Grade: NOA
Vacancy no.: BEY/DC/2024/01
Publication date: 16 January 2024
Application deadline (midnight local time): 31 January 2024
Job ID: 11555
Department: RO-Arab States/DWT-Beirut
Organization Unit: RO-Arab States/DWT-Beirut
Location: Baghdad
Contract type: Fixed Term
Contract duration: One year, as of March 2024 with possibility of renewal
Under article 4.2, paragraph (e) of the Staff Regulations, the filling of vacancies in technical cooperation projects does not fall under Annex I of the Staff Regulations and is made by direct selection by the Director-General.
In order to support the best informed process in the filling of the above-mentioned vacancy by direct selection, the ILO invites interested candidates to submit their application online by the above date.
The following are eligible to apply:
- ILO Internal candidates in accordance with paragraphs 31 and 32 of Annex I of the Staff Regulations.
- External candidates*
*The recruitment process for National Officer positions is subject to specific local recruitment and eligibility criteria.
The ILO values diversity among its staff and welcomes applications from qualified female candidates. We also encourage applicants with disabilities. If you are unable to complete our online application form due to a disability, please send an email to ilojobs@ilo.org.
Technical cooperation appointments are not expected to lead to a career in the ILO and they do not carry any expectation of renewal or conversion to any other type of appointment in the Organization. A one-year fixed-term contract will be given. Extensions of technical cooperation contracts are subject to various elements including the following: availability of funds, continuing need of the functions and satisfactory conduct and performance.
*Conditions of employment for external candidates: In conformity with existing ILO practice, the appointment of an external candidate will normally be made at the first step of this grade. The entry level salary for this position is 44890 (USD) yearly.
Introduction
The ILO has a long-standing history of cooperation with it constitutes in Iraq โ the government, employer, and worker representatives - in promoting decent work and addressing the labour market needs of the country.
In December 2019, Iraq and the ILO launched the countryโs first Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP). DWCPs are the ILOโs main vehicle to implement its decent work agenda and to deliver policy, institutional and development cooperation support to member states.
The DWCP for Iraq focuses on three areas of priority: ensuring that private sector development supports the creation of new jobs; extending and strengthening social protection and addressing child labour; and improving social dialogue in order to promote rights at work.
Under the DWCP, several projects, supported by ILOโs development partners, are being implemented. These include PROSPECTS, Social protection reform, BEIT, Promoting SMEs, AICS and others.
In line with the ILOโs objective to increase the visibility of its work on the ground, the ILO is seeking a national officer to work with ILO project teams, ILO regional and global communications departments, UN and national partners, donor communications focal points and the media to highlight projectsโ objectives, activities and impact through the development of multi-media products.
The role of the communication officer will be to ensure a holistic approach to communications in line with ILO and donor communications and visibility guidelines and requirements.
Reporting Lines
The National Communication Officer will report to the Country Coordinator in Iraq. S/He will work closely with the Projects CTAs/Managers in Iraq. S/He will be receiving technical guidance from the Regional Communication & Public Info Officer based in ROAS/Beirut.
Description of Duties
1. Review ILO Decent Work Country Programme and country specific projects and priorities and develop a communications strategy and plan that identifies key areas of work, communications products, and stories that support the increase of the country programmeโs visibility; with clear objectives, target audience, messaging, communications products and channels for dissemination and outreach. The Iraq country communication strategy and plan should be in line with the ILO Global Communication Strategy and aligned with regional strategic communication objectives.
2. Draft press releases, event pages and project pages for the ILO website in close collaboration with the country teams, based on their needs and priorities.
3. Plan, develop and gather human-interest content such as feature stories, videos, photo-essays and other, that highlight the impact of the projects. This includes working with teams in the field to identify potential stories, interviewing women and men workers who are involved in ILO projects, drafting content and building an archive of material including photographs and footage, with relevant background information, consent forms etc.
4. Manage the ILO Iraq social media platforms by ensuring regular updates and developing assets and stories. Ensure the ILO Iraq country page on the ILO Regional website for Arab States is updated with various content produced.
5. Work closely with ILO teams to develop talking points, key messages, briefs, factsheets, and newsletters; and contribute to the development of other products/publications as needed.
6. Lead the development of content by working closely with designers, videographers, photographers, animators and others, to ensure productsโ alignment with ILO guidelines and standards.
Description of Duties (continued)
7. Work closely with the communications department at the Regional Office for Arab States and with the Department of Communication (DCOMM) at ILO headquarters in Geneva to ensure collaboration on multi-media products and ensure country-specific products are promoted on regional platforms, and global platforms.
8. Work closely with the UN teams in Iraq to produce joint products, campaigns etc.
9. Build relations with the media, handle media requests, monitor media coverage of ILO Iraq activities.
10. Work closely with donor focal points to ensure alignment of content and visibility requirements and support communication requests as needed.
11. Participate in ILO training workshops to acquire skills necessary to manage relevant ILO information platforms as required.
12. Perform other duties as required.
Required qualifications
Education
First level university degree in media, communications, journalism, or a relevant field. An advanced degree in the forementioned fields would be a strong advantage.
Experience
At least one year of professional experience at the same level working in media, communications or journalism.
Technical requirements
One or more of the following skills would be an advantage: shooting and editing video footage; photography; website content management; graphic design; social media analytics.
Languages
Excellent written and spoken English and Arabic - with ability to draft high quality content in English, translate from Arabic to English (press releases, video subtitles etc). Knowledge of Kurdish is a plus.
Competencies
In addition to the ILO core competencies (Integrity and transparency, Sensitivity to diversity, Orientation to learning and knowledge sharing, Client orientation, Communication, Orientation to change, Takes responsibility for performance, Quality orientation, Collaboration), this position requires:
- Ability to write quickly, accurately, and clearly under tight deadlines.
- Ability to translate complex technical language (such as report findings) into reader friendly language.
- Knowledge of Iraqโs labour market. Knowledge of key areas of work and priorities that the ILO focuses on/and ability to keep abreast of developments/information.
- Ability to identify interesting stories and develop them in compelling ways.
- Ability to work closely and collaboratively within a team - including ILO technical teams and communications experts etc.
- Ability to drive communications efforts/lead on communication, pitch ideas, suggest improvements etc.
Competencies (continued)
- Ability to keep up with social media trends, gather and analyse social media data, and develop engaging and innovative messaging and visual social media content and assets.
- Ability to produce interesting content in-house/individually through innovative approaches.
- Ability to work well with women and men benefiting from ILO projects, to ensure that any of their questions, concerns and needs in the story-telling process are met.