Communication Assistant - Speechwriter, Outreach and Advocacy at the World Health Organization (WHO)

World Health Organization (WHO) is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.

We are recruiting to fill the vacant position below:

Job Title: Communication Assistant - Speechwriter, Outreach and Advocacy

Ref No: 1905445
Location: Abuja
Grade: G5
Contractual Arrangement: Special Services Agreement (SSA)
Contract duration: 6 months
Schedule: Full-time 

Purpose of the Position

• The World Health Organization country office in Nigeria continues to support the Federal Ministry of Health and partners to coordinate and implement essential health interventions towards achievement of universal access by 2030.
• WHO engages with stakeholders, nationally, at state/LGA levels, regionally, as well as within the UN system to facilitate practical expressions of solidarity towards the achievement of agreed development goals. 
• WHO works with a wide range of partners including global centers of excellence to intensively explore how building endogenous capacity be encouraged, how broadening and sharing technical expertise within the National framework will systematically occur, and how emerging innovative mechanisms can be harnessed through National Health Sector Development Plan (NHSDPll).

Description of Duties

• The documentation and advocacy assistant is responsible for generating content, updating the stakeholder database, developing high-impact communications products for stakeholders, including donors The position requires strategic thinking with the ability to deliver consistently high quality, well-written, thought-provoking materials under pressure and tight deadlines.
• Support the 5 clusters through drafting of speeches and articles, consistently ensuring a high level of accuracy and flexibility in creating, writing, and adapting content and presentation for a wide variety of audiences;
• Undertaking original research on a range of development topics (within the context of UN system, Country Cooperation Strategy and Sustainable Development Goals) as needed to substantively inform the speech writing process;
• Analyzing complex information, including statistics, financial information and other numerical, qualitative and quantitative data, to extract key messages for integration into speeches, and other communications materials as required;
• Researching audience expectations, event agenda and topics, and assist in focusing the purpose of each speech to tailor messages for maximum audience appeal and impact;
• Drafting other substantive written material for the Office of the WR as requested, including statements, briefings, op-eds, opinions, articles, talking points, key messages and other written communications. This may include targeted messages for internal communications within the United Nations or for specific stakeholders and partners;
• Maintaining an up-to-date archive of speeches and data on the WHO website;
• Extracting key messages from speeches/presentations/articles for dissemination through social media channels, in close collaboration with the Communications Officer;
• The documentation and advocacy assistant is part of the communications team in and will report to the WR (Communication officer).

Required Qualifications
Education:

• Essential: Completion of secondary school education.
• Desirable: Degree in Journalism, Communications, Sustainable Development, International Relations or other relevant field.

Experience:
Essential:

• 5 years working experience in the development of all written external communications including web articles, factsheets, press releases, Annual Reports, event coverage, including photography, interviews, newsletters and other media contents
• Organization of press conferences with local and national media outlets
• Production, launch and dissemination of institutional knowledge products, including Press Releases
• Production of digital/social media materials such as tweets, Facebook Live content and short videos
• Excellent general understanding of public health, gender, equity and other related issues;
• Experience working collaboratively in a team structure in a multicultural environment;
• Experience working with the Microsoft Office suite, and particularly in development of PowerPoint presentation materials

Desirable:

• Relevant work experience in WHO/UN.

Use of language skills:

• Essential: Expert knowledge of  English.
• Desirable: Knowledge of one of the other five official languages of the UN (French, Portuguese and Spanish) would be an asset.

Skills:

• Ability to acquire sound knowledge of WHO rules, regulations and procedures. 
• Ability to establish and maintain good relations with people at various levels and of different background

Competencies

• Promote WHO’s position in health leadership
• Communication
• Foster integration and teamwork
• Produce results
• Respect and promote individual and cultural differences.

Application Closing Date
9th December, 2019.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Note: That the deadline for receipt of applications indicated above reflects your personal device's system settings.