Communication and Reporting Assistant

UNDP has been working across Afghanistan for more than 50 years on challenges related to climate change and resilience, gender, governance, health, livelihoods and rule of law.

Guided by the government and its Development Councils, our work is fully aligned with the Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework and National Priority Programmes, and is carried out in close coordination with partner UN agencies under the One UN Framework.

As the UN’s development network, we connect the Afghan government and people with the resources and information they need to drive their own development according to their own priorities, as well as to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

UNDP’s role is to help fortify development outcomes among local communities, government partners, and the private sector, using the SDGs as both a destination and a guide. Through the SDGs, a transformative shift from a war economy to a peace economy is possible, helping Afghanistan to meet its global commitments, its internal targets (such as those set by the Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework-ANPDF), and, most importantly, the expectations and ambitions of the Afghan people. While this bold vision demands investments from UNDP, among all development actors, UNDP Afghanistan Country Office is providing insights on understanding and overcoming multidimensional poverty. UNDP’s perspective is that meaningful poverty alleviation requires a different development approach – one that monitors and attempts to affect the systemic interplay of socioeconomic factors, regional differences, and shifts in the political economy. To deliver this value proposition, the CO needs to ‘raise the bar’ on its development policy expertise and engage national and local policy makers on disrupting the complex systems contributing to intractable poverty.

This UNV assignment is part of a new office structure with UNDP Afghanistan, which is designed to support a more integrated and collaborative way in supporting Afghanistan achieve sustainable
development and sustainable peace. The Country Office has aligned the new office structure with the thematic vision of the emerging Country Programme and designed new ways of working that will facilitate more collaboration across the office, create the foundations for more sub-national level work
and higher delivery and emphasize learning and support to national staff capacity development.

Under the direct supervision of Communication Specialist, the National UN Volunteer in Communications and Reporting Assistant will undertake the following tasks:

1. Support the development and implementation of communication and outreach/advocacy strategies and plans, with a specific focus on media and reporting.
• Ensure that all communication products of UNDP CO are well presented, result focus, informative, clear, and concise.
• Provide support in the monitoring and coordination of materials, schedules, facilities and clearances, and provide support for special events, and video/film, photographic and radio projects.
• Assist in conducting clearly defined research and assist in the preparation of reports and provide data that enables informed decision making.
• Distribute communications guidance for UNDP staff to refer to when creating content.
• Under clear guidance from the Communications Officer and/or line manager prepare content for traditional or social media platforms and networks, printed materials to enhance coverage and support of UNDP’s activities ensuring consistency with corporate messages and standards.
• Support team to produce well-presented and effective publications and other knowledge products to communicate key lessons learnt and best practices.
• Assist in researching and identifying media stories, writing and editing media releases, and feature stories within tight timeframes which consistently meet agreed standards.
• Develop and maintain a photo database that contains images expressive of the issues, actions and results UNDP is working.
• Assist in conducting communication needs assessments for CO, including projects, programmes and corporate change initiatives.
• Assist in designing, developing, and implementing communication and outreach/advocacy strategies, including media strategies; ensure gender perspective.
• Assist in integrating communication, advocacy and outreach strategies into proposals for project/programmes and other initiatives.

• Assist in monitoring and analyzing print and social media and prepare reports.
2. Support the development and dissemination of advocacy materials in the country/region
• Assist in developing and producing communication and advocacy instruments and materials, including briefing materials, press releases, and articles and coordinate its dissemination through effective channels.
• Assist in production of audio/ visual material on UNDP’s work.
• Assist in developing brochures, factsheets, stories from the field to inform media and public at the regional level.
• Travels to provinces to assist in developing communications products in support of promoting UNDP’s work on the ground.
• Support with translation communications materials from English to Dari, and from Dari to English.

3. Assist with maintaining COs web/ online presence
• Assists in maintaining (regional) websites, including support in developing design and content.
• Assist in managing (regional) social media accounts in line with corporate social media policy.


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.