of “communicating as one”), with particular attention to the SDGs and youth. In addition, the expert will work across the UNRCO, UNDP’s portfolios, and with the innovation labs in delivering advisory services and support to research and project development.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Expert will work under the guidance of the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office and with the direct supervision of the SDG Innovation Lab Manager, the “Inno4Dev” Project Coordinator and in close cooperation with the Communication Analyst. Specifically, the Expert will perform the following functions:

Support communication between potential partners within Armenia’s development organizations and foreign embassies with a view to identify areas for possible cooperation and contribution to the SDG Innovation Lab and to the RCO, as well as the Lab’s partnering organizations, such as the Center for Strategic Initiatives, the Stanford Change Labs and the UN, and other stakeholders, where relevant;
Plan and execute the communication strategy of the SDG Innovation Lab in collaboration with the CSI team;
Conduct research into new global innovative policies, approaches and tools applicable to the development sector in Armenia with recommendations to be explored with Kolba Lab and the SDG Innovation Lab;
Prepare knowledge products and blogs capturing the insights from research initiatives, UN’s work and Kolba’s ventures;
Support communication and reporting function of RCO, Kolba Lab and SDG Innovation Lab, including drafting speeches, articles, and social media updates for target audiences;
Contribute to the joint UN communication and outreach, and assist in the coordination of UNCG initiatives and events in line with the principle of “communicating as one";
Contribute to the development/production of communication and advocacy instruments and materials for communication and advocacy campaigns, and the UN website and social media networks;
Provide other support and assistance as required.

Deliverables

Research on new areas of Innovation for Development with recommendations produced with support of SDG Innovation Lab Lead;
Revision and production of SDG-related communications materials;
Extensive documented support to the RCO’s external communications and UNDP’s innovation function:
support for the implementation of the joint UN strategy on communication and advocacy (as developed in 2017);
drafting and editing of press releases, talking points, op-eds, blog posts, toolkits;
drafting and editing of other project-specific promotional material and English-language content;
Documented support to RCO initiatives in the drafting and editing of project proposals and reports;
Development and implementation of a communications and advocacy campaign focusing on youth and the SDGs;
Support facilitation of events and activities, where needed.

Competencies

Strong research and networking skills;
Creative flair and originality;
High level of motivation, ability to show initiative and work independently;
Ability to write and communicate orally with accuracy and professionalism, as well as sensitively across different constituencies;
Very collaborative, with a demonstrable history of developing partnerships across a wide range of organisations and contexts;

Required Skills and Experience

Education:
Master’s degree in Social, Political and/or Communication Science, or a related discipline;

Experience:
At least 2 years of experience in the field of public sector capacity building, marketing, communication and/or research;
Experience in development projects will be an asset;
Experience in the design and delivery of training curricular, lectures, workshops or seminars;

Languages:
Excellent written and spoken English. Knowledge of Armenian is highly desirable

APPLICATION PROCEDURES: Interested candidates can apply for the position at: https://jobs.undp.org/cj_apply.cfm?cur_job_id=73146

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE APPLICATION.

UNDP Personal History form (P11): http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/Careers/P11_Personal_history_form.doc.
Letter of interest;
Financial Proposal and Availably: OFFEROR’S LETTER TO UNDP
Portfolio (writing samples, links to blogs, social media pages in relevant context).
General Conditions of Contract is available here: http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/documents/procurement/documents/IC%20-%20General%20Conditions.pdf.

Note: Please note you can upload only one document to this application (scan all documents in one single PDF file to attach).

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.