Communications, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Officer

United Nations University Communication Manager
Location New York, USA
Application deadline 16 June 2017
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The Communications, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (CMEL) Officer will play a leading role in a fully funded, multimillion-dollar project to rapidly accelerate the global creation, exchange, and uptake of knowledge about modern slavery, human trafficking, forced labour and child labour – and how to fight them successfully.

Working within a small team of knowledge professionals, data scientists, and communicators, the CMEL Officer will support uptake of knowledge created and exchanged through a new online Knowledge Platform, engaging Alliance 8.7 and stakeholders from around the world. The CMEL Officer will lead in the development of learning and training tools based around the knowledge products aggregated on the platform, through outreach to and engagement with knowledge professionals (academics, researchers, MEL professionals) from the global anti-slavery, anti-trafficking, and anti-forced and child labour communities.

Background

The United Nations University (UNU) is a global think tank with a mandate to help policymakers access the best available evidence to fight global problems. UNU has recently received funding from the UK government’s Modern Slavery Innovation Fund and the International Labour Organization to build a Knowledge Platform to support efforts to end forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking, and child labour by 2030. The Knowledge Platform aims to rapidly accelerate and scale up the global scientific knowledge and evidence base on modern slavery risk and vulnerability factors, and on factors in the effectiveness of prevention and response interventions, while also facilitating global uptake of the resulting insights by policymakers, business and other practitioners. The two-year project will lead to the development of an online Knowledge Hub, which will be designed as a global public good and will generate research, policy and practice impact related to modern slavery

About UN University

The United Nations University is a formal UN agency with a mandate from the UN General Assembly to contribute, through research and capacity building, to solutions to the pressing global problems that are the concern of the United Nations and its Member States. The UNU Office at the United Nations in New York is a think tank charged with conveying research-based policy ideas from UNU and beyond to key policymakers at the United Nations. Led by Dr James Cockayne, it has established a global profile in recent years on research and policy development on modern slavery, human trafficking, and SDG 8.7 — for example, through input into the first ever UN Security Council Resolution on human trafficking in conflict.

About you

You are a natural communicator. You are a creative communications professional with an interest in monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) (or vice versa). You understand how knowledge is absorbed and used by different communities. You have an established track record of communicating complex ideas to policy and practice communities. You are comfortable working in multicultural and multilingual settings. You have excellent drafting and editorial skills, but are also comfortable working with visual and social media. You have an established track record of developing knowledge uptake tools and materials.

Responsibilities

The CMEL Officer will be responsible for the project’s communications, M&E, and learning strategies and efforts, including developing and establishing the project’s internal and external communication strategy, and for advancing the uptake of knowledge by the project’s priority user audiences.

The responsibilities of the successful candidate will include:

  • oversight and execution of the project’s communications and outreach strategy, working with guidance from the UNU Office of Communications (Tokyo), to ensure the project reaches its key user audiences
  • leading outreach to key knowledge stakeholders, including academic institutions
  • all monitoring and learning within the project, to ensure knowledge uptake
  • lead responsibility for the development of innovative online and offline learning and training tools to ensure knowledge created and exchanged through the Knowledge Hub reaches and is taken up by key user audiences
  • organising events, including at UN HQ, to support the promotion of the project
  • drafting press releases and briefs, news announcements, blog posts, concept papers, and other written policy advocacy materials
  • collaborating with the project team to develop a long-term sustainability plan for the project’s outcomes, including by developing a strategic roadmap

Required qualifications and experience

Required qualifications and experience include:

  • university degree in communications, journalism, marketing, public affairs, international relations, or a related field
  • minimum of four (4) years of relevant work experience, including at least two (2) years working directly with knowledge professionals
  • superior English-language oral and written communication skills; professional experience working in one of the UN’s other official languages is an advantage
  • familiarity and experience communicating via social media platforms
  • strong organisational and project management skills
  • experience in event management strongly preferred
  • strong ability to establish priorities, multitask, and work within tight timelines
  • solid interpersonal and problem-solving skills demonstrated by the ability to work in a multicultural environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity
  • genuine interest in and understanding of modern slavery

Exposure to formal M&E training is a plus, but not required.

Remuneration

Remuneration will be commensurate with qualifications and experience of the successful candidate.

Duration of contract

The successful candidate shall be hired as a fixed-term contractual personnel for an initial period of nine months, renewable for one additional year. The successful candidate will not hold international civil servant status nor be a “staff member” as defined in the United Nations Staff Rules and Regulations.

Applications from suitably qualified woman candidates and those from developing countries are particularly encouraged.

Starting date

July–August 2017