L’Alto commissariato delle Nazioni Unite per i rifugiati – UNHCR – sta selezionando un/a Senior Regional Public Information Officer da inserire nella propria sede di Roma. Scadenza candidature 16/04/2019
Senior Regional Public Information Officer – Roma
ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT
The incumbent is directly supervised by the Regional Representative in Rome, with functional guidance by Media Relations and Public Information Service in Headquarters.
The incumbent is expected to provide regular support, advice and guidance to the Regional Representative, Deputy Regional Representative, other Regional Officers, Heads of Country Offices and national staff on matters relating to public information, external affairs issues and works closely with the Bureau/Desk and the various units on the Division of Communications and Information as well as other UNHCR External Relations or PI officers in the field.
The incumbent directly supervises general service staff.
S/he maintains regular contacts with national, regional and international news media as well as governments, NGOs, stakeholders, academic institutions and other regional or international organizations interested in the work of UNHCR in the region and particularly in Italy.
The work of the incumbent will directly impact on the understanding of and support for UNHCR activities both globally, regionally and sub-regionally by governments, NGOs, news media, diplomatic missions, other regional and international organizations and the general public.
The incumbent is expected to play a public role on issues related to UNHCR work which will impact on public’s perception of refugees.
FUNCTIONAL STATEMENT
Accountability
UNHCR has credibility in the region with external partners to protect, assist and find durable solutions for all persons of concern.
Responsibility
Support UNHCR’s offices in the region in mobilising public, political, moral, and financial support through the constant, world-wide provision of accurate and timely information to the media, the general public, governments, donors, and other interested external parties on UNHCR activities and issues of concern in a coherent, consistent, and convincing manner.
Taking into account UNHCR’s global, regional and sub-regional operational strategies and policies, develop an overall external relations/public information strategy for the Regional Representation, in close consultation with PI section in Geneva, representations and national offices in the sub-region.
Lead media activities and act as spokesperson for UNHCR at press briefings/conferences and in broadcast interviews.
Represent UNHCR in public events, such as seminars, conferences and round tables focused on asylum/humanitarian issues.
Co-ordinate public awareness campaigns in the Sub-Region for general public as well as for specific targets.
Produce timely PI material (press releases, updates and fact-sheets) and specific publications on asylum issues in the region and on major emergencies crises, as well as supervise the selection and translation of materials for the regional version of the UNHCR website.
Constantly provide reporters with new inputs and ideas and proposes reportages and co-productions to highlight refugee issues and UNHCR work, locally and worldwide.
Maintain and enlarge a network of formal and informal contacts with the mass media and other relevant public subjects in the assigned region.
Advise the Regional Representative and Deputy Regional Representative on matters relating to public information.
Gather, process and synthesize all information on UNHCR’s activities in the region, present it in an interesting newsworthy way and regularly feed it to UNHCR’s PI section in Geneva for further dissemination via international media, UNHCR Website, Video/Photo units, and other channels.
Organize and hold training courses for reporters in charge of covering immigration/asylum issues the region.
Organize and lead groups of journalists travelling to emergency areas in order to increase UNHCR visibility.
Guide and coach junior UNHCR professional and support media related staff in the region in all aspects of PI and PA related work, including budgeting for all relevant activities.
Ensure all RR staff are kept informed of current media activities/interests as well as UNHCR’s public lines on key issues or issues which may arouse some controversy.
Participate and contribute with inputs on public information in all phase of UNHCR planning cycle.
Undertake other media-related duties and missions as required.
Represent UNHCR in press events, interviews and other media meeting.
ESSENTIAL MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
Graduate degree (equivalent of a Master¿s) in in Communications, Journalism, Political Science, Law, International Relations or other related fields plus minimum 8 years of previous work experience relevant to the function. Undergraduate degree (equivalent of a BA/BS) plus 9 years or Doctorate degree (equivalent of a PhD) plus 7 years of previous relevant work experience may also be accepted.
In-depth knowledge of the legal and political aspects of Italian politics and policies as well as these of other countries in the region, particularly with regard to asylum and refugee policy issues and EU asylum harmonisation process.
Excellent drafting abilities and public speaking in Italian language.
Excellent knowledge of English and Italian.
HOW TO APPLY:
Interested candidates should submit their application online here: https://bit.ly/2FLZBgV or by visiting “international vacancies” at http://www.unhcr.org/careers.html and entering job ID 16534.
Please note that the closing date is Tuesday 16 April 2019 (midnight Geneva time).
