Eight years into the Syria crisis, Lebanon remains the country hosting the largest number of refugees per capita, with nearly 950,000 Syrian refugees registered with UNHCR, about 20,000 refugees of other origins - mostly Iraqi - and Palestine refugees under UNRWA’s mandate. There are no formal camps for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and refugees are living in hundreds of communities and locations across the country.
The refugee response is led by the Government and UNHCR and UNDP, supported by the international community. As the designated lead agency in the refugee response, UNHCR has established a sector-based structure in Beirut and in the field. The structure brings together over 150 UN agencies, national and international NGO partners [over 150 actors, including UN agencies, national and international NGOs and Ministries] in identifying and agreeing on the strategic priorities to address the needs of Syrian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese communities. The Lebanon Chapter of the Response Plan falls under the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP), whereby UNHCR guides the refugee response and UNDP facilitates the resilience and stabilization component.
The UNHCR operational response in Lebanon is one of the largest for the organization. Media attention and the frequency of influential high-profile visitors is high. The Office has grown substantially in the past years and is currently operating with around 650 staff. Aside from the country office in the capital city of Beirut, UNHCR has field offices in Mount Lebanon, Qobayat, Tripoli, Tyre and Zahle.
The Communications Officer reports to the Head, Media and Content and works closely with the other Communication Officers at Headquarters and field. S/He will have extensive contact with a wide variety of external audiences ranging media personnel, public-at-large, diplomats, scholars, staff from other UN organisations in the context of disseminating information and gathering support for UNHCR’s activities.
2.2 FUNCTIONAL STATEMENT
- Serves as the focal point for a geographic region on all matters dealing with external and internal communications;
- Participates in the development and implementation of a communication strategy that increases exposure of the office and mobilizes public and political, support to further the objectives of UNHCR in a rapid changing environment;
- Supports regional and country communication teams to ensure the delivery of a coordinated message to key audiences taking into account global and operational strategies and policies;
- Liaise with the bureaux and divisions on operational issues and key messages frameworks;
- Packages and commissions information/stories submitted by field communication staff for dissemination on the web and other outlets;
- Maintains a database of journalists and media organizations, drafts press releases, responds to media enquiries and builds dialogue with individual journalists;
- Contributes to planning of and arrangements of events, in particular with regard to design and production of materials;
- Co-ordinate the production of internal and external UNHCR communications, publications and visibility materials in consultation with other relevant staff;
- Performs other related duties as instructed by the supervisor.
Intervention Sectors
Refugees
Location
- Lebanon
- Beirut
- Beirut
Application Deadline
Organisation
Salary Range
> 3000 (USD)
Contract Type
Full Time
Application Submission Guidelines
Interested qualified internal and external candidates meeting the requirements of the Job Descriptions posted online can apply as follows.
Interested candidates holding UNHCR FTA are requested to apply through MSRP – Self-Service – Recruiting Activities – Careers (Please search by JO# or by Location). kindly update your personal profiles with all needed information in order to be able to apply. Please consult the attached email for further guidance on personal profile updates.
Interested External Applicants (including TA contracts) are invited to apply on-line and complete the mandatory motivation letter. For help with logging in to the MSRP Portal through the Intranet, or with on-line applications, please contact the Global Service Desk at globalsd@unhcr.org well before the deadline to allow sufficient time for problems to be resolved. External vacancies are posted on the external UNHCR website and applicants who do not have internal status must apply through the external UNHCR website. (Please search by JO# or by Location)
External Applicants (All Applicants not holding UNHCR FTA and/or IND contract) are kindly requested to apply the following browsing: www.unhcr.org – Careers – Career opportunities – Other Opportunities (General Service category) – Vacancies – sort by Location or search by JO #.
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing, training, etc.). UNHCR strongly encourages applications from qualified female applicants, as well as form individuals with special needs. Shortlisted candidates may be required to sit for written test and/or oral interview.
UNHCR seeks to ensure that male and female employees are given equal career opportunities. UNHCR is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality.
Requires a Cover Letter?
Yes
Experience Requirements
5 to 10 years
Education Degree
Bachelor Degree
Education Degree Details
ESSENTIAL MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
- Undergraduate degree (equivalent of a BA/BS) preferably in Communications, Political Sciences, Public Information, International Relations plus minimum 6 years of previous work experience relevant to the function with a progressively responsible experience in communication, journalism, external relations, of which 2 years should be in an international capacity. Graduate degree (equivalent of a Master’s) plus 5 years or Doctorate degree (equivalent of a PhD) plus 4 years of previous relevant work experience may also be accepted.
- Excellent communication skills both written and oral.
- Ability to draft and edit English texts for outside dissemination.
- Experience in dealing with the media, preparing key messages and interlocuting with external parties.
- Must be highly organized with ability to prioritize assignments.
- Proven multi-tasking skills.
- Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS & COMPETENCIES
- Ability to deal with the media, preparing key messages and interlocuting with external parties.
- Knowledge of additional UN languages.
- Undergraduate degree (equivalent of a BA/BS) preferably in Communications, Political Sciences, Public Information, International Relations plus minimum 6 years of previous work experience relevant to the function with a progressively responsible experience in communication, journalism, external relations, of which 2 years should be in an international capacity. Graduate degree (equivalent of a Master’s) plus 5 years or Doctorate degree (equivalent of a PhD) plus 4 years of previous relevant work experience may also be accepted.
- Excellent communication skills both written and oral.
- Ability to draft and edit English texts for outside dissemination.
- Experience in dealing with the media, preparing key messages and interlocuting with external parties.
- Must be highly organized with ability to prioritize assignments.
- Proven multi-tasking skills.
- Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS & COMPETENCIES
- Ability to deal with the media, preparing key messages and interlocuting with external parties.
- Knowledge of additional UN languages.
Arabic
Fluent
English
Fluent
French
None
Hide guidelines for wrong answers
No