Job Description

The Position

UNFPA's East and Southern Africa Regional Office covers one of the most complex and dynamic communications environments in the world, encompassing active humanitarian crises, significant development challenges, and rapidly evolving media landscapes. This position sits at the intersection of strategic communications, high-stakes media relations, and crisis response.

The Media and Crisis Communications Specialist will serve as the primary architect of UNFPA's external communications posture across the region, building the organization's credibility with media, managing reputational risk, and ensuring that UNFPA's voice is present, coherent, and compelling in both routine and emergency contexts.

How You Can Make a Difference

UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person's potential is fulfilled. UNFPA's Strategic Plan (2026–2029) is a roadmap for resilience and renewal, built around four interconnected outcomes: ending preventable maternal deaths; eliminating the unmet need for family planning; eradicating gender-based violence and harmful practices; and ensuring demographic changes are understood and addressed in a rights-based manner. It aims to achieve universal access to sexual and reproductive health and realize reproductive rights for all, leaving no one behind across the humanitarian, development and peace continuum.

In a region where these issues are acutely felt, communications is not a support function, it is a strategic instrument. This role will shape how governments, donors, media, and communities understand and engage with UNFPA's mission.

Job Purpose

Under the guidance of the Director of ESARO and under the direct supervision of the Regional Communications Adviser, the Specialist will lead the development and execution of UNFPA's regional media and communications strategy. The incumbent will be responsible for positioning UNFPA as a credible, authoritative voice in the region, managing relationships with media at all levels, driving proactive storytelling, and leading communications in humanitarian and crisis contexts.

Key Responsibilities

Media Relations

• Participate in the development and implementation of media relations strategies to shape public perceptions of the UN, its work and impact.
• Contribute to the analysis and advice to management, other communication experts, and UN colleagues across various locations and organisational contexts, including complex and sensitive political environments, on a range of media and public affairs issues, methods, and approaches.
• Participate in media mapping, foster relationships with media outlets; identify and engage with relevant editors, journalists, bloggers, and influencers, and pitch story ideas, issue news releases, and provide expert commentary.
• Coordinate press conferences, briefings, and media events; organize media coverage of campaigns and activities, including logistical arrangements for media contacts.
• Develop news-driven, authoritative and accurate content to lead the organisation’s narrative, such as press releases, statements, op ed, and articles.
• Tailor messaging and content to appeal to diverse media outlets, audiences, and platforms.
• Participate in the preparation of talking points, key messages, and data for media interviews to shape public perceptions of the UN work and its impact.
• Coordinate content creation and monitoring engagement with relevant teams such as digital, social media, radio, and audiovisual teams.
• Monitor media coverage of the organisation and relevant topics to identify trends, track public perception, and assess the effectiveness of media strategies.
• Contribute to media training for spokespeople and senior officials.
• Ensure timely responses to requests for information and interviews from the media.

Crisis Communications

• Contribute to the coordination of the crisis communications response with the communications stakeholders at the local, regional, and global levels, including the crisis communications cell and UN Communications Group in country.
• Participate in crisis communications cells including drafting key messages, collating system wide updates and organizing cell meeting.
• Provide insights based on the monitoring of traditional, social, and digital media, including on risks to information integrity such as trends in mis and disinformation.
• Make pitches to the media; draft and issue press releases and media statements in a crisis setting.
• Liaise with and briefing national, regional, and international media on UN activities and programmes.
• Ensure that all traditional, social, and digital media UN channels and platforms are calibrated to accurately reflect the crisis and are consistently updated with key messages.
• Contribute to detecting and assessing the threat level of false narratives and suggest approaches to countering misinformation and disinformation.
• Support the development of policy, guidance and training on crisis communications and reputational risk.

Common Responsibilities Across Specialties

• Keep abreast of the latest trends in communications and maintain expertise in relevant and emerging technologies.
• Maintain confidentiality, integrity, and discreet handling of sensitive information in compliance with the UN data privacy, security requirements, and standards.
• Monitor, analyse and report on communications approaches, activities and strategies to assess their performance and effectiveness.
• Collect and analyse data to identify trends or patterns and provide insights through graphs, charts, tables, and reports using data visualization methods to enable data-driven planning, decision-making, presentation, and reporting.

Qualifications and Experience Required

Education

• Advanced university degree/ Master's degree in Communications, Journalism, International Relations, Public Affairs, or a closely related field.

Experience

• Minimum 5 years of progressively responsible experience in communications, journalism, or media relations.
• Demonstrated experience in crisis communications, humanitarian communications, or emergency public information, with preference given to candidates with on-site humanitarian experience.
• Proven track record of media strategy development and identifying and managing high-level media relationships at regional and international levels.
• Experience in senior-level spokesperson management, media training, and executive communications.
• Experience working within the UN system or international development/humanitarian organizations is strongly desirable.
• Experience in the East and Southern Africa region or comparable contexts is an asset.

Technical Skills

• Strong news judgment and ability to translate complex programmatic content into compelling public narratives.
• Exceptional written and verbal communications skills in English, including under pressure.
• Proficiency with digital communications tools, media monitoring platforms, and content management systems.
• Knowledge of ICPD, SRHR, GBV, and humanitarian frameworks is a strong advantage.

Languages

Fluency in English is required. Working knowledge of French or Portuguese is an asset.

Required Competencies

Values

• Exemplifying integrity
• Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system
• Embracing cultural diversity
• Embracing change

Functional Competencies

• Creating visibility for the organization
• Advocacy for UNFPA and Sustainable Development Goals
• Job knowledge and technical expertise
• Leveraging strategic partnerships

Core Competencies

• Achieving results and being accountable
• Strategic thinking and analytical problem-solving
• Communicating for impact
• Developing and applying professional expertise
• Working in teams and managing relationships under pressure
  
  

Compensation and Benefits:

This position offers an attractive remuneration package including a competitive net salary plus health insurance and other benefits as applicable.

UNFPA Work Environment:

UNFPA provides a work environment that reflects the values of gender equality, diversity, integrity and healthy work-life balance. We are committed to ensuring gender parity in the organization and therefore encourage women to apply. Individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community, minority ethnic groups, indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups are highly encouraged to apply. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. UNFPA promotes equal opportunities in terms of appointment, training, compensation and selection for all regardless of personal characteristics and dimensions of diversity. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is at the heart of UNFPA's workforce - click here to learn more.

Disclaimer:

Selection and appointment may be subject to background and reference checks, medical clearance, visa issuance and other administrative requirements.

UNFPA does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process and does not concern itself with information on applicants' bank accounts.

Applicants for positions in the international Professional and higher categories, who hold permanent resident status in a country other than their country of nationality, may be required to renounce such status upon their appointment.