Communications and Advocacy Officer, NOA, (East Jerusalem)new

The Position:

The Communications and Advocacy Officer will lead and provide technical guidance to the UNFPA Palestine Country Office in planning, coordinating, designing and implementing external communications, specific partnership initiatives and the advocacy efforts of the Office.

You will facilitate and deliver communications, partnerships and advocacy initiatives to support the programmatic work of UNFPA Palestine.

You will report directly to the UNFPA Representative, working closely with the Deputy Representative, program and operations teams.

How you can make a difference:

UNFPA is the lead United Nations agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is intended, every childbirth is safe, and every young person's potential is fulfilled. The UNFPA Strategic Plan for 2026-2029 articulates the organization’s response to a complex global environment, providing a roadmap for resilience and renewal. It is designed to accelerate the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. This mandate is pursued through a focus on four interconnected outcomes: ending the unmet need for family planning; ending preventable maternal deaths; ending gender-based violence and harmful practices; and adapting to demographic change through evidence and rights-based policies.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff who embody these international norms and standards and will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates who transform, inspire, and deliver high-impact sustained results, ensuring effective external relations, communications, partnership-building and resource mobilization in a rapidly changing development and funding landscape. We need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them, and who commit to delivering excellence in programme results.

Job Purpose:

You will contribute to the effective communication of UNFPA activities in the areas of sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender-based violence and women’s empowerment, youth engagement, and population dynamics and data.

You will support in ensuring that substantial programme events and initiatives are communicated cohesively in a meaningful manner through innovative and impactful means. 

You will support the establishing and maintaining of collaborative relationships with the media, counterparts in government, multi-lateral and bilateral donor agencies, sister UN agencies, and civil society in support of UNFPA’s programme.

You would be responsible for:

• Monitors and analyses the political, social and economic environment relevant to UNFPA’s work, as well as the public perception of UNFPA in the media and general public; identifies opportunities for strategic communications interventions and recommends appropriate action to seize opportunities for increasing visibility for UNFPA, its work and ICPD issues, and to maintain a positive image for the organization
• Guides to internal and external communications aimed at informing and engaging staff and publics around the corporate strategic goals and transformative results and the high-level goals of the country programme;
• Coordinates the development, in collaboration with the programme teams, of the CO’s communication and advocacy strategy and action plan.
• Ensuring developing and maintaining close collaboration with traditional and social media, as well as with civil society groups and organizations, is essential to achieving UNFPA’s advocacy and communication objectives.
• Assists in drafting and editing articles, press releases, human interest stories, social media content and other advocacy/information materials.
• Coordinates the establishment and content maintenance of the UNFPA website for Palestine.
• Coordinates the creation and content maintenance of UNFPA Palestine social media accounts. 
• Coordinate with programme teams concerned to prepare background communication and promotional materials for briefings and visits of journalists, donors, senior government officials and other groups. 
• Help organize and generate public support for special events, including World Population Day and the launch of the State of World Population Report, to promote country programme goals.
• Contributes press clippings to the weekly regional media monitoring report.
• Follows up on the production of advocacy and communication materials (e.g., films, infographics, podcasts, video, audio-visual, etc.) for national, regional and global campaigns, and oversees the qualitative aspects of production (e.g. quality control, translation, review of layouts and graphic design) to ensure highest standards and compliance with UNFPA style and policies.
• Assists in monitoring and evaluating the appropriate and timely dissemination of advocacy and communication materials to target audiences and participates in the evaluation of their impact. Provides feedback to Regional Office and Headquarters on the use and appropriateness of global publications and visual materials.
• Assists, when necessary, UNFPA implements partners with communication and advocacy messages related to UNFPA mandate, including capacity building in communication. 
• Establishes/maintains an up-to-date documentation center for publications, press releases and clippings, as well as photographic and audio-visual materials.
• Participates in the UN Communications Group functioning under the auspices of the UNCT in Palestine and contributes to planning and implementation of the joint UN Communication Strategy for Palestine.

Donor Relations:

• Advises the Representative, the Assistant Representative and the programme teams in developing partnerships with donor communities and other development partners in support of resource mobilization, including organizing donor meetings where needed. 
• Facilitates the programme teams to report on results. 

Qualifications and Experience: 

Education:  

Master’s degree in communications, media relations, journalism, international development, or relevant social sciences.

Knowledge and Experience: 

• At least 2 years of increasingly responsible professional experience at the national or international level in public relations, communications or advocacy.
• Demonstrated expertise in planning, designing, and leading communications strategies, campaigns, and initiatives in development and/or humanitarian contexts.
• Proven experience in media relations, donor visibility, social media management, and digital communications analytics.
• Excellence in research, analysis, and writing skills, with demonstrated experience in drafting talking points, opinion editorials, press releases, social media content, issue papers etc. which communicate key messages in a simplified, and easy-to-understand manner
• Proven expertise in strategic social media management and in developing interactive, informative, and engaging digital content on a regular basis.
• Experience in multimedia production, including photography and basic videography editing 
• Proficiency in communications and design software (MS Office suite, graphic design tools, and web-based systems.

Languages: 

Fluency in English and Arabic languages is required. 

Required Competencies: 

Values:

• Exemplifying integrity, 
• Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system, 
• Embracing cultural diversity, 
• Embracing change

Core Competencies: 

• Achieving results,
• Being accountable,
• Developing and applying professional expertise/business acumen,
• Thinking analytically and strategically,
• Working in teams/managing ourselves and our relationships,

Functional Competencies:

• Advocacy/ Advancing a policy-oriented agenda,
• Internal and external communication and advocacy for results mobilization,
• Leveraging the resources of national governments and partners/ building strategic alliances and partnerships.

Compensation and Benefits: 

This position offers an attractive remuneration package including a competitive net salary plus health insurance and other benefits as applicable.

UNFPA Work Environment:

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of UNFPA's workforce - click here to learn more.

Disclaimer:

Selection and appointment may be subject to background and reference checks, medical clearance, visa issuance and other administrative requirements. 

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process and does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts. 

Applicants for positions in the international Professional and higher categories, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.