Communications Officer

Background Information – Philippines and Project Background

Over recent years, the Philippines has demonstrated a high potential for development. In 2013, in spite of Typhoon Haiyan, its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 7.2%, a net increase from 6.8% in 2012. The country thereby became the fastest growing amongst the five largest economies in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (also including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand) and the second in Asia after China. However, the Philippines still faces some challenges to ensure inclusive growth for its population.

With the specific aim of promoting inclusive growth by generating mass employment and reducing poverty, the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2011-2016 sets out nine key priorities. Good governance and anticorruption constitute one of the nine distinct priorities, as well as being an overarching theme to each and every intervention. Within the governance chapter, the PDP gives a particularly prominent place to the rule of law, emphasizing its function as a key driver for both economic and social development.

Despite some exceptions, traditional governance indicators for the rule of law are on an upward trend. The country’s percentile rank in the general rule of law measurement of the Worldwide Governance Indicator has been steadily improving since its lowest score of 34.1 in 2009, to 36.5 in 2012 and 41.7 in 2013, although it is still far from its highest score of 52.2 in 1998. Likewise, the more detailed 2014 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index shows major gains with regard to the absence of corruption and order and security, and slight improvements regarding regulatory enforcement, constraints on government power, and fundamental rights since 2010. On the other hand, the Index also indicates some lags in the standard of civil and criminal justice, might be partly due to the contrast with improvements in other sectors more than to an actual worsening. However it nevertheless addresses the need to emphasize the areas in most need of attention.

To support the reform agenda for the rule of law as part of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2011-2016, the Government of the Philippines (GoPh) and the European Union (EU) started to implement a Justice Sector Reform Programme to contribute to a better delivery of justice services. The Justice Sector Reform Programme: Governance in Justice (GOJUST1), was implemented from 2016-2020, focused on four interrelated components laid the ground for reforms such as: strengthened sector coordination and policy-making; implementation of case decongestion and automation; improvement of administrative and financial management; and sustainability of reforms through enhanced accountability.

Building from the success of GoJUST I, EU in partnership with UNOPS and British Council agreed to support another five-year (2020-2025) Justice Sector Reform Programme: Governance in Justice II (GoJUST II). This successor project aims to strengthen the Rule of Law through a two-pronged approach by combining improved administration of justice and enhanced promotion and protection of human rights. The GoJUST II will build on the experiences and lessons learnt from the work done in the previous GoJUST I and previous EU-Philippines Justice Support Programme in the sector.

UNOPS is one of the implementing partners of GOJUST II under Indirect Management and will be responsible for the provision of logistical and administrative support, which may include the organization of training, workshops, seminars and study tours; procurement of goods and services; small works; grants management and communication and visibility.

Role Specific
Working closely with the Senior Project Manager and the Technical Assistance Teams (more particularly with the Senior Adviser for Evidence Based Policy Research and the Monitoring Evaluation and Learning Officer of the technical team), the Communications Officer will be coordinating the development and implementation of the Communication and Visibility Plan of the Action. Taking into consideration EU Requirements for Communications and Visibility, the Communications Officer will also support both the development and dissemination of internal/external communication relating to the project’s activities, events and engagements in order to facilitate greater exposure of the project as well as to support the enhancement of community engagement knowledge as a means of bolstering public opinion and trust.

Functional Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Senior Project Manager, the Communications Officer will be supporting all communications aspects of GoJUST II in close collaboration with the Technical Assistance Team members. He/she will also actively liaise UNOPS Philippines focal point/s and UNOPS communications units to ensure cohesiveness and internal knowledge sharing.
Accordingly, the incumbent will be required to perform the following duties and responsibilities:

Support to Stakeholder Management

• Support the Project Manager in maintaining relationships with the counterparts in GoJUST2 Project key stakeholders, Donor, Government departments and development organizations
• Coordinate linkages with the key national, regional and local media
• With input and guidance from the Technical Advisory Team, collate and develop reports and presentations about the GoJUST2 Project & UNOPS and its activities for key stakeholders
• Assist the UNOPS Focal Point for the United Nations Country Communications Group (UNCCG) in Philippines and take active part in the UNOPS Philippines Communications Unit activities
• Coordinate with communications officers in MCO Cambodia, Asia Region, as well as with HQ CPG and external partners to gather information and advice on communications products and outreach.

