Consultant on Strategic Communications

The Centre for Humanitarian Data is focused on increasing the use and impact of data in the humanitarian sector. It is managed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and is based in The Hague, the Netherlands. The Centre’s services are available to humanitarian partners and OCHA staff in the field and at Headquarters free of charge.

The Centre focuses on four areas: data services, data responsibility, data literacy, and predictive analytics. The data services workstream focuses the management of the Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX) platform, the development and use of the Humanitarian Exchange Language (HXL) data standard, and support to the International Aid Transparency Initiative. The data responsibility worksteam focuses on the development and adoption of data responsibility guidelines and different techniques for the secure management of data, both within OCHA and the broader humanitarian system. The data literacy workstream focuses on improving the data skills of technical and non-technical humanitarians through the delivery of training programmes and development of capacity-building material. The predictive analytics workstream focuses on model development, including threshold and trigger design, and quality assurance of partner models through validation and a peer review process.

The Centre’s Data Fellows programme began in 2018 and supports all four workstreams. This high-profile initiative is designed to expose the Centre team and partners to new areas of data-related expertise that can impact humanitarian response and advance the goals of the Centre. The structure of the programme provides consultants/fellows with exposure to different parts of the humanitarian system while allowing them to focus time and energy on an individual project that addresses a challenge related to the use and impact of data in the sector.

The Centre will host its fourth class of Data Fellows in June and July 2021. The 2021 Fellows will focus on three areas: Data Journalism, Predictive Analytics, and Strategic Communications. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 programme will be conducted remotely, with Fellows working from home under the direction of the Coordinator for the Data Fellows Programme.

Strategic Communication to Advance Data Responsibility

Communicating about the use and impact of data in the humanitarian sector is essential to driving continued investment and collective action. To do this effectively requires new approaches to explaining complex issue areas that touch on data, technology, design and humanitarian action. Data responsibility in humanitarian response is one such area.

In recent years we have seen the development of principles, policies, and strategies for the responsible management of data in humanitarian action but gaps remain between global frameworks and their practical application in field operations. Making guidance accessible to field staff is essential to integrating data responsibility into their daily work. The Centre requires a Strategic Communication Fellow to help meet this need.

We are looking for a candidate who is self-motivated and can thrive in an international, multidisciplinary team. The right candidate has the skills and abilities that together comprise the appropriate level of expertise to develop a communication strategy and an initial set of related assets for the Centre.

The Consultant/Fellow will report to the Coordinator for the Data Fellows Programme under the overall direction of the Lead for the Centre for Humanitarian Data. She or he will be expected to work closely with the rest of the Centre team.
Accountabilities 
The Consultant/Fellow will be responsible for the following:

-          Design and execute a strategic communications project with a focus on driving adoption of data responsibility in field operations.

-          Design and deliver a learning session for the Centre team on an aspect of their area of technical expertise.

-          Communicate publicly about the project focus and key outcomes (in the form of a blog and other related channels).

-          Produce a final report outlining the key insights from the project and, as relevant, providing recommendations for further work in the area of focus.

-          Utilize available project management and office communication tools to effectively track and deliver expected outputs.

-          Maintain active and clear communications with relevant members of the Centre and the Fellowship partner organization(s) throughout the course of the programme

Deliverables The Fellow will complete the following deliverables:

-          A short presentation on the initial desk and user research for a strategic communication project related to data responsibility.

-          A completed strategic communication project (including all related copy and design assets).

-          At least one blog post on the outcomes of the project.

-          A final report outlining the key achievements of the project and, as relevant, providing recommendations for further work in the area of focus.

Education

-          Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in communication, marketing, international affairs, public policy, journalism, or other relevant disciplines.

-          Bachelor’s degree with 4 years of experience or Master’s degree with 2 years of experience is required.

Work Experience

-          Two to four years (depending on Degree qualification) experience with strategic communication, with an ability to translate complex ideas from various fields into unified, clear communication products is a must.

-          Demonstrated experience in producing high quality communication assets and campaigns for diverse audiences.

-          Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

-          Experience with processing large amounts of information and synthesizing it.

-          Strong interpersonal and networking skills.

 In addition, the following would be desirable but are optional:

-          Familiarity with the humanitarian sector and issues related to data responsibility

Languages

-          Fluency in English is required (both oral and written).

-          Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.

Contract type: Individual Contractor Agreement holders (ICAs) Contract level: IICA-1/LICA-9/ICSC-9
Contract duration: 2 months  starting from 1 June 2021 (lumpsum contract modality)

This is not a position in UNOPS. UNOPS is solely providing operational support to its partner UNOCHA for this recruitment process. The selected candidate will be a personnel member of UNOCA under its full responsibility and salaries and benefits will be decided by UNOCHA.

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System.

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.