Chargé(e) de Communication terrain
Organizational Context
For 70 years, UNICEF has been on the ground in 190 countries and territories, working to promote the survival, protection, and development of children. As the world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, safe water and sanitation, quality basic education, and the protection of children from violence, abuse, and HIV/AIDS. UNICEF Benin implements a cooperation program to advance child rights and equality, partnering with the government, civil society, and youth. The Advocacy and Communication section ensures visibility of results and supports advocacy efforts.
Job Purpose
UNICEF Benin seeks a Field Communication Officer to enhance visibility in Northern Benin, document program results, support advocacy, and contribute to content requests from donors and partners. The role is crucial for showcasing achievements, illustrating the realities faced by children and communities, and bolstering institutional communication. The UN Volunteer will join a dynamic team in Natitingou, contributing to the UNICEF-Government cooperation program by producing high-quality field content that highlights successes and community experiences. This position is key to strengthening the communication of the country office's interventions in the North.
Responsibilities
The Field Communication Officer will collect field content and human interest stories by identifying compelling narratives, results, and local initiatives in collaboration with program colleagues and area offices. This involves conducting field missions to gather interviews, photos, and short videos, and writing human interest stories, portraits, photo captions, and activity summaries. The role includes prospecting communication topics aligned with programmatic priorities and donor expectations, preparing proposal notes with key messages and recommended formats, and adapting collected content for various platforms like internal briefs, social media, and web pages. Additionally, the officer will support the communication coverage of field visits, missions, and events in the North, providing readily usable content such as photos and brief updates to increase the visibility of interventions. Proposing innovative formats like mini-portraits, audio testimonials, and short video capsules, and amplifying the voices of communities, especially adolescents and youth, will be key. The officer must ensure content is properly classified, archived, and transmitted, adhering to UNICEF's editorial standards, child protection policies, consent requirements, and image rights, including ethical guidelines for reporting on children.
Work Experience
Minimum of 3 years of experience in communication, journalism, content production, field documentation, or media animation. Experience in collecting testimonials, writing field narratives, and producing content for various media is required. Functional proficiency in photography and video, including smartphone use, is necessary. Experience with UNICEF, international organizations, NGOs, or local media is an asset, as is knowledge of human rights approaches, gender sensitivity, and donor communication requirements. Familiarity with local languages in Northern Benin (Dendi, Fulfulde, Bariba) is also advantageous.
Skills
Key skills include creativity, initiative, excellent organization, planning, and prioritization. Strong ability to meet deadlines, responsiveness, autonomy, and capacity to manage multiple requests simultaneously are essential. Good teamwork, collaboration, rigor, reliability, and a focus on quality are required. The ability to work under pressure, adapt quickly, and possess excellent communication and writing skills is crucial. Field mobility for short-notice assignments is mandatory. Expertise areas include communication, advocacy, public information, art, design, culture, and information technology.