Vacancy Announcement: Programme Management Specialist – Communications and Advocacy Trainer

Job categories: Communications
Vacancy code: VA/2022/B5012/24202
Level: ICS-10
Department/office: NYSC, SDC, Sustainable Development Cluster
Duty station: Home based
Contract type: International ICA
Contract level: IICA-2
Duration: (September 2022 – December 2022) with possibility of extension, subject to satisfactory performance, availability of funds and necessity of services – retainer
Application period: 28-Jun-2022 to 25-Jul-2022
Deadline: 25 July 2022

Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement.

Apply for this Vacancy

Background Information – Job-specific

UNOPS supports partners to build a better future by providing services that increase the efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of peacebuilding, humanitarian, and development projects. Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement, and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors, and United Nations organizations.

New York Service Cluster (NYSC) supports the United Nations Secretariat, as well as other New York-based United Nations organizations, bilateral and multilateral partners in the delivery of UNOPS mandate in project management, infrastructure management, and procurement management.

Sustainable Development Cluster (SDC) supports diverse partners with peacebuilding, humanitarian, and development operations. It was formed by combining the following portfolios: Grants Management Services (GMS), UN Technology Support Services (UNTSS), Development and Special Initiatives Portfolio (DSIP). It provides Services to partners’ programmes that are designed, structured, and managed with a global perspective and primarily serving partners headquartered in New York. The SDC has a footprint of approximately 125 countries.

UNOPS has signed an agreement with the United Nations to implement the activities for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC)

United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) is a United Nations initiative, launched in 2005 by the United Nations Secretary-General. The status and mandate of UNAOC have been recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in its Resolutions A/RES/64/14 of 10 November 2009 and A/RES/69/312 of 6 July 2015. UNAOC serves as a soft-power political tool of the United Nations Secretary-General for conflict prevention and conflict resolution. It aims to improve understanding and cooperation among nations and peoples across cultures and to reduce polarization at local and global levels. It helps develop more inclusive societies, in which diversity is experienced as an asset.

The UNAOC Plan of Action 2019-2023 defined three strategic priority areas for UNAOC prevention, mediation, preventing and countering violent extremism conducive to terrorism. In each of those priorities, UNAOC implements targeted projects that will have an impact on the ground and new approaches and initiatives that are measurable and results- oriented. Under the strategic priority area of prevention, sport has been identified as one of the new action areas.

Recognizing the importance of sport as a tool to foster social inclusion and cohesion, understanding and diversity, UNAOC has focused on deepening collaboration with a variety of United Nations Agencies and entities and promoting joint programming in the areas of sport for peace, youth and education. UNAOC has also been developing new partnerships and collaborations with the private sector to promote new initiatives, where UNAOC also acts as the knowledge partner.

Embarking on new partnerships in the area of sport for peace, UNAOC is collaborating with the private sector on a new initiative entitled “Sport for One Humanity”. Sport for One Humanity Initiative is proposed as an international awareness- raising and capacity building initiative within the context of the sport for development and peace agenda. The initiative will highlight noteworthy sports activities that promote peace, mutual respect and inclusion, and provide capacity-building training to civil society and other non-profit organizations engaging in the fields of sport, peace and development.

This is a position in UNOPS for supporting projects carried out for UNAOC. The incumbent of this position will be personnel of UNOPS under its full responsibility.

Functional Responsibilities

In the context of this initiative, UNAOC will design and implement a capacity development program for civil society organizations working in the field of sport for development and peace to strengthen their effectiveness in their work. The support program will consist of training through face-to-face workshops facilitated by experts, addressing various topics of interest, and continued support through customized mentoring sessions, which will be delivered online.

The training program will be composed of modules around several core topic areas. It will also cover a range of sub-themes, based on the findings of the capacity development needs assessment. One of the main topic areas are communications and advocacy.

The overall objective of the training under this core topic will be to support the selected CSOs to enhance their understanding of communications and advocacy approaches in maximizing the role of sport in promoting development and peace.

The training will be designed to meet the following objectives:

Increase understanding and knowledge of the fundamentals of creating effective communication strategies in conveying messages clearly and ensuring visibility.
Identify tools and strategies to maximize the potential of digital media advocacy on sport for peace and development.
Strengthen practical skills for development of key communications and advocacy products to mobilize different target audiences effectively.

Participants will come to the training with varied degrees of knowledge, experience, and skills in the topics covered during the training. Each session will provide participants with information, practical tools, and strategies relevant to their work, and context. It will invite participants to improve and practice skills, develop understandings and strategies through discussions and hands-on interactive group exercises.

