Director, External Relations and Communications Department (DERCD)

UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE NEAR EAST UNRWA

UNRWA is the United Nations agency responsible for the protection, care and human development of a population of some 5 million Palestine refugees living in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic. UNRWA is committed to assisting Palestine refugees in maintaining a decent standard of living, acquiring appropriate knowledge and skills, enjoying the fullest possible extent of human rights, and leading a long and healthy life. UNRWA is the largest UN operation in the Middle East with more than 29,000 staff. Most of these staff are refugees themselves, working directly to benefit their communities - as teachers, doctors, nurses or social workers. For its international team, UNRWA is seeking to employ a qualified:

Director, External Relations and Communications Department (DERCD)

Vacancy Announcement Number 11-HQ-JR-64 Grade D-2 Deadline for Applications 31 January 2012 Duty Station Jerusalem

The incumbent directly reports to the Commissioner-General (CG) and works closely with the Deputy Commissioner-General, the Special Fundraising Executive, the Director of Finance, the Spokesperson, and Programme, Support and Field Directors. In an environment where recurrent and severe funding shortfalls constrain UNRWA’s ability to maintain its services to the requisite levels of quality and consistency, the incumbent will be the Commissioner-General’s principal support in the effort to mobilize the high volumes of funds and resources needed to assure the achievement of UNRWA’s mission.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities • Lead initiatives and activities to obtain the funds and resources needed to sustain and improve UNRWA’s programmes, operations and services, as these are outlined in the Medium Term Strategy 2010-2015, in Field and Headquarters Implementation Plans, and in other planning documents; • Lead and coordinate the Agency-wide implementation of the Resource Mobilization Strategy and other strategies and activities that relate to fundraising and resource mobilization, incorporating the principles and practice of synchronized efforts and coherent messaging; • Refine and enhance on a regular basis UNRWA’s resource mobilization strategies and develop new ones as required, keeping in view the evolving global fundraising situation as it pertains to UNRWA and its needs.

In pursuance of the above, the incumbent explores the following, among other approaches:  the establishment of new donor agreement modalities, including multi-year, performance-based understandings;  the strategic use of multi-lateral fora, including UNRWA’s Advisory Commission, the Arab League, the EU and the UN General Assembly, to advance the achievement of UNRWA’s fundraising goals;  the nurturing of public private partnerships and the utilization of networks with the private sector, Arab diaspora, foundations, UN agencies, etc.; and  enhancing the effectiveness of existing Friends of UNRWA bodies and developing new ones wherever feasible; • Develop and implement in coordination with the Spokesperson and the Commissioner-General’s Office (CGO) communications strategies and coherent messaging that enhance the effectiveness and impact of UNRWA’s external relations, fundraising and resource mobilization objectives; • Lead and manage the External Relations and Communications Department, ensuring that its staff and units function coherently and contribute effectively to UNRWA’s external relations, fundraising and resource mobilization goals. In pursuance of the above, the incumbent will:  supervise the operations of ERCD’s: a) resource mobilization function – which is responsible for donor relations; partnership development; and fundraising b) market intelligence function – to underpin the efforts of the resource mobilization and communications division c) communications function – including developing common messaging and materials development to be conveyed in print, broadcast, internet and social media; and,  work closely and cooperatively with the Heads of UNRWA Representative Offices in New York, Washington, Brussels, Geneva and Cairo, to ensure coherence and maximum impact of the resource mobilization and communications work of these UNRWA Offices;  work closely and cooperatively with Field, Programme and Support Directors to ensure that resource mobilization efforts are well coordinated, and also underpinned by the strengths of UNRWA’s programmes; • Strengthen in-house capacity by recruiting, mentoring and training qualified staff, and/or outsourcing required expertise and skills in the areas of: a) Fundraising, b) donor relations – including managing contributions, monitoring and evaluation of impact of donor contributions, customer care; contracting, c) marketing – product design, d) communication, and e) partnership-building • Work closely with the Director of Human Resources and other senior staff to ensure training and continuous learning for field and headquarters staff in their respective roles in fundraising and communications.

Professional Knowledge and Experience • Advanced university degree in social science, social development, communications, economics, international development, or related field; • Fifteen years of experience including at least eight years in a senior supervisory capacity in a large international or governmental organization, with responsibility for resource mobilization, external relations and/or strategic communications; • Excellent command of written and spoken English.

Competencies • Excellent resource mobilization skills, significant knowledge and experience of the global and regional fundraising and resource-mobilization context, encompassing the governmental and private sectors; • Significant knowledge of the international aid architecture and discourse; • High level of representational abilities; • Proven ability to exercise sound judgment in sensitive, often tense political environments; • Excellent strategic planning and communication skills in the resource mobilization context, including the ability to persuasively promote institutional goals in multilateral settings; • Outstanding management skills, including in the context of leading, supervising and mentoring staff engaged in fundraising and resource mobilization roles in a multi-cultural setting of multiple locations • Demonstrated ability to develop and maintain cordial and collegial relations with staff and interlocutors at all levels; • Excellent analytical and research skills in the areas of fundraising and resource mobilization; • Proven executive writing skills and oral presentation abilities.

Desirable Qualifications • Knowledge of Middle East culture and environment; • Knowledge of the United Nations; • Proficiency in Arabic.

Additional Information The incumbent will be required to travel extensively in the Agency’s area of operations (Gaza, Lebanon, Syrian Arab Republic, Jordan and the West Bank).

Conditions of Service
UNRWA offers an attractive compensation package including annual salary starting at $111,950 net tax free with dependants or ($102,847 without dependants), plus post adjustment of 56.8%. Other benefits, subject to eligibility, include education grant, dependency allowance, home leave, pension fund, health insurance and 6 weeks of annual leave. All UNRWA duty stations (with the exception of Gaza) are family duty stations. Initial contract is for one year, with the possibility of further extensions subject to the availability of funds and the continuing need for the post.

How to Apply To start the application process, applicants are required to register at http://jobs.unrwa.org by creating a personal profile and completing UNRWA Personal History Form. Please note that UNRWA only accepts degrees from accredited educational institutions. Only applications received through http://jobs.unrwa.org will be considered. Due to the large number of applications received, only applicants short-listed for interview will be contacted.

UNRWA does not charge a fee at any stage in the recruitment process.

General Information UNRWA encourages applications from qualified and experienced women.

UNRWA welcomes applications from qualified candidates with disabilities.

UNRWA is a United Nations organization whose staff are expected to uphold the highest standards of integrity, neutrality and impartiality. This includes respect for human rights, for diversity, and for non-violent means of dealing with all kinds of conflict. UNRWA staff are expected to uphold these values at all times, both at work and outside. Only persons who fully and unconditionally commit to these values should consider applying for UNRWA jobs. UNRWA is a non-smoking work environment.

How to apply:

How to Apply To start the application process, applicants are required to register at http://jobs.unrwa.org by creating a personal profile and completing UNRWA Personal History Form. Please note that UNRWA only accepts degrees from accredited educational institutions. Only applications received through http://jobs.unrwa.org will be considered. Due to the large number of applications received, only applicants short-listed for interview will be contacted.

UNRWA does not charge a fee at any stage in the recruitment process.