TA - Senior Social Media Officer in Geneva, Switzerland

Terms of Reference
Senior Social Media Officer
DER/Global Communications Service

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is offering a Temporary Assignment (TA) as a Senior Social Media Officer (P4) within its global Social Media Section, which is a geographically diverse team working from different time zones.  The incumbent reports to the Head of Social Media, and is part of UNHCR¿s Global Communications Service (GCS), which sits within the Department of External Relations (DER).

Title: Senior Social Media Officer
Duty Station: Geneva, Switzerland
Duration: 12 months

Organizational context

Social Media is one of UNHCR's most important channels of public communications. UNHCR's global Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat and TikTok channels have over ten million followers worldwide. Expert management of social media ¿ including UNHCR's own global social media accounts ¿ is essential to meeting the objectives of the Global Communications Strategy and UNHCR's broader objectives, including fundraising.

The global Social Media Team is responsible for developing and delivering the organization¿s social media strategy and managing its global accounts. It nurtures a diverse refugee-supporting community of tens of millions of people worldwide, leads on social media content partnerships, and provides strategic and operational support to UNHCR¿s leadership, national account managers, regional bureaus and partners.

This is an exciting opportunity to play a leading role in the day to day decision making and management of UNHCR¿s global social media accounts, creating content, engaging existing audiences and reaching new ones, in order to continue to build awareness and support for people who have been forcibly displaced from their homes because of war, violence or persecution.

UNHCR is a global organization dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people. Every year, millions of men, women and children are forced to flee their homes to escape conflict and persecution. We are in over 125 countries, using our expertise to protect and care for millions.

The position

This role is responsible for the day-to-day management and overall content curation for UNHCR¿s global social media accounts. Daily tasks include oversight of the editorial calendar and decision making about the daily line-up with a focus on news and emergencies, using social listening to inform editorial choices, and ensuring daily conversations and audience insights are central to decisions about what to post, tweet, message and share.

The incumbent will have stellar copywriting skills, and is the team lead when it comes to articulating UNHCR messages in a clear, simple and accessible way that appeals to a variety of general public audiences across platforms.  They will ensure our visual content formats, from social videos to graphics to photos, are accompanied with SEO copy, wording which can grab attention, inspire compassion and mobilize action. Where possible they will create action-orientated social content, working closely with the relevant Private Sector Partnerships and fundraising teams.

They will collaborate with members of the social media team on content creation, telling, sharing and amplifying stories that showcase the value and impact of UNHCR¿s work, ensuring they are centered on UNHCR values and the people we serve.  They will also take the lead on a select number of special projects per year, such as World Refugee Day, or thematic campaigns. They will maintain an overview of community management, supporting the team members who carry out this task and making sure guidelines are regularly updated and strategic

Reporting to the Head of Social Media, the incumbent will stay on top of whether the team have access to the best social media management tools and software and are regularly trained on optimal use. They will also support the Head of Social and other members of the team with platform and content-specific strategies, providing analysis and recommendations based on audience insights, to nurture existing communities and engage new ones, in support of the Global Communications Strategy.

This role is the team focal point for reacting to and managing misinformation, disinformation, hate speech, imposter accounts and rumours relating to UNHCR and its work, working closely with the Crisis Communications Unit and Head of Social Media. Responsibilities include triaging and reporting problematic social media posts and accounts, providing advice to country-level social media managers, and liaising with platforms and stakeholders to improve reporting processes.

The incumbent will also work on paid social, liaising with the Digital Engagement Team on UNHCR¿s paid strategy for the global accounts, from ads to boosted organic content, and advising country operations on the best approach for their local channels. They will identify appropriate content for boosting, along with target audiences and A/B testing, maintain a steady process of clearance, ensure community management for ads is carried out, and also look for opportunities to link up paid and organic social and enhance the user journey for supporters.

Above all, the incumbent, along with the rest of the team, will be dedicated to ensuring a diverse, participatory and inclusive approach to how we talk about and represent affected people in social media, and all communications adhere to our ethical guidelines, working closely with teams across the Global Communications Service, as well as Private Sector Partnerships, Divisions and UNHCR¿s six regional Bureaux, to deliver on the above-mentioned responsibilities.

Qualifications and professional experience

Essential:
¿ Care about humanitarian causes and UNHCR¿s mission to protect people forced to flee.
¿ A university degree in social media, digital journalism, communications, digital marketing, media or a related field.
¿ Minimum of six years¿ experience in social media and a track record of managing large branded corporate accounts, preferably for an international organization, as well as building and growing social media communities.
¿ Fluency in English.
¿ Extensive experience working with and on diverse social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn and YouTube.
¿ Experience in social reporting, from analyzing metrics and adjusting your strategy and tactics accordingly, to making results-based recommendations.
¿ A love of internet culture and a passion for social media trends, with the ability to keep up to date on best practices and apply and share that knowledge in your day-to-day work.
¿ Excellent communication (verbal and written), design and presentation skills.
¿ Strong attention to detail, great time management skills, and proven ability to work in a highly organized way and meet deadlines.
¿ Personable team player who thrives on working in a diverse team, and spending time every day engaging and building relationships in a digital workspace.
¿ Experience working in a multicultural environment and working with colleagues across different regions and time zones.

Desirable:
¿ Fluency in a second language.
¿ Experience of anti-bias training and a level of comfort in examining your own bias in the social content you create and the communication decisions you make.
¿ Knowledge of creating and delivering social media strategies against set KPIs an asset.
¿ Experience developing and conducting training workshops on social media and speaking about social media in relevant public forums.
¿ Experience in or demonstrated knowledge of using paid advertising on social media platforms.
¿ Experience working in an international non-profit context, and some knowledge of the UN system and the humanitarian community.

Location
The successful candidate will be based at UNHCR¿s Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland

Conditions
UNHCR closely tracks the performance of all social media content and identifies effective messaging, formats and strategies. Material developed by the Social Media Officer will be measured for impact and efficacy.
The incumbent will attend regular editorial meetings and other meetings as required and confer regularly with team members, including the Head of Social Media.
Performance will be assessed on an ongoing basis, with established goals, regular informal feedback, and a formal assessment at the end of the contract period.

The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce.

Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race, color, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity.
Please note that UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process (application, interview, meeting, traveling, processing, training or any other fees) Please note that the closing date for this TA advertisement is Thursday 11 March 2021 (midnight Geneva time).