Communications Specialist – Donor Communications and Visibility

Job Description
Please note the appropriate Tier indicated in the vacancy title and ensure that you are holding the applicable contract as defined below:

• Tier 3: All applicants

Background
The Bureau for External Relations and Advocacy (BERA) is responsible for positioning UNDP as the world's leading global development agency, working with 170 governments and hundreds of partners to achieve sustainable development through the interconnected issues of prosperity, good governance, environmental protection, crises stabilization, gender equity, sustainable finance and digital access. BERA leads and supports UNDP in building and nurturing strategic relationships and alliances essential to achieving its mission by coordinating, setting the strategy, and delivering the functions of partnerships, marketing and communications within UNDP.

BERA delivers through a network of Representation Offices (Brussels, Copenhagen, Geneva, Tokyo, Washington D.C and Berlin) and Regional Team Members in hubs (Africa, Arab States, Asia Pacific, Europe and CIS, and Latin America and the Caribbean).

Cognizant of the evolving landscape of international development cooperation - including the shift in traditional ODA and a renewed emphasis on multilateralism to address global development challenges - UNDP is expanding and deepening visibility for partners and deepening its engagement with foundations and philanthropies. The upcoming Strategic Plan envisions a revived platform for collaboration on shared goals by leveraging UNDP's global presence, multi-stakeholders/partners outreach, and extensive know-how and expertise across critical development areas.

Within the Advocacy, Marketing and Communications Group of BERA, the Visibility and Impact for Partnerships Team, the Communications Specialist – Donor Communications and Visibilityleads and facilitates UNDP's work on enhancing donor visibility and communications, to position UNDP with OECD-DAC donors, New Strategic Partners, and philanthropic organizations.

UNDP requires the services of a communications specialist who will develop content and engagement opportunities that effectively highlight partner-funded initiatives.

Job Purpose And Organizational Context
The Communications Specialist – Donor Communications and Visibility will create comprehensive plans for country visits by key partners, media representatives, decision-makers, and high-profile individuals to UNDP projects, ensuring these experiences showcase impact through well-designed itineraries and customized briefing materials that raise visibility for partners. Their responsibilities will include:

• Top-Tier Partner Visibility Strategy:
• Serve as focal point for coordination between the Public Partnerships Group (PPG), Representation Offices, the VIP team, and external partners, to ensure cohesive visibility approaches and alignment with partnership goals and priorities.
• Develop and implement visibility plans for priority partners to boost targeted engagement and communication in donor partner countries.
• Collaborate with Representation Offices to design innovative approaches to highlight the impact of partnership with UNDP, with budget holders and members of parliament as primary audiences.
• Partner Product Creation:
• Working closely with PPG, produce communication products and materials that showcase the impact of partner contributions, including funding announcements, press releases, key messages and social media content, taking these products through signoff processes.
• Develop partner-specific content strategies across multiple channels and platforms.
• Establish measurement frameworks and KPIs to track the effectiveness of partner visibility strategies.
• Support coordination with Regional Bureaux communications colleagues to ensure global-to-local alignment in partner visibility approaches and the amplification of country-level impact stories.
• Country Visit Enhancement and Influencer Support:
• Provide strategic support for project visits involving key partners and influencers, such as government representatives, parliamentarians, youth politicians, media, Goodwill Ambassadors, and other high-profile visitors.
• Support country visit strategies to maximize visibility and impact in donor partner countries.
• Create specialized briefing materials tailored to visitor profiles and interests.
• Support celebrity and micro-influencer visibility plans for select partners.
• Design pre-, during, and post-visit content plans to extend the reach of country experiences.
• Document lessons learned to continuously improve partner visibility efforts.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Institutional Arrangement
The Communications Specialist – Donor communications and visibility will be based in the Visibility and Impact for Partners within the Advocacy, Marketing and Communications Group (AMCG) of the Bureau for External Relations and Advocacy (BERA). The incumbent will report to the Head of Visibility and Impact for Partners team.

As part of the team and in support of the collective and individual results, the incumbent will work closely with the BERA Public Partnerships Group (PPG), the AMCG media team, the Goodwill Ambassadors manager, and UNDP Representation Offices communications personnel, among other team members. He/she will also work closely with central and regional bureaux, and country office teams involved in partner communications.

Competencies
Core

Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: demonstrate focus on achieving quality results and impact

Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems

Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences

Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands

Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results

Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration

Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies

• Communications

• Creative direction and copywriting

• Ability to creatively communicate concepts in an engaging and simple way

• Partnership Management

• Relationship management

• Ability to engage with a wide range of philanthropic partners, build, sustain and/or strengthen working relations, trust and mutual understanding.

• Communications

• Celebrity management

• Build and maintain productive and positive relationships with celebrities and other high-profile influencers.

• Communications

• Writing and editing

• Ability to create and/or edit written content in a UN language

• Business Direction & Strategy

• System Thinking

• Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system

• Business Direction & Strategy

• Strategic Thinking

• Develop effective strategies and prioritized plans in line with UNDP's mission and objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, opportunities and potential risks; link the general vision to reality on the ground to create tangible targeted solutions; learn from a variety of sources to anticipate and effectively respond to both current and future trends; demonstrate foresight.

• Business Management

• Communication

• Communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience. Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels.

Education
Required Skills and Experience

• Advanced University Degree (master's degree or equivalent) in Communications, International Relations, Global Communications, or another relevant field is required, or
• A first-level university degree (bachelor's degree) in Communications, International Relations, Global Communications, or another relevant field is required

Experience

• Minimum of 7 years (with Master´s degree) or 9 years (with Bachelor´s degree) of experience in strategic communications, partnership engagement, or related field.

Required Skills

• Experience developing and implementing visibility plans or communications strategies
• Excellent written communication skills
• Content creation skills across a variety of communications channels (eg key messages, social media assets, key messages, press releases)

Desired Skills

• Track record in managing relationships with influencers, celebrities, government representatives, or public figures
• Experience coordinating or supporting planning for high-visibility events or field visits
• Experience developing donor engagement strategies using multiple channels and platforms
• Experience producing communication products and materials that showcase the impact of partner contributions, for example funding announcements, press releases, key messages and social media content
• Experience of establishing measurement frameworks and KPIs to track the effectiveness of partner visibility strategies

Required Language
Fluency in English language.

Equal opportunity
As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination.

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority
UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles.

Right to select multiple candidates
UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

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