Mission and objectivesThe World Health Organization leads and champions global efforts to achieve better health for all. By connecting countries, people and partners, we strive to give everyone, everywhere an equal chance at a safe and healthy life. From emerging epidemics such as COVID-19 and Zika to the persistent threat of communicable diseases including HIV, malaria and tuberculosis and chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer, we bring together 194 countries and work on the frontlines in 150+ locations to confront the biggest health challenges of our time and measurably advance the well-being of the worldโs people.
ContextThe UN Volunteer will provide communications support to all teams in the WHO Country Office, Sri Lanka (WCO-SRL). He/she will work closely with all relevant internal and external staff, including WHO staff across levels, other UN organization staff, Ministry of Health and Mass Media staff, and other non-state and non-profit organization staff, as needed. The objective of the assignment is to inform the public of WCO-SRLโs work and to convey complex health-related information in an easily understandable format using accessible language.
Task DescriptionUnder the general supervision of the WHO Representative to Sri Lanka, and with day-to-day guidance from the Team Lead (Health Systems), the UN Volunteer will work in close consultation with the WCO team to create content for web, social media and print-based platforms, coordinate with government counterparts and relevant stakeholders to design and implement communication campaigns, and support the strengthening of organizational capacity in communications and advocacy. The UN Volunteer is expected to work closely with relevant government officials, WHO staff and partner agencies, and will play a key role in ensuring the effective implementation of the communication strategies and activities as planned; taking into account evolving contexts and the need for cross-sectoral collaboration. Scope of work: The UN Volunteer will support the development and dissemination of communication products in line with WHO communication standards. Key responsibilities include: 1. Content Creation (web and print) โข Proactively create editorial content (stories, photos, infographics, film, etc.) in collaboration with WCO technical officers; adapt for media pitching, web and social media, posting to respective channels; and support print production (design, editing, publishing) whenever necessary. โข Highlight WHO's visibility, achievements and success stories in communication products. โข Create/design templates for โstandardโ communication products. 2. Website update and social media management โข Develop content for WCO website and social media platforms to ensure a robust presence, ensure key deadlines are met for the dissemination of time-sensitive content. โข Coordinate the overall implementation of the communication plan and SOP, including social media engagement strategy to ensure coherence of content across platforms. 3. Media Relations โข Facilitate responding to media inquiries, arrange interviews, and in collaboration with WCO staff, develop speeches, talking points and messages The UN Volunteer is expected to ensure quality and adherence of public information materials to WHO style guide/standards; and to ensure that the necessary internal clearances are obtained before publishing.
Competencies and valuesโข Technical expertise โข Overall attitude at work โข Teamwork โข Communication โข Respecting and promoting individual and cultural differences
Living conditions and remarksColombo is situated on the Western Province of Sri Lanka and is the commercial capital of the country. Colombo is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to the administrative capital, Sri Jayawardenepura, Kotte. The climate is fairly temperate all throughout the year, but humidity is usually high. From March to April the temperature averages around 31 degrees Celsius (88 degrees Fahrenheit). The only major change in the Colombo weather occurs during the monsoon seasons from May to August and October to January when heavy rainfalls occur. Sri Lanka became a member of the United Nations on 14 December 1955. As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging his/her own housing and other living essentials. https://www.unv.org/ You can check full entitlements at the duty station at https://app.unv.org/calculator The complete UN Volunteer Conditions of Service is available at https://explore.unv.org/cos