Project communication specialist

Office/Unit/Project	UNDP CO Azerbaijan “ Empowering Women in Azerbaijan for Social and Economic Participation” project
Functional Title	Project Communication Specialist
Classified Level	NPSA 7
Duty station (City and Country)	Baku, Azerbaijan
Type (Regular or Short term)	Regular
Office- or Home-based	Office-based
Expected starting date	1 October 2021
Expected Duration	6 months (with possibility of extension)

2. Office/Unit/Project Description

The position of Project Communication Specialist is in direct support of UNDP’s joint project with the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs (SCFWCA) titled “ Empowering Women in Azerbaijan for Social and Economic Participation”, implemented with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland represented by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (“FCDO”).

The project’s goal is through building capacities of women, creating more equal opportunities and strengthening the enabling environment, the project reinforces especially the recovery and relief pillar of Women, Peace and Security, where conflict affected women become agents of change to participate in the economic and social lives of their communities after the recent Karabakh conflict. As a platform for change, the Women Resource Centers (WRCs) will be utilised to advance gender equality in these communities with women and for women. Increasing financial literacy of women and endorsing them for social change through tailored capacity building is complemented with strong formal and informal support networks. Ultimately the project aims to achieve economic security of conflict affected women so they are better prepared for external shocks of conflict and crises.

The project will aim to ensure that:

Outcome 1. Vulnerable women are empowered with skills and have access to services and information to improve livelihoods and deliver community-level benefits sustainably, by cooperating as part of the network of WRCs

Outcome 2. Stakeholders at national and local levels are supportive of WRC models and take actions to strengthen vulnerable women’s economic and social inclusion through targeted interventions informed by stakeholder analysis produced by the project.

The Project Communication Specialist will work in close collaboration with the Programme, Operations, Communications teams of UNDP and as well as SCFWCA in the organization for effective achievement of results, effective visibility and implementation of the communications strategy. The incumbent is expected to exercise full compliance with UNDP programming, financial, procurement and administrative rules, regulations, policies and strategies, as well as the implementation of effective internal control systems.

3. Scope of Work

Under the direct supervision of UNDP Programme Analyst and in daily coordination with the project team, the Communication Specialist is responsible for the development and implementation of communications, advocacy and outreach strategies and plans, with a specific focus on media. The Communication Specialist provides high quality support to planning and communications production to ensure visibility of the project’ outputs and impacts and ensure integrated communications support for programme deliverables. The Communication Specialist will perform the following key functions:

Development of the communication strategy and communication plan in coordination with the UNDP, SCFWCA and the British Embassy communications teams;

Creation and distribution of key messages and communications products for different internal and external audiences in close cooperation with the project team and UNDP Communications Officer to undertake digital distribution, promotion, monitoring, social media and website analytics;

Development/design and immediate distribution of the project press releases, factsheets, web updates, videos, virtual events and social media, including content management;

Drafting speeches for the project events;

Identification, development and distribution of success stories, newsletters, brochures, documentaries, social media posts, publications; photo-taking and regular updates on the social media of news related to the project achievements;

Provide communications support at the project meetings/events; organize roundtable discussions, press conferences, and briefing sessions with press and facilitate interviews with senior managers; as well as managing virtual conferences/web streams, if any, external communications, taking photos, reviewing communications material and support to promote of events; direct communication with media (press, TV and radio) representatives including an invitation to the project events;

Support in opening and coordinating Facebook pages of WRCs in three target regions, capacity building of the local coordinators and women activists on the management of the social media and communication activities;

Development, design and layout of communications and visibility materials of the projects in line with UNDP visibility guideline;

Provide the project representation on the events organized by the key donors, partners and beneficiaries including necessary travels to the regions, as required;

Respond in a timely manner and clearly to media inquiries and to a variety of inquiries and information requests; prepare related correspondence including identifying topics and background information.

4. Institutional Arrangement

Project Communication Specialist will report directly to UNDP Programme Analyst overseeing the “Empowering Women in Azerbaijan for Social and Economic Participation” project.

5. Minimum Qualifications of the Successful NPSA

Min. Academic Education

Bachelor’s degree in communications, international/public relations, journalism or other social sciences.

Min. years of relevant Work experience

At least 3 years of relevant experience at the national or international level in public relations, communications
Substantive experience in drafting high quality communications products;
Experience in developing content that clearly communicates development ideas for media, web, print production, and audio-visual productions;

Required skills and competencies

CORE COMPETENCIES

Innovation Ability to make new and useful ideas work	Level 3: Apply & Adapt (Recognized contributor with demonstrated ability)
Leadership Ability to persuade others to follow	Level 3: Apply & Adapt (Recognized contributor with demonstrated ability)
People Management Ability to improve performance and satisfaction	Level 3: Apply & Adapt (Recognized contributor with demonstrated ability)
Communication Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform	Level 3: Apply & Adapt (Recognized contributor with demonstrated ability)
Delivery Ability to get things done	Level 3: Apply & Adapt (Recognized contributor with demonstrated ability)

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES

Knowledge Management and Learning

Shares knowledge and experience;
Actively works towards continuing personal learning, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills

Sensitivity and adaptability

Displays cultural, gender, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability

Self-Management

Focus on result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
Remain calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
Demonstrate openness to change and ability to manage complexities

Working in teams

Accepts team role, contributes to the work of the team actively and constructively
Works collaboratively with team members, sharing information openly and displaying cultural awareness and sensitivity
Proactively pursues solutions to team problems and asks for help when needed
Works collaboratively with colleagues inside UN/UNDP as well as its partners and other stakeholders to pursue common goals
Takes action to resolve sources of tension or obstacles that may prevent a team from achieving its goals
Integrate the ideas of team members from other disciplines/perspectives into his/her thinking by leveraging the different experiences and expertise
Takes initiative and seeks opportunities to initiate action

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise

Understands and applies fundamental concepts and principles of a professional discipline or technical specialty relating to the position
Possesses basic knowledge of organizational policies and procedures relating to the position and applies them consistently in work tasks
Analyzes the requirements and synthesizes proposals
Strives to keep job knowledge up-to-date through self-directed study and other means of learning
Demonstrates good knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments
Ability to strategically link communication with partnership goals and resource mobilization objectives

Client orientation

Anticipates client needs;
Works towards creating an enabling environment for a smooth relationship between the clients and service provider;
Demonstrates understanding of client’s perspective

Desired additional skills and competencies

Experience in projects/programmes implemented in rural areas would be an asset;
Experience in national and international projects would be an asset
Experience working with UN system, and especially UNDP, and familiarity with UN editorial guidelines and templates, would be an asset;
Excellent computer skills, in particular mastery of all applications of the MS Office package;

Required Language(s) (at working level)