U-Report Global Strategist and Asia Coordinator, P-4, Bangkok, Thailand
Contract: Temporary Appointment (TA)
Post level: P-4
Duration: 364 Days
Duty Station: Bangkok, Thailand
Reporting to: Deputy Director, Global Innovation Centre
Post level: P-4
Duration: 364 Days
Duty Station: Bangkok, Thailand
Reporting to: Deputy Director, Global Innovation Centre
BACKGROUND
Since 2007 UNICEF has been a global leader in leveraging technology to advance development goals. Initially a small team within the Division of Communications, Innovation work at UNICEF currently exists as a highly distributed network of labs, designers, developers, program managers, academics and private-sector partners. One of the most successful initiatives to come out of the unit to date is the youth-led social monitoring platform U-Report.
U-Report is a youth-facing mobile engagement initiative led by UNICEF in partnership with local youth organizations, to amplify the voices of young people and empower them to speak out about the issues that matter most to them. Through the platform, U‐reporters can voice their opinions about what is happening in their communities and work together with leaders at the community and national level for positive social change.
U-Report has already linked over 300,000 youth and their government in Uganda – prompting policy changes. In Indonesia, a rapidly growing base of U-reporters have been voicing their thoughts on health and economic related issues. In Zambia, youth can access valuable sexual and reproductive health information, as well as connect to confidential counseling.
UReport is available on sms, Twitter and more recently an app, and is designed to be a nationally scalable through digital means. It is already active in 17 countries and numerous other countries and global partners (including World Organization of the Scout Movement-WOSM, World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts-WAGGS, and Red Cross/Red Crescent) have expressed interest in joining. U-report can now be quickly deployed, and a rapid growth trajectory is probable, particularly in Asia which is an environment with high internet penetration and ideally suited to the digital channels within U-Report. Pending new partnerships with social networking/communication platforms like Line, WeChat, Viber and WhatsApp will also grow U-Report’s reach and sustainability.
U-Report is a youth-facing mobile engagement initiative led by UNICEF in partnership with local youth organizations, to amplify the voices of young people and empower them to speak out about the issues that matter most to them. Through the platform, U‐reporters can voice their opinions about what is happening in their communities and work together with leaders at the community and national level for positive social change.
U-Report has already linked over 300,000 youth and their government in Uganda – prompting policy changes. In Indonesia, a rapidly growing base of U-reporters have been voicing their thoughts on health and economic related issues. In Zambia, youth can access valuable sexual and reproductive health information, as well as connect to confidential counseling.
UReport is available on sms, Twitter and more recently an app, and is designed to be a nationally scalable through digital means. It is already active in 17 countries and numerous other countries and global partners (including World Organization of the Scout Movement-WOSM, World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts-WAGGS, and Red Cross/Red Crescent) have expressed interest in joining. U-report can now be quickly deployed, and a rapid growth trajectory is probable, particularly in Asia which is an environment with high internet penetration and ideally suited to the digital channels within U-Report. Pending new partnerships with social networking/communication platforms like Line, WeChat, Viber and WhatsApp will also grow U-Report’s reach and sustainability.
PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT
To provide global programme management, product development and coordination, with a particular focus on the specific needs in Asia.
To provide global programme management, product development and coordination, with a particular focus on the specific needs in Asia.
MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS
- Coordinate U-Report development, planning and implementation across UNICEF country offices with a specific focus on ASIA (EAPRO and ROSA)
- Work with regional and global NGOs, to plan and roll out U-Report across multiple countries.
- Work with the RapidPro development team on deployment, features and use of RapidPro with in U-Report.
- Coordinate with local (country level) project managers in U-Report engagements, including marketing, scaling, communications, partnership needs etc.
- Identify and partner with like-minded initiatives such as MyWorld2 for greater integration and sharing of contacts to increase user-base.
- Define and plan product roadmap for new U-Report features with RapidPro product and engineering teams taking into account EAPR and ROSA use cases and needs.
