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Special Notice

Staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and to assignment by him or her. In this context, all staff are expected to move periodically to new functions in their careers in accordance with established rules and procedures.

This position is subject to local recruitment pursuant to staff rule 4.4 of the United Nations Staff Rules. All staff in the General Service and related categories shall be recruited in the country or within commuting distance of each office, irrespective of their nationality and of the length of time they may have been in the country. A staff member subject to local recruitment shall not be eligible for the allowances or benefits exclusively applicable to international recruitment.

Passing the Global General Service Test (GGST) is a prerequisite for recruitment consideration in the General Services and related categories in the United Nations Secretariat. Applicants who have not passed the GGST at the time of application may be invited for the test after submitting an application. Having passed the Administrative Support Assessment Test in English at the United Nations Headquarters, Economic Commission for Africa, Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, United Nations Office at Geneva, United Nations Office at Vienna, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda or International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia; or the United Nations Accounting or Statistical Assistant Examination at the United Nations Headquarters may be accepted in lieu of the GGST.

Org. Setting and Reporting

These posts are located in the News Monitoring Unit (NMU) of the Coverage and Media Services Branch (CMSB), of the News and Media Division (NMD), Department of Public Information (DPI). NMU monitors global media coverage about the United Nations and major international developments as well as issues and events of concern and interest to the Organisation, in order to produce several products for distribution to senior officials and UN staff for their perusal. The incumbent reports to the Chief of Unit.

Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Chief of News Monitoring Unit, the Public Information Assistant is responsible for the following duties:

• Researches a broad scope of information sources such as global media and open source outlets and utilises the Internet and online media monitoring tools and news aggregators in order to monitor global media coverage – both, traditional and social – in official UN languages about the United Nations, its officials and major international developments, as well as issues and events of concern and interest to the Organisation and its senior officials;

• Provides specialized assistance in the production and delivery of information communications products and services, including clippings, headlines, press reviews, media analyses and monthly reports;

• Uses sound political judgment to select relevant and legitimate material and to analyse and interpret it correctly and accurately;

• Serves as an information focal point for a number of assigned United Nations Information Centres (UNICs); reviews, evaluates, selects and edits their contributions for inclusion in NMU’s daily products;

• Identifies and prepares new material for inclusion in appropriate web pages, including iSeek by: researching various information sources for relevant material and cross-checking information with author offices as required; editing documents to conform to UN format, structure and style and preparing new pages, incorporating graphics as needed; posting documents on the UN website; checking and testing for multiple browser support, etc.;

• Manages updates and further develops internal databases; generates a variety of standard and non-standard statistical and other reports from various databases;

• Maintains and updates NMU subscribers’ mailing lists; Liaises directly with subscribers across the UN system to provide feedback and answer queries, including those by senior UN officials;

• Coordinates IT, logistic and technical arrangements/requests;

• Provides general office and information management support;

• Provides guidance and training to interns;

• Performs other duties, as assigned.

Competencies

Professionalism:
Knowledge of policies, processes and procedures related to the communication, production and dissemination of public information. Knowledge of international current affairs, global media outlets, commercial and open source news aggregators and monitoring tools and practices. Ability to search, gather, summarise and analyse diverse information from a variety of sources. Ability to draft and compile a variety of written communication products in a clear, concise style. Ability to demonstrate an understanding of the global media landscape. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

Client Orientation:
Considers all those to whom services are provided to be “clients” and seeks to see things from clients’ point of view; establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; identifies clients’ needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients’ environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Technological Awareness:
Keeps abreast of available technology; understands applicability and limitation of technology to the work of the office; actively seeks to apply technology to appropriate tasks; shows willingness to learn new technology.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent.

Work Experience

A minimum of seven years of experience in public communication, international broadcasting or related area is required. Experience in media monitoring and analysis is required. Experience in drafting and summarising news articles is required. Experience in using monitoring tools and news aggregators is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in English is required. Fluency in French is desirable. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is an advantage.

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.