In accordance with the above-mentioned objective of the assignment, and under the supervision of the Strategic Partnerships Consultant, in close collaboration with the UNAOC Project Management Support Senior Assistant, the trainer will be required to fulfill the following tasks:

Functional Responsibilities:

Develop a questionnaire/survey to identify the capacity development needs of the selected civil society organizations. Facilitate online focus group discussions with the selected CSOs to validate the findings of the questionnaire/survey and draft the needs assessment report.
Design and develop the training curriculum on communications and advocacy that responds to the identified needs of the selected CSOs. Develop training content, training materials, the training methodology and the implementation plan.
Deliver/ facilitate capacity building training program and mentoring sessions to selected CSO’s in the form of online and in-person workshops and trainings.
Develop tools to assess the learning outcomes of the participants, (such as pre- and post-training questionnaires and training evaluations.) Draft periodic progress reports following the delivery of each training session measuring the development of participants’ competencies and providing recommendations.
Revise and submit the final capacity building training package consolidating it with lessons-learned, inputs and feedback from UNAOC.
Draft a final report that will cover the results of the training sessions on core topic area, analysis of the learning outcomes and the recommendations/suggestions for future interventions on capacity building of civil society organizations.

All content and materials are subject to UNAOC’s approval. UNAOC will be allowed to share content and material with relevant partners as a resource free of costs, for further use in their activities, including the possibility to share with their organization and beneficiaries.

Education/Experience/Language requirements

*FEMALE CANDIDATES ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY

*CANDIDATES WITH NO UNITED NATIONS OR UNOPS EXPERIENCE ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY

Education

Advanced University degree in communication, journalism, international relations or related areas is required.
A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Required Experience

At least five (5) years of progressive professional experience in programme communications, advocacy and capacity development of civil society organizations working in the field of sport for development and peace is required.
Desirable experience (the following experience is optional candidates who do not have it are welcome to apply)
Strong knowledge of the sport for development and peace agenda and experience in developing communications strategies and content on sport for development and peace is highly desirable.
Demonstrated expertise in developing training content, including for online and distance learning and the production of online learning tasks and assessment tools is highly desirable.
Experience in facilitating online and in person workshops and conducting highly participatory group training sessions.
Previous professional experience with the United Nations, and/or international NGOs in relevant fields is an asset.
Experience in using a gender and intercultural approach.
Be able to work in a team.

Others:

Excellent presentation and communication skills with demonstrated ability to condense information and communicate it in a well-structured way.

Language:

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.

Competencies

Develops and implements sustainable business strategies, thinks long term and externally in order to positively shape the organization. Anticipates and perceives the impact and implications of future decisions and activities on other parts of the organization.(for levels IICA-2, IICA-3, LICA Specialist- 10, LICA Specialist-11, NOC, NOD, P3, P4 and above)
Treats all individuals with respect; responds sensitively to differences and encourages others to do the same. Upholds organizational and ethical norms.
Maintains high standards of trustworthiness. Role model for diversity and inclusion.
Acts as a positive role model contributing to the team spirit. Collaborates and supports the development of others. For people managers only: Acts as positive leadership role model, motivates, directs and inspires others to succeed, utilizing appropriate leadership styles.
Demonstrates understanding of the impact of own role on all partners and always puts the end beneficiary first. Builds and maintains strong external relationships and is a competent partner for others (if relevant to the role).
Efficiently establishes an appropriate course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a goal. Actions lead to total task accomplishment through concern for quality in all areas. Sees opportunities and takes the initiative to act on them. Understands that responsible use of resources maximizes our impact on our beneficiaries.
Open to change and flexible in a fast paced environment. Effectively adapts own approach to suit changing circumstances or requirements. Reflects on experiences and modifies own behavior. Performance is consistent, even under pressure. Always pursues continuous improvements.
Evaluates data and courses of action to reach logical, pragmatic decisions. Takes an unbiased, rational approach with calculated risks. Applies innovation and creativity to problem-solving.
Expresses ideas or facts in a clear, concise and open manner. Communication indicates a consideration for the feelings and needs of others. Actively listens and proactively shares knowledge. Handles conflict effectively, by overcoming differences of opinion and finding common ground.

Contract type, level and duration

Contract type: Individual Contractor Agreement (ICA) Retainer – A retainer contract is issued for a period of time during which the services of the individual contractor are required intermittently. The individual contractor agreement on retainer basis will specify a “unit price” per day worked. For budgetary purposes, a monetary cap will be determined when the contract is awarded and issued. Please note that the retainer contract will not provide for a minimum, and payment will be made only after completion of work
Contract level: International Individual Contractor Agreement (I-ICA 2)
Contract duration: (September 2022 to December 2022) with possibility of extension, subject to satisfactory performance, availability of funds and necessity of services.

For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link:
https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx

Additional Considerations

Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
UNOPS seeks to reasonably accommodate candidates with special needs, upon request.
Work life harmonization – UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (around 4 hours) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS.
The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns.
Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

Background Information – UNOPS

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve peace and sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 5,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,400 personnel recruited on behalf of our partners, spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced and diverse labour force — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs. We continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage the recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.

Background Information – Sustainable Development Cluster

Based in New York, the Sustainable Development Cluster (SDC) supports diverse partners with their peacebuilding, humanitarian and development operations.

The SDC’s services include grants management, development and special initiatives support, and technology support to the UN and UN agencies.

The SDC is part of the New York Service Cluster that supports the United Nations Secretariat, as well as a broadening community of other New York-based United Nations organizations, bilateral and multilateral partners in the delivery of UNOPS mandate in project management, infrastructure management, and procurement management.