Project Communications & Public Relations Assistant (Open to internal & external applicants)

Tiered Approach

In line with the commitment to safeguard capacity and support personnel already in the Organization, a majority of UNDP UNCDF/UNV vacancies are advertised using a tiered application process whereby:

• Tier 0: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV IP staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments, whose posts will be abolished, or contracts will be terminated or not renewed during 2026.
• Tier 1: Other UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments
• Tier 2: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA), personnel on regular PSA contracts, and Expert and Specialist UN Volunteers
• Tier 3 or no tier indicated: All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates

Please make note of the Tier(s) indicated in the vacancy title, if any, and ensure that you satisfy the eligibility to apply.

Background

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet. The Fiji multi-country office covers ten countries including Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Republic of Naoero, Palau, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu as well as provides support to regional initiatives.

UNDP in the Pacific has developed its Multi-Country Programme Document (MCPD, 2023-2027) to guide its interventions in the next five years in full alignment and directly to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF, 2023–2027). The Office covers 10 countries in the Pacific with an extensive portfolio which has grown over time. The UNSDCF and UNDP MCPD are designed in full alignment with the 2030 agenda, Samoa Pathway, and 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, which is endorsed by the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) among others. The UNDP Pacific Office next five-year plan strategic priorities are encapsulated under three outcome areas: (i) Planet, (ii) Prosperity, and (iii) Peace. Following a strategic review process which was completed in June 2022, UNDP Pacific office structure is aligned to the emerging priorities of the office. In this regard, the programme portfolio will include mutually reinforcing work streams crafted around two clusters (i) Resilience and Climate Change; and (ii) Inclusive Growth and Effective Governance, supported by a policy and innovations team, operations team, management programme and oversight team, which provides strategic guidance on results management and compliance entrusted with the corporate alignment, programme finance management and quality assurance, and a strategic communications team, which provides knowledge management and communication support to all programme interventions.

Fiji is among the most disaster-prone countries in the Pacific and is exposed to tropical cyclones, floods, storm surges, landslides, droughts, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic hazards, disease outbreaks and the increasing impacts of climate change. These hazards continue to affect lives, livelihoods, infrastructure, ecosystems and national development.

The National Disaster Management Act 2024 establishes the National Disaster Risk Management Office (NDRMO) as the lead agency responsible for coordinating disaster risk management, disaster risk reduction, disaster preparedness, response, and recovery and resilience-building across Fiji. The Act further provides for the establishment of Divisional Disaster Risk Management Offices to strengthen sub-national coordination and implementation of disaster risk management.

To support implementation of the National Disaster Management Act 2024, the National Disaster Risk Reduction Policy 2018–2030, the National Disaster Risk Management Plan, the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) Initiative and the Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (MHEWS) Roadmap, the Government of Fiji, through the UNDP Green Climate Fund Programme, will recruit a Communications & Public Relations Assistant to lead strategic communications, public information, media engagement and awareness activities that promote disaster risk reduction, climate resilience and the objectives of the GCF EW4All Project and the NDRMO.

Working under the technical direction of the Manager Emergency Planning Coordination (NDRMO) and the Project Manager - EW4All, the Project Communications & Public Relations Assistant will ensure timely, accurate, and accessible disaster information, strengthen public confidence, and support the implementation of Fiji’s Multi Hazard Early Warning System (MHEWS) and Common Alerting Protocol (CAP).

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:

The incumbent will serve as the primary focal point for:

• Strategic Communications: develop and implement communication strategies, annual plans, and public education campaigns.
• Disaster Risk Communication: lead awareness initiatives, risk communication strategies, and behaviour change campaigns.
• Media & Partnerships: build strong partnerships with broadcasters, telecoms, and digital platforms to ensure rapid dissemination of alerts.
• Emergency Public Information: coordinate official messaging during National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) activations, ensuring consistency and accuracy.
• Digital Engagement: manage NDRMO’s website, social media, and digital channels with inclusive, multilingual content.
• Trust & Feedback: establish mechanisms to counter misinformation, strengthen transparency, and capture community feedback for continuous improvement.

1.Provide strategic and risk communications:

• Strategy & Planning: develop and implement NDRMO’s Communication Strategy, Annual Communication Plan, and national public awareness campaigns supporting disaster risk reduction (DRR), preparedness, response, and recovery.
• Risk & Emergency Communication: lead proactive risk communication to promote accurate and consistent public information before, during, and after disasters.
• Programme Integration: coordinate communication strategies for key NDRMO initiatives, including the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Early Warnings for All (EW4All) Project, Fiji’s Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (MHEWS), and the National Common Alerting Protocol (CAP).

2.Disseminate emergency operations & public information:

• NEOC Coordination: serve as the focal point for public information during National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) activations, ensuring real-time, accurate, and consistent official warnings and situation reports.
• Direct Dissemination: leverage the National CAP Platform to coordinate multi-channel public warnings across broadcasters, mobile networks, social media, websites, and community channels.

