UNHCR Senior Communications Officers for Lebanon & Iraq

Transcription

1 UNHCR Senior Communications Officers for Lebanon & Iraq For our operations in Lebanon and Iraq, UNHCR is looking for two highly experienced media/communications professionals, with the necessary advanced skills to work as international spokespersons and news-gatherers, and with top-notch drafting, editing, and sub-editing skills. These are positions of significant prominence and responsibility in two of our most exciting operations in the Middle East. Temporary contracts will be offered at the UN s P4 level for an initial period of six months, with the possibility of extension. Candidates should have a minimum of 10 years professional experience in communications and/or journalism, preferably in an international context, and a relevant degree. Fluency in English is essential; Arabic is desirable. Please submit your application including a cover letter and resume by to mediajobs@unhcr.org by midnight Geneva time on 24 May Please put PI Lebanon or PI Iraq in the subject line of your . Please find the Terms of Reference for each job below.

2 Terms of Reference Senior Communications/ PI Officer Beirut Working under the line management of the UNHCR Representative, Lebanon and the functional direction of the Head of News in Geneva and on a day-to-day basis the Syria Region Focal Point in the HQPI team, the Senior PI Officer will have the following accountabilities, responsibilities and authorities: Accountabilities UNHCR s media relations and advocacy within Lebanon and the region actively maintains and promotes UNHCR s standing with media and the public. UNCHR Lebanon has clear media strategies that publicise well the needs of refugees and the work of UNHCR. UNHCR national PI staff are supported and capacitated to meet their PI responsibilities. Responsibilities 70% of the time Act as a spokesperson for UNHCR as designated by the supervisor and HQPI, including handling media interview requests. Lead the development of a communications strategy for Lebanon and other countries neighbouring Syria. Research, draft, edit and negotiate clearance of Syria and Iraq situation briefing notes for the Geneva Palais briefings / and or press releases. Share refugee stories via social media channels. Produce and oversee media and communications messaging and monitoring materials and ensure their timely dissemination (including but not limited to daily media review, media mapping, Friday weekly products and others as decided). Organise with the national PI officer press events, interviews, press releases, If Asked press lines, success stories, responses to the media and others as decided Provide professional communications advice to the Representative and senior managers. Manage PI aspects of official missions to Beirut and the field. Actively maintain media relations, including helping journalists with informational enquiries. Assist in the preparation of communications budgets. Be available to travel at short notice to other parts of the region as required. Recognizing the particularly complex and often difficult media and public climate in Lebanon, provide the UNHCR Beirut PI team with all support possible (including strategy development and implementation, writing, editing, etc.) in carrying out a long-term advocacy strategy to counter growing public resentment toward refugees and negative perceptions of UNHCR and its work. 30% of the time Assist with regional media outreach, coordinating with colleagues in other countries involved in the Syria/Iraq situations, liaising with regional media and giving interviews on the broader situation.

3 Ensure regular coordination with the Regional Production team and with other PI staff around the region. Authorities Represent UNHCR in press events, interviews, and other media events. Authorise expenditures against approved PI budgets. Approve initiatives of national PI staff. Operational context Beirut, Lebanon General: UNHCR in Lebanon currently has over one million registered Syrian refugees and some 8,000 refugees from Iraq and other countries. Refugees are spread across the country in over 1,600 locations. In addition to the Branch Office in Beirut, UNHCR has two sub-offices in Zahle and Tripoli and three Field Offices in Mt Lebanon, Tyr (South) and Qobayat (North) where most of its over US$ 267 annual budget is directed to meet the needs of refugees and support local institutions and communities cope with the crisis. The Government of Lebanon is not party to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol. There is no legislative or administrative framework governing refugee affairs. Complicating matters is the fact that political stability in Lebanon is often illusive, with three different Governments having been in place since the outset of the Syrian crisis in 2011, and when for nearly 18 months of that period there was a caretaker government only. The current government appointed a Crisis Cell consisting of three Ministers and Chaired by the Prime Minister to propose policies to manage the refugee response. The political system requires consensus within the Council of Ministers on decisions of import, including all policies pertaining to refugees, which can be difficult to achieve. UNHCR plays a huge role in managing the response to refugees, and it must maintain strong relations with all implicated line Ministries as well as partners. It must implement effectively its sizable budget and coordinate the inter-agency response which involves over 60 international and national partners. In a highly charged political environment, where security situation is often tense, UNHCR must ensure that it is perceived as an honest, transparent and effective agency and that its non- political and humanitarian character is preserved. An additional factor which makes the operation rather complex is that local governments often act independently from the Central authorities. Therefore UNHCR must walk a very careful line, regularly liaising with local authorities but also respecting instructions from central authorities. In some field locations, local authorities are backed by local armed militia which adds an additional complexity in an already charged security climate. Lebanon is currently assessed at security level 4: substantial with Beirut as a family duty station B. May 2015

