Communications, Partnerships and Events Specialist

UN-HABITAT UKR organization mission TBD

UN-Habitat, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable and resilient towns and cities. It is the focal point agency for all urbanization and human settlement matters within the UN system. UN-Habitat envisions well-planned, well-governed and efficient cities and towns, with adequate housing, infrastructure and universal access to employment and basic services such as water, energy, and sanitation. Responding to crisis and post-crisis context is part of UN-Habitat’s mandate and strategic plan.

In Ukraine, UN-Habitat is supporting national and subnational governments in their recovery efforts, linking short term reconstruction needs to longer term resilience solutions. At local level, UN-Habitat provides support to recovery planning efforts of local governments, through its Urban Lab established in Kyiv. The programme also strives to increasing Ukrainian urban planning and design capacities, through support to academia, think tanks and practitioners among others. At national level, UN-Habitat provides support to the government of Ukraine, and more specifically to the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development, on the development of national policies and instruments that guide regional and local governments’ recovery.

UN-Habitat’s engagement towards a sustainable recovery of cities in Ukraine is underpinned by its efforts to strengthen the digital and data capacities of national, regional and local government entities to improve decision making and enable implementation of climate resilient recovery planning, through UNITAC, a collaboration between UN-Habitat, the UN Office for Information and Communication Technologies (OICT) and the HafenCity University (HCU).

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the Head of the Country Office or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UNV Communications, Partnerships and Events Specialist will:

• Develop a communications strategy for UN-Habitat in Ukraine to (i) identify and capitalize on opportunities to build and strengthen the visibility of the organization and its projects, (ii) advocate sustainable and inclusive urban recovery, planning and design, and (iii) position UN-Habitat as the lead expert in sustainable and inclusive urban planning and design.
• Produce and commission various communications materials including news articles, blog posts, social media content, presentations, brochures, posters and videos.
• Facilitate the establishment of partnerships with government entities, academia, companies and civil society organizations. Increase the visibility of UN-Habitat and its project activities and encourage knowledge sharing amongst stakeholders.
• Organize and facilitate (including logistics) events, meetings, conferences and workshops. Manage and improve UN-Habitat web and social media presence, including content creation and design and development of web presences for UN-Habitat projects and initiatives in Ukraine.
• Establish contacts with journalists and media outlets for press briefings and media outreach inside and outside of Ukraine, when relevant.
• Provide support in translating key communications materials from and/or into Ukrainian and/or English when necessary.
• Regularly interact with a diverse group of stakeholders, including the Urban Lab team in Kyiv, project teams in Nairobi and Hamburg, local and international personnel, government entities, media representatives, and civil society organizations.
• Any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities:
• Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day);
• Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country;
• Provide annual and end of assignment self-reports on UN Volunteer actions, results and opportunities.
• Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.;
• Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers;
• Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

Results/expected outputs:

• As an active UN-Habitat Ukraine team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly and high-quality support rendered to UN-Habitat Ukraine and its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including:
• Developing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating a robust communications strategy for UN-Habitat in Ukraine is a key focus of this role, aimed at bolstering the organization's visibility and promoting sustainable urban recovery.
• Producing detailed written communications, supporting the establishment of strong partnerships, and effectively managing social media presence.
• Organizing and facilitating events, as well as enhancing the web and social media presence, are crucial tasks, aligning with the overall objectives of UN-Habitat’s urban recovery efforts in Ukraine.
• Age, Gender and Diversity (AGD) perspective is systematically applied, integrated and documented in all activities throughout the assignment
• A final statement of achievements towards volunteerism for peace and development during the assignment, such as reporting on the number of volunteers mobilized, activities participated in and capacities developed