- Develop global branding guidelines and initiatives around U-Report for UNICEF Country Office adoption taking into account EAPR and ROSA needs and inputs.
- Work with private partnerships team regionally and globally on potential integrations with other communication platforms e.g. Twitter, LINE, WeChat and Viber.
- Work to recruit additional global NGO partners for ownership/adoption of U-Report technology and functionality.
- Support UNICEF programme initiatives and UNICEF staff to develop community-based programme feedback.
- Identify funding opportunities and work with PFP and NatComs where necessary to attract donors.
- Lead training of trainers on the system for UNICEF staff for regional roll-out in Asia (EAPR, ROSA).
- Assess current status where U-Report already exists and advise on addressing any existing challenges.
- Support regional Innovation Leads in maximising the regional scale and impact of U-Report
- Coordination and global dissemination of lessons learned in Asia from U-Report launches and engagements.
- Work with UNICEF country offices in Asia to ensure local languages are supported in U-Report development
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Reporting to the Deputy Director, Global Innovation Centre, outposted in Bangkok, the incumbent will work closely with other innovation colleagues in the Global Innovation Centre and the Innovation Unit in New York and San Francisco.
Reporting to the Deputy Director, Global Innovation Centre, outposted in Bangkok, the incumbent will work closely with other innovation colleagues in the Global Innovation Centre and the Innovation Unit in New York and San Francisco.
WORKING CONDITIONS
The assignment is office-based in Bangkok, with frequent international travel.
The assignment is office-based in Bangkok, with frequent international travel.
QUALIFICATIONS AND COMPETENCIES required to perform the duties of the assignment
Qualifications
- Master’s degree, ideally in communications, journalism, international development, or a related field.
- At least 8 years of project management experience with heavy communications focus.
- Proven experience working at all levels of project deployment and at all points of a project life-cycle
- Proven experience providing high-level strategic guidance to large organizations or companies.
- Experience serving as a strong team lead, able to remotely manage technology and communication-driven initiatives and projects with diverse stakeholders.
- Strong communication and collaboration skills with experience in consensus building and in motivating cross-functional teams to meet ambitious project goals and timelines;
- Strong background in digital platforms, open-source projects and knowledge of technical infrastructure in developing countries. Experience in creating or managing content and communications materials for engaging young people is a strong plus
- Experience with website usability/mobile website usability is a strong plus
- Demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural environment and establish harmonious and effective working relationships;
- A history of working with local NGOs and managing multiple stakeholders
- Ability to travel internationally, at short notice and occasionally to remote locations;
- Fluency in written and verbal English is essential; competence in one other UN language is preferred;
- Past work experience with UNICEF and in particular UNICEF Country Offices is advantageous
- Experience leading on a U-Report program, and partnership strategy and management experience a plus.
Competencies
- Communicates effectively to varied audiences, including during formal public speaking
- Able to work effectively in a multi-cultural, multi-country environment
- Sets high standards for quality of work and consistently achieves project goals
- Has good leadership and supervisory skills; co-ordinates group activities, ensuring that roles within the team are clear
- Translates strategic direction into plans and objectives
- Analyses and integrates diverse and complex quantitative and qualitative data from a wide range of sources
- Quickly builds rapport with individuals and groups; maintains an effective network of individuals across organizations
- Identifies urgent and potentially difficult decisions and acts on them promptly; initiates and generates team- and department-wide activities
- Demonstrates, applies and shares expert technical knowledge across the organization
HOW TO APPLY:
Interested and suitable candidates should send their applications, including Cover letter, P-11 (http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/files/P11.doc), CV and copies of their last two Performance Evaluation Reports (where applicable) to: jobsugic@gmail.com on or before 23 November 2015.Applicants must clearly indicate the position applied for and use this order to name file attachments: Firstname_Lastname followed by document e.g. Gold_Mukasa_P11 or Gold_Mukasa_CV or Gold_Mukasa_CoverLetter. Only short listed candidates will be contacted.
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.
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