Communications Adviser

The mission of WHO is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health.
Vacancy Notice No: EURO/11/FT40 Title: Communications Adviser Grade: P5 Contract type: Fixed-Term Appointment Duration of contract: Two years	Date: 3 February 2011 Application Deadline: 12 March 2011 (12 day(s) until closing deadline) Currently accepting applications Duty Station: Copenhagen, Denmark Organization unit: EURO Europe Regional Office (EU/RGO) / EU/RDO Office of Regional Director (EU/RDO) Country Relations and Corporate Communication (CCC)
OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME : The Country Relations and Communication Team (CCC) on RDs Cabinet advises the Regional Director and the Regional Office on its strategy for relations and cooperation with Member States. It is responsible for the in-house coordination of country work, as well as the planning and administration of Biennial Collaborative Agreements. The Corporate Communications (COM) team which is part of CCC, supports the Regional Director by strategically overseeing the communications work within the Regional Office and by generating visibility for RDs public interventions. The team is responsible for the planning and coordination of all corporate communications and media relations work, and it provides advice to Technical Divisions, Country Offices and Geographically Dispersed Offices on external communication issues.
Description of duties: 1. Generic responsibilities: Participate in the achievement of Strategic Objectives and work plans of the CCC Team by contributing to the preparation and implementation of managerial decisions related to: the achievement of corporate Strategic Objectives; the organisational arrangements for the Unit; the resource parameters for the efficient delivery of services/products as per the CCC Team mandate; the management of staff (Professional and General staff); the managerial arrangements to improve in-country communication activities. 2. Specific responsibilities: The incumbent is expected to work towards improving the technical quality, timeliness, consistency and impact of EURO's communication and public relations activities. S/he will promote innovative approaches for health related communications, help plan and facilitate the Team's communications related activities, assist colleagues and contribute directly to the implementation of plans and achievements of strategic results. More specifically, S/he will be required, as Team leader, to: update the Corporate Communication Strategy and its implementation; plan, prepare, manage and ensure implementation and evaluation of corporate communications activities; provide oversight, coordination and advice to all technical units in their communication efforts including country offices and GDOs; ensure consistency across all Divisions of EURO communications effort through well functioning quality assurance mechanism; foster relations with the media and press; promote innovative approaches to health related communication; improve the quality and impact of key messages of the organization to the outside; manage effective means of internal communication; align and synergise EURO's communications actions with those of EURO's external partners; manage the coordination with the WEB team ensuring improvements in the quality and impact of the corporate and country websites; undertake ad-hoc assignments as requested by supervisors.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Education: Essential: Advanced university degree (at the level of Master) in Health Sciences, Communications or political sciences. Desirable: Postgraduate specialisation at the level of PhD in any of the above.
Skills: Functional skills and knowledge: Knowledgeable of the technicalities involved in the area (communications, consensus building, etc.) Computer and IT skills (including use of internet and design of web pages) as per the requirements derived from the lines of responsibility described above. Competencies: (for WHO Global Competencies model, see http://www.who.int/employment/competencies/en/) Communicating in a credible and effective way: A proven ability to effectively communicate (informally and formally) to various audiences and a demonstrated capacity to convey key messages using various communication means. Excellent written and oral communication skills. Moving forward in a changing environment: Open to new ideas, Capacity to plan, ability to seize opportunities, prompt at revising own judgments and customizing products to "client" needs. Skilled in learning to adapt to circumstances and adjust him/herself to new approaches in an increasingly complex environment. Setting an example: Consistent, making things happen, treating everyone with respect, high standards of personal integrity. Able to assume innovative arrangements to maximize the effectiveness of his/her team in line with rather seasonal variations in workload Building and promoting partnerships across the Organization: Capacity to listen to others and to create an environment favourable to communication and team work. Sharing information and knowledge with others. Driving WHO to a successful future: Understands EURO's needs, proactive in analysing the rapidly changing and highly competitive communications market place, balancing analysis with doing, driven by results. Ability to identify him/herself with the core values of the World Health Organisation.
Experience: Essential: At least 10 years professional experience in the area of communications and public relations of which at least 5 years at the international level. Desirable: Working experience within the World Health Organisation or UN
Languages: Essential: A very good command of the English language and working knowledge of a second WHO Official language. Desirable: A good command of the Russian language would be an asset.
Additional Information: WHO has an on-line recruitment system, therefore ONLY applications submitted on-line at www.who.int/employment/en will be accepted. All on-line applications are automatically acknowledged. If you do not receive an e-mail within 24 hours confirming receipt of your application, you should verify your on-line profile. In case of repeated difficulties, contact by e-mail HrsRecruitment@euro.who.int indicating the vacancy title and number in the subject line. A written test may be part of the initial short-listing procedure which does not preclude a written test or presentation prior to final interview. Interviews will take place using a competency-based approach. Similar positions may be filled using this vacancy notice.
Annual salary: (Net of tax) USD 80,629 at single rate USD 86,791 with primary dependants
Online applications are strongly encouraged to enable WHO to store your profile in a permanent database. Please visit WHO's e-Recruitment website at: www.who.int/employment. The system provides instructions for online application procedures.
All applicants are encouraged to apply online as soon as possible after the vacancy has been posted and well before the deadline stated in the vacancy announcement