Support to Delivery and performance:

• Support the the development, review and updating of the Communications and Visibility Plan for the GoJUST II
• Support in the effort to ensure timely development and implementation of activities related to the communication strategy to publicize priority issues and/or major events, t, coordinating efforts, monitoring and reporting on progress, taking appropriate follow-up actions, and analyzing the outcome.
• Assist in and support the coordination of all event activities in relation to the project from inception to implementation and evaluation.
• Work in close collaboration with the Project Manager to monitor and analyze current events and produce news and news media writing and proofing. Gather content and coverage of relevant efforts to further promote GoJust activities.
• Contribute to produce and manage the production of all information communication products (editorial writing, news writing, proofing, pitching, placement, branded items etc.). Support the development and production of appropriate information and communication materials for use in media and other communication activities.
• Under the guidance of the supervisor, act as a focal point for all communications (internal and external concerning the project, and between relevant organizations, including but not limited to: European Union, UNOPS, Philippines Supreme Court and Department of Justice and Justice Sector Coordination Council (JSCC).
• Support the preparation and release/dissemination of project related information and so that it can be carried out in a timely, message- and audience- appropriate and consistent manner.
• Maintain and update the GoJUST project website, ensuring accurate and timely dissemination of information; Include the inputs of the Technical Assistance Team on the substantive content for the project website, highlighting project achievements and other relevant evidence-based information generating through monitoring process;
• Assist the Project Manager and Technical Assistance Team in the implementation of the JSSC communication strategies. Support the organisation of the officials visits, press conferences and public events
• Collaborate with mass media through activities such as organizing project site visits, facilitating photo coverage and TV footage and utilizing both web-based and traditional media as appropriate;
• Provide regular (quarterly) qualitative and quantitative analysis of project media coverage
• Support the graphic designers’ work on visibility/promotional material and ensure or enhance the quality and relevance of Project and country-specific communication materials, activities, processes and messages for sharing with partners;
• With the support of other colleagues, produce fact sheets as well as success stories for the Project and UNOPS services in Philippines;
• Coordinate organisation of internal Office events as directed
• Contribute to the maintenance of a media contact database and media coverage pertaining to the project
• Contribute to the updates of UNOPS website and social network accounts; ensure that they are systematically updated and maintained
• Support the UNOPS communication focal point in the development of key messages on UNOPS programming in the region, including for partners, local and international media;
• Ensure a well maintained and continually developed contact list of individuals, groups, organizations and fora (including Government, UN, and bilateral counterparts) for purposes of communication
• Ensure gender mainstreaming , gender equality and diversity principles and practices are incorporated into the communications products, in accordance with the UNOPS and GOJUST2 objectives
• Prepare briefing materials, reports, analysis of political, socio and economic trends relevant for UNOPS Philippines, as maybe requested.

Support to Procedures:

• Ensure respect of project management, procurement and communications requirements/procedures
• Ensure efficient and effective management of the communications budget and compliance with UNOPS Financial Rules and Regulations (FRR)
• Ensure that communications and visibility are in line with the approved legal agreement on communication and branding for the Project
• Contribute to identification and assessment of risks and implement mitigation measures in accordance with the UNOPS Risk Management Approach and the GoJUST II Communications & Visibility strategy
• Contribute to planning activities and timely delivery of approved work, procurement, and financial plans for the communications activities
• Provide accurate and quality inputs needed for monitoring of the projects’ performance, outputs , benefits and reports
• With the guidance of the Procurement Officer, support preparation of tenders for the publicity and communication material (including print, graphics, web, audio and video)

Knowledge management:

• Participate in the UNOPS communities of practice /contribute to the knowledge management and sharing in Currents
• Contribute to identification and sharing of lessons learned and the best practices
• Close interaction with Programme/Project staff to share information and knowledge as related to projects and communications.

Education

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in communications, journalism, public relations, international development, linguistics, social science , business administration or international relation.
• A first-level university degree in combination with required qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience

• Minimum 1 years of relevant experience in communication , public relations, journalism or similar roles.
• Experience in research and analysis, reporting, external relations, communications, advocacy, business administration, and/or outreach in international organizations is desired.
• Experience in producing analytical reports and communications products is required.
• Experience in the humanitarian and/or development sector is an asset.
• Experience in the justice sector is desired
• Experience in international organizations is desirable.
• Experience in preparing, coordinating, and leading donor reporting processes is desirable.
• Excellent understanding on the intersection of technology, web design, editorial, digital, social media and multimedia platforms is desirable.
• Knowledge of digital media, visual communications and interactive storytelling methods is desirable.
• Ability to analyze online communications using performance indicators is desirable.

Languages

• Fluency in both written and spoken English is required.
• Fluency in Tagalog is required.