REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER Temporary, P3
Duty Station: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Department/Office: Resident Coordinator System
Deadline: Feb 10, 2026
Job Description
Org. Setting and Reporting
The UN Development Coordination Office (DCO) Regional Office for Africa, based in Addis Ababa, was established in July 2019 to operationalize UNGA resolution 72/279. DCO Africa supports 53 Resident Coordinators (RCs) and UN Country Teams (UNCTs) in helping Member States deliver on national priorities, the 2030 Agenda, SDGs, and African Union Agenda 2063. Strengthened communications and advocacy are essential to share SDG progress, highlight opportunities and challenges, and present a unified UN voice for greater impact. DCO Africa provides strategic and operational support RCOs and integrated UNICs to enhance joint UN communication and advocacy and amplify policy messages and successes from the ground at regional and global levels. The Communications and Advocacy Officer leads regional campaigns and partnerships that advance DCO strategic corporate priorities, including on UN@80, Pact for the Future implementation, youth engagement, information integrity, and innovation and systems thinking.
The Officer develops and implements integrated communications and advocacy strategies, applying UN policy and guidance to ensure coherence and impact across the region. They plan, organize, and coordinate campaigns and advocacy activities in complex, multi-stakeholder environments, producing creative content and materials to position DCO strategic corporate priorities, and mobilize external stakeholders to advance the SDGs. The role requires building and sustaining strong partnerships, both internally, with management, other communications specialists, and Crisis Management teams, and externally, with UN agencies, government officials, civil society, digital influencers, and media. These relationships support building and amplifying campaigns, ensuring consistent messaging, coordinating outreach and events, strengthening information integrity, and advancing the UN’s advocacy objectives.
The Officer contributes to Information Integrity by monitoring and responding to online and offline threats and supporting prevention, mitigation, and crisis communications. They collaborate on the development of guidance materials, including communications and design templates, to empower staff to communicate and advocate systematically and effectively, particularly during crises and emergencies. The Officer also designs and delivers tailored training and workshops to equip internal and external stakeholders with tools to strategically communicate and advocate for the UN’s role and priorities, ensuring a holistic, inclusive, and impactful approach across communications and advocacy efforts.
Responsibilities
• Contribute to the development and implementation of communications strategies that raise awareness, drive engagement, build support and have measurable impact with target audiences.
• Draft compelling narratives and messaging on the work of the UN that engage target audiences across different channels and platforms.
• Serve as focal point on policy and reporting and prepare inputs for strategic communications in the context of regular reporting to governmental bodies.
• Participate in the development of campaign strategies to raise awareness among target audiences, mobilize support and resources in line with the organisation’s policies and regulations, and drive action in support of the UN’s objectives and initiatives.
• Contribute to coordination and collaboration with internal teams to identify external communications partnership opportunities that align with organisational goals and priorities.
• Support the development of creative campaign concepts, content, and materials, including digital and print assets, social media posts, email communications, and multimedia content.
• Promote campaigns, events and collaboration with stakeholders by organizing media engagement and coverage.
• Monitor and evaluate campaign performance, providing regular reports and insights to inform future strategies and initiatives.
• Support the building and maintaining relationships with existing and potential partners that can help amplify the organisation’s advocacy messages at local, national, regional, and/or international levels.
• Participate in the development and coordination of strategic communications partnerships with internal and external stakeholders to reach target audiences and maximize impact.
• Support coordination with partners to plan and execute joint initiatives, events, and campaigns that drive collective impact and achieve shared objectives.
• Contribute to the coordination and collaboration with internal and external stakeholders to develop and deliver joint outreach and advocacy activities to advance UN priorities.
• Identify and maximize joint communication opportunities with partners and stakeholders.
• Contribute to the identification and cataloguing of incidents and patterns of information threats.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of communication and/or advocacy strategies to promote and strengthen information integrity, including through monitoring, analysing, responding to misinformation, disinformation, malinformation, hate speech, and threats across the online and offline environment, and the development of relevant partnerships with various actors.
• Provide insights and analysis from traditional, social, and digital media monitoring, including public narratives and areas of reputational risk to inform communications strategy.
• Contribute to crisis communications and strategic planning efforts to prepare for and respond to potential information risks.
• Participate in information integrity related coordination groups and communities of practice.
• Participate in the development of media lines, including in crisis situations and on sensitive issues.
• Contribute to the creation and updating of policy, guidance and/or training related to strategic communications, in consultation with all relevant stakeholders.
• Collaborate on the production of guidance materials, including communications and design templates to empower staff to communicate in a systematic and effective way, especially during crises and emergencies.