3.Facilitate media engagement & stakeholder partnerships:

• Partner Collaboration: build and maintain strong working relationships with the Ministry of Information, Ministry of Communications, broadcasters, telecommunications providers, and digital platforms.
• Misinformation & Public Trust: monitor media channels to detect misinformation/disinformation, issuing rapid clarifications and official myth-busting updates to preserve public confidence.
• Media Management: lead media relations, issue press releases, organize briefings, and prepare speeches, advisories, and official statements.

4.Lead in digital engagement, content creation & inclusion:

• Digital Platforms: manage NDRMO’s official website, social media, and digital channels with accurate, timely, and engaging content.
• Accessible Content Development: produce diverse content (infographics, short videos, podcasts, newsletters) ensuring products are culturally appropriate, multilingual, and fully accessible to persons with disabilities and vulnerable groups.

5.Gauge community feedback, and support M&E & knowledge management:

• Feedback Loops: establish and manage community feedback mechanisms (including post-event evaluations) to measure public trust, warning comprehension, and information reach.
• Analytics & Performance Reporting: monitor media analytics, track campaign effectiveness, and prepare periodic performance reports with actionable recommendations for continuous improvement.
• Documentation & Donor Visibility: oversee photography, videography, and documentation for key events, ensuring full compliance with donor visibility and reporting requirements (including GCF).

6.Manage flagship campaigns and initiatives:

The incumbent will directly drive and manage the following core campaigns:

• “Know Your Risk Fiji” Campaign: a year-round, multi-media national awareness initiative promoting disaster risk reduction across traditional and digital platforms.
• Monthly Hazard Awareness Calendar: targeted seasonal campaigns aligned with Fiji's primary hazards (cyclones, flooding, drought, tsunamis, and fire).
• Disaster Ready Fiji Schools Initiative: tailored communication packages, educational toolkits, and interactive preparedness activities for primary and secondary schools.
• Community Champions Programme: training and equipping community leaders, faith-based organizations, women's clubs, and youth ambassadors to amplify life-saving preparedness messages.
• Rapid Myth-Busting & Rumour Management Unit: an active monitoring mechanism to identify public confusion during disasters and publish instant, verified clarifications.
• Multi-Platform Public Warning Framework: operational coordination with telecoms, media houses, and local networks to guarantee automated, seamless alert delivery through the CAP platform.

7.The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Competencies

Core Competencies

Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Demonstrate focus on achieving quality results and impact

Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Look beyond conventional approaches and established methods

Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: Actively pursue opportunities for learning and self-development professionally and personally

Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: Be flexible in handling change, and adopt new ideas, approaches and ways of working

Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: Pursue everything with motivation and drive

Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Act in a way that demonstrates empathy and emotional intelligence, showing consideration for the needs and feelings of others

Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Treat all individuals with respect, consider ethical implications and respond sensitively to all differences among people

Cross-Functional & Technical Compentencies

Business Direction & Strategy

• Strategic Thinking: Develop effective strategies and prioritised plans in line with UNDP’s mission and objectives, based on the systemic analysis of challenges, opportunities and potential risks; link the general vision to reality on the ground to create tangible targeted solutions; learn from a variety of sources to anticipate and effectively respond to both current and future trends; demonstrate foresight.

Business Management

• Partnerships Management: Build and maintain partnerships with wide networks of stakeholders, Governments, civil society and private sector partners, experts and others in line with UNDP strategy and policies.
• Communication: Communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience. Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels.

Digital

• Social Media: Knowledge of social media and ability to advise the use of social media for development outcomes.

External Relations & Advocacy - General (across the functions)

• Public Relations: Ability to build and maintain an overall positive public image for the organisation, its mandate and its brand, while ensuring that individual campaigns and other communications and advocacy initiatives are supported in reaching the public.
• Digital Literacy: Ability to apply terms and concepts from digital communications in daily work.
• Multimedia writing/editing: Ability to create and/or edit written content for multimedia.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Secondary education is required, OR
• A University Degree (Bachelor’s degree) in communications, journalism, public relations, or another related discipline would be given due consideration but not a requirement

Experience:

Minimum of 5 years (with high school diploma) or 2 years (with bachelor’s degree) of demonstrated experience in strategic communications, media relations, and public awareness campaigns is required.

Required Skills

Experience in the use of computers, office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and web-based management systems, and advanced knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages.

Desired Skills

• Demonstrated experience in strategic communications, public awareness campaigns, and public relations within disaster risk management, climate change, or development programs.
• Proven excellence in professional writing, editing, and content creation for diverse platforms, including articles, social media campaigns, newsletters, blogs, press releases, and public multimedia materials.
• Hands-on experience in supporting public safety messaging, emergency communications, or multi-hazard early warning dissemination channels.
• Proven Familiarity with Fiji’s Disaster Risk Management Framework, the National Disaster Management Act 2024, the Fiji National Disaster Risk Reduction Policy 2018–2030, and the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative.
• Demonstrated ability in translating complex technical information (such as Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems and Common Alerting Protocols) into accessible, clear public outreach materials.

Language

• Fluency in English is a requirement.
• Working knowledge of the local languages Fiji Hindi or iTaukei is desirable.

Equal opportunity

As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination.

UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.

Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority

UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles.

Right to select multiple candidates

UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

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