4 Terms of Reference Senior Communications/Public Information, Iraq (Baghdad/Erbil) Working under the line management of the UNHCR Representative, Iraq and the functional direction of the Head of News in Geneva and on a day-to-day basis the Syria Region Focal Point in the HQPI team, the Senior Communications/Public Information Officer will have the following accountabilities, responsibilities and authorities: Accountabilities UNHCR s media relations and advocacy within Iraq and the region actively maintains and promotes UNHCR s standing with media and the public. UNHCR Iraq has clear media strategies that publicize well the needs of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) and the work of UNHCR in responding to those needs. UNHCR national PI staff are supported and capacitated to meet their PI responsibilities. Responsibilities 70% of the time Act as a spokesperson for UNHCR as designated by the supervisor and HQPI, including handling media interview requests and responses to media enquiries. Lead the development of a communications strategy for Iraq and contribute to a regional strategy for the Syria/Iraq situations in support of UNHCR s strategic objectives. Research, draft, edit, fact check and negotiate clearance of Syria and Iraq situation briefing notes for the Geneva Palais briefings / and or press releases. Share refugee stories via social media channels. Monitor media coverage on issues affecting UNHCR operations, make recommendations on responses where necessary and draft and manage clearance of If Asked press lines, ensuring timely dissemination nationally, regionally and with headquarters. Provide considered professional communications advice to the Representative and senior managers. Manage Public Information aspects of media and official missions to Iraq and the field. Actively maintain media relations, 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. Assist in the preparation of communications budgets, and may authorize expenditure against communication budgets. Be available to travel at short notice to other parts of the region as required. 30% of the time Assist with regional media outreach, coordinating with colleagues in other countries involved in the Syria/Iraq situations, liaising with regional media and giving interviews on the broader situation. Ensure regular coordination with the Regional Production team and with other PI staff around the region.

5 Authorities Represent UNHCR in press events, interviews, and other media events. Authorize expenditures against approved PI budgets. Approve initiatives of national PI staff. Operational context Iraq The Republic of Iraq currently faces its most severe crisis in years arising from political uncertainty and widespread insecurity, subsequently leading to a countrywide humanitarian crisis. Since January 2014, a surge in violence and armed conflict has resulted in an estimated 2.7 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) across Iraq. The situation remains highly fluid with some families experiencing multiple displacement. Of those displaced since January 2014, some 900,000 IDPs are in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KR-I), although an unknown number of IDPs are reported have returned back to areas of origin. Additionally, the four-year-old conflict in Syria continues to push Syrians into neighbouring countries with some 248,00 persons having registered with UNHCR Iraq as at early May The UNHCR Operation in Iraq is managed by a Representation in Baghdad, a regional office in Erbil coordinating the northern region of Iraq, a sub office in Dohuk, and field offices in Sulaymaniyah, Kirkuk and Basra, and field presences/antennas/activities in various locations across 18 Governorates in the country. Many staff members assigned to Baghdad remain physically located in Erbil since the UN s decision on security relocation in June Within the limits of the acute restrictions linked to accommodation space, every effort is made to ensure periodic rotations to Baghdad are facilitated in accordance with operational necessity. May 2015