Competencies
PROFESSIONALISM: Demonstrated critical thinking skills. Demonstrated knowledge of strategic communications principles and practices. Demonstrated knowledge of risks to information integrity – misinformation, disinformation, hate speech, and threats in fragile, post conflict, and crisis environments. Demonstrated knowledge of Media Monitoring tools. Demonstrated knowledge of Digital Design. Demonstrated knowledge of current and emerging digital media platforms, their principles and technologies. Demonstrated knowledge of data protection and privacy standards. Demonstrated project management skills. Demonstrated knowledge of crisis communications and reputational risk management. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and proficiency in subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines, and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations.
COMMUNICATION: Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; asks questions to clarify and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; tailors language, tone, style, and format to match audience; demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.
PLANNING AND ORGANIZING: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.
Education
- Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in communication, journalism, international relations, digital communications or related field.
- A first-level university degree in combination with qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Work Experience
- A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in communications, international relations, or other relevant areas, is required.
- Ability to develop and implement communications strategies is required Skills in developing creative content are required Knowledge of Digital Design is required
- Ability to write for digital platforms, such as social media or websites, for an international organisation is required
- Skills to communicate complex and technical matters to diverse audiences are required
- Knowledge of crisis communications and reputational risk management is required
- Knowledge of risks to information integrity – misinformation, disinformation, hate speech, and threats in fragile, post conflict, and crisis environments is required
- Ability to use media monitoring tools is required
- Ability to develop and implement communications partnership strategies is required.
Languages
- English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this job opening, English is required. French is desirable.
The table below shows the minimum required level for each skill in these languages, according to the UN Language Framework (please consult https://languages.un.org for details).
Required Languages
| Language | Reading | Writing | Listening | Speaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | UN Level II | UN Level II | UN Level II | UN Level II |
Desirable Languages
| Language | Reading | Writing | Listening | Speaking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| French | UN Level II | UN Level II | UN Level II | UN Level II |
Assessment
- Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise, which may be followed by competency-based interview.
Special Notice
This position is temporarily available until 31 August 2026. If the selected candidate is a staff member from the United Nations Secretariat, the selection will be administered as a temporary assignment. Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures. The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position. Internal Applicants: When completing the form, ensure ALL fields, ALL professional experience and contact information are completed and up-to-date. This information is the basis for the hiring manager to assess your eligibility and suitability for the position and to contact you.
Individual contractors and consultants (Non-Staff Personnel) who have worked within the UN Secretariat in the last six months, irrespective of the administering entity, are ineligible to apply for professional and higher temporary or fixed-term positions and their applications will not be considered. At the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to geographic diversity.
All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. The United Nations is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The United Nations recruits and employs staff regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds or disabilities. Reasonable accommodation for applicants with disabilities may be provided to support participation in the recruitment process when requested and indicated in the application.
All applicants are strongly encouraged to apply on-line as soon as possible after the job opening has been posted and well before the deadline stated in the job opening. Online applications will be acknowledged where an email address has been provided. If you do not receive an email acknowledgement within 24 hours of submission, your application may not have been received. In such cases, please resubmit the application, if necessary. If the problem persists, please seek technical assistance through the Inspira “Need Help?” link. NOTE: While this temporary assignment may provide the successful applicant with an opportunity to gain new work experience, the selection for this position is for a limited period and has no bearing on the future incumbency of the post. Subject to the funding source of the position, the eligibility for this temporary job opening may be limited to candidates based at the duty station.
This temporary job opening may be limited to “internal candidates,” who have been recruited through a competitive examination administered according to staff rule 4.16 or staff selection process including the review of a central review body established according to staff rule 4.15. Staff members of the United Nations common system organizations who will reach the mandatory age of separation or retirement within the duration of the current temporary need period are not eligible to apply. Submitting an application or selection for the current temporary job opening does not delay or increase the mandatory age of separation.
Retirees above the mandatory age of separation who wish to be considered for the current temporary job opening must indicate the reason for their last separation as “retirement.” Such retirees shall not be employed by the Organization, unless (a) the operational requirements of the Organization cannot be met by staff members who are qualified and available to perform the required functions; and (b) the proposed employment would not adversely affect the career development or redeployment opportunities of other staff members and represents both a cost-effective and operationally sound solution to meet the needs of the service.
United Nations Considerations
According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts.
The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment. Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible.
The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c).
Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions.
Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on “Manuals” in the “Help” tile of the inspira account-holder homepage. The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines.
Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted.
Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application. All external candidates recruited in accordance with section 2.2 (a) of ST/AI/2025/3 for a fixed term appointment without limitation and all external candidates recruited in accordance with section 2.2. (c) of ST/AI/2025/3 for a fixed term appointment limited to the entity are subject to an initial probationary period of one year under a fixed-term appointment.
No Fee
THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.
