Communication Specialist

**The Position**:
The Communication Specialist (Humanitarian) is located in the Arab States Regional Office (ASRO), Cairo. S/He works under the direct supervision of the Regional Communication Adviser and dotted line supervision by the Regional Humanitarian Adviser. The Communication Specialist provides support to ASRO in regional and country-based humanitarian communication, increasing visibility for UNFPA’s humanitarian actions and enhancing media content in humanitarian emergency situations including the impact of climate change.

**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 (2022-2025), reaffirms the relevance of the current strategic direction of UNFPA and focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. These results capture our strategic commitments on accelerating progress towards realizing the ICPD and SDGs in the Decade of Action leading up to 2030. Our strategic plan calls upon UN Member States, organizations and individuals to “build forward better”, while addressing the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, recover lost gains and realize our goals.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

**Job Purpose**:
While the Arab region has been faced with a number of complex and protracted crises over the past 20 years, there has been some further acceleration in fragility in the post-Covid period with Sudan and Gaza / Palestine being among the most complex and acute crises at the moment. Climate change, the wider fall-out of the Ukraine war, and overall economic deterioration in the region are further exacerbating the vulnerability of the affected populations in the region and blurring the lines of those in need of assistance. UNFPA's Arab States Regional office covers 14 programme countries and 1 main partnership office for the GCC in Oman. ASRO supports humanitarian interventions in 10 out of these 15 countries (Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Yemen) in response to internal displacement and refugee movements. In 2024, there are an estimated 75.4 million people in need of humanitarian assistance across these countries (refugees, IDPs, host communities), an estimated half of them being women. UNFPA’s humanitarian interventions focus on the advocacy for and provision of sexual and reproductive health and rights needs; gender-based violence prevention and response needs; humanitarian concerns and specific needs of women, adolescents, and young people into overall humanitarian preparedness and humanitarian response frameworks.

The Communications Specialist provides technical support to advance, in the context of humanitarian emergencies and the impact of climate change, the visibility and advocacy role of UNFPA in the Arab States by (1) creating content, and supporting Country Offices (COs), on communications related to humanitarian emergencies; and by (2) researching and writing human interest stories, social media posts, and other content for UNFPA’s Arab States regional channels. The Communications Specialist will build and/or maintain strong collaborative relationships across the Organization including Arab States Country Offices, the ASRO communications team, including at the Hub in Amman, the Media and Communications Branch (MCB), Humanitarian Response Division (HRD), and other Regional humanitarian communications specialists in relation to corporate humanitarian contents and communication strategies and campaigns.

Specifically, S/He will be expected to deliver on the following responsibilities:
**Provide public humanitarian information support to ASRO and Arab States COs**
- Support the creation of a humanitarian content website/tab within the ASRO regional website; move existing humanitarian content to the site; develop new humanitarian content for the regional website;
- Conceptualize and support the organization of ASRO / Humanitarian Hub-led public events including roundtable discussions, launches, campaigns, etc., as relevant to promoting UNFPA’s humanitarian and climate change-related work;
- Draft key messages and media QA, Op-Eds, RD statements, stories, social media posts, media advisories, and pitches for journalists; Support preparation of field missions including journalists' trips, and video productions;
- Respond to media inquiries, and help coordinate media trips or other press events;
- Develop messages and communications materials (e.g. talking points, press releases, op-eds, social m