Communications Associate, National UN Volunteer

Brief Project Description: Young people are an important focus of the UN System's policy. The UN Secretary-General has identified "working with and for young people" as one of his Five-year Action Agenda priorities and called for the development of a UN System-wide Action Plan on Youth which focuses on the following thematic areas: health, including comprehensive sexual education, employment, entrepreneurship, political inclusion, civic engagement and protection of right and education.

The situation of young people today provides Ukraine with an unprecedented opportunity to overcome development challenges and accelerate prosperity. Ukraine's 6.25 million of young people in the age of 15-24 (or 13.7%) are the next generation of economic and social actors.  Making sure that they are well prepared for the future is thus very important to the course of poverty reduction and growth of the country. Because human development is cumulative, missed opportunities to invest in and prepare current generation will be extremely costly to reverse, both for young people and for the society. Their decisions will affect the welfare of everyone in society.

In support of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and other involved governmental institutions, UNDP is testing innovative youth development approaches, analyzing results and lessons learnt and facilitating their integration in new policies/strategies/services related to youth development. The project focuses on Youth Employment, promotion of Healthy Life Style and promotion of Civic Engagement as well as supporting the Ministry of Youth and Sports in developing a Strategy/Programme for Youth Development. The project also supports the design and implementation of multi-sectoral HIV/AIDS action plans with the focus on youth.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direction and overall guidance of the Project Manager of "Strengthening National Capacity for Effective Youth Development and HIV/AIDS Response in Ukraine" Project (herein after- Project), the Communications Associate is expected to perform the following functions:

Serve as a focal person and liaise with communication staff of other projects and UNDP Country Office;

Assist in development and implementation of Project's outreach campaigns;

Review press and publications for articles of interest to Project and circulate them to Project staff;

Prepare articles, success stories, talking points and Power Point Presentations on various issues relevant to Project objectives;

Produce quarterly and annual M&E reports on the project activities and disseminate to key stakeholders, including but not limited to UNDP, Donor, Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine;

Draft Terms of References for production and printing agencies to be involved in creation of audio/video/animation/print products on the request of the Project and coordinate their work;

Plan and prepare the agenda of events, assist in organizing of conferences, workshops, meetings, presentations, round table discussions, etc.;

Develop Project press-kits in Ukrainian and English languages for each of the events;

Conduct press-monitoring, press-clipping and preparation of the reports on each of the PR related events;

Keep close working contacts with media, civil society and government partners, promoting a positive image of Project activities;

Provide information about the Project activities on ad-hoc requests from UNDP, Donor, national and regional counterparts;

Monitor national, regional and international media and keep the office informed on the vital developments and issues which can be of relevance to the Project's goals;

Plan communication activities for Project events ensuring a  public outreach and Project promotion as required;

Post information about Project events on UNDP website and ensure its dissemination on partner websites;

Prepare posts for UNDP social network pages: at least 2 Facebook posts per week on UNDP Facebook page and regular posts on Project Youth Worker Facebook page, at least 1 twitter post per week;

Draft and edit articles, press releases, feature stories and other advocacy and information materials for both web-based and traditional media;

Ensure development and publication of the Project promotion and information materials such as leaflets, brochures, newsletters, and ensure quality and timely of their production;

Edit all the information materials prepared for publication and ensure their wide and target distribution. Assure that Project promotion materials meet UN communication requirements;

Assure that Project information is kept updated on SharePoint and UNDP web-site;

Prepare Project related correspondence, maintain contacts with governmental and non-governmental institutions, local authorities, NGOs, academia, etc;

Perform unofficial translations as and when necessary;

Perform other duties as required.

Competencies

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 IVD);

Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country;

Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities;

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.

Required Skills and Experience

University Degree in Public Relations, Communications, Journalism, Economics, Linguistics, Development Studies, International relations or other relevant area;

At least 2 years of practical experience in Public Relations, Communications, Journalism, monitoring and evaluation or other relevant sphere;

Experience in writing different types of publications.

Excellent writing skills;

Experience in youth development, gender equality and social inclusion;

Proven experience on preparation of press releases and work with media;

Fluency in Ukrainian, Russian and English is required;

Familiarity with UN system, including UNDP activities and main partners in the country, is desirable;

Good analytical skills, and ability to multi-task and prioritize workload;

At least 22 years of age;

Applicant must be a citizen of Ukraine or legally resident in Ukraine.

Application Deadline: 19-Apr-15

In order to apply for this and other UNDP vacancies please visit UNDP web-site, section vacancies and apply on-line. To apply to this vacancy please follow this link: http://jobs.undp.org/cj_view_job.cfm?cur_job_id=55393