Assistant Communications Officer

September 19 2025

A (least hardship)

FamilyFamily

NOA

National Professional Officer

Reason

Regular > Regular Assignment

Assistant Communications Officer

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
In line with its Global Communications Strategy UNHCR requires skilled communications professionals to conceive and execute a range of activities that help us lead the narrative on forced displacement generate empathy and mobilize action. This body of work spans communications strategy and coordination news and media relations multimedia content production social media engagement Goodwill Ambassadors and other influencers public outreach and campaigns fundraising analytics and brand.
UNHCRs Assistant Communications Officers need to cultivate a keen understanding of our target audiences - including an up-to-the-minute grasp of the methods and tone of voice that resonate deeply win trust and spark quality engagement. They must be vigilant about editorial and journalistic standards attentive to protection concerns and political sensitivities and focused on communicating successfully with key demographics. These audiences will vary by location language and platform among other factors as well as whether the aim is to inform advocate or raise funds.

The Assistant Communications Officers functions working relationships and skills specializations differ depending on language location grade and whether they sit within a country operation a regional bureau or the Global Communications Service. UNHCRs primary target audiences include public media and policymakers while our main partners and influencers include peers and private sector trusted figures and our own workforce. Some communicators will focus mainly on news and media relations for example while others will produce multimedia content manage social media accounts or lead advocacy campaigns. Forging partnerships with media outlets that reach target audiences is a central role for all Assistant Communications Officers.

All Assistant Communications Officers are expected to work strategically in support of UNHCRs operational and communications objectives for their geographic area of responsibility (AoR) as well as global priorities. Communications approaches should reflect our core values as an organization that is caring trustworthy proactive outcome-focused and responsive. This will reinforce UNHCRs role as the lead agency that protects refugees internally displaced and stateless people and mobilizes action to provide solutions.


All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter UN Staff Regulations and Rules UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability addition staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core functional cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCRs core values of professionalism integrity and respect for diversity.

Duties
- Assist in establishment of close working relationships with television radio and news agencies to promote and ensure the dissemination of UNHCR aims activities and principles.
- Assist in development of working relationships with the Government NGOs and UN Agencies in order to raise interest and develop co-operation in inter-related activities.
- Organize UNHCRs public awareness campaign in the duty station.
- Draft bulletins and updates on UNHCRs operations in the duty station.
- Brief national and international media of developments in UNHCRs operations in the duty stations and accompany visiting media to the refugee camps where applicable.
- Assist in planning and organizing advertisements exhibitions training seminars conferences meetings social events and other activities to promote a better understanding of UNHCRs activities and accomplishments by the general public and/or organized groups.
- Assist in preparation of communication budget.

- Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision making in risk based in the functional area of work. Raise risks issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s).

- Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Years of Experience / Degree Level
For P1/NOA - 1 year relevant experience with Undergraduate degree; or no experience with Graduate degree; or no experience with Doctorate degree

Field(s) of Education
Journalism; International Relations; Political Science;
Communications; Public Information; Media
Film / Video; or other relevant field.

Certificates and/or Licenses
Not specified.

Relevant Job Experience

Essential
Minimum 1 year of professional experience in journalism and/or communications mainly at international level.

Desirable
Strong social media presence. Experience working on advocacy campaigns. Experience working with goodwill ambassadors and other high-profile influencers. Experience with brand management. Experience with measurement and evaluation especially providing analysis of media coverage social media engagement web traffic etc. Experience reporting writing editing for magazines newspapers and websites. Experience using digital asset management systems. Experience with digital analytics and performance reporting.

Functional Skills
CO-Digital content production
CO-Drafting and Documentation
CO-Editing
CO-International Media Contacts
CO-Journalism (incl. print broadcast photography video layout & graphics)
CO-Preparation of key messages/talking points/speeches
CO-Public Speaking
CO-Spokesperson skills
CO-Video production for digital platforms (including news organizations)
IT-Web Content Management
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements
For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.


All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse harassment including sexual harassment sexism gender inequality discrimination and abuse of power.

As individuals and as managers all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.

This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening shortlisting and selection of candidates.

UNHCR Peru is seeking a creative and motivated individual to coordinate its communication efforts. The ideal candidate should have:
At least 2 years of proven experience leading a communications team including developing and implementing communication strategies
Proven experience in designing communication campaigns related to social or humanitarian topics ideally related to forcibly displaced persons
Proven experience in managing media relations including developing press materials coordinating interviews and maintaining strong networks with local and international journalists.
In-depth understanding of the Peruvian political cultural and humanitarian context
Proven experience in stakeholder management in particular the government UN agencies the civil society and donors
Experience working with an international NGO or UN agency with a focus on ensuring accurate ethical and timely coverage of humanitarian and development issues would be an asset
Experience in the monitoring of social media and in producing multimedia assets including videos and social media content tailored to diverse target audiences
Excellent communication skills as well as written and oral language skills both in English (B2 minimum) and in Spanish (C2 minimum)
Excellent analytical thinking planning and organizing skills
Strong leadership and decision-making skills
Experience in preparing internal and external communications documents such as press releases talking points key messages etc.
Experience with designing and producing and disseminating visibility materials particularly for donors would be an asset
Experience in planning coordinating and executing public events including logistics outreach and visibility.

This position is based in LIMA Peru.

Please note that this is a local recruitment. All candidates must provide a proof of permanent residency at the time of application.

This vacancy is open to internal candidates (i.e. staff members with an indefinite or fixed-term appointment in the same category as the position advertised) and candidates with UNHCR experience at the time of application (i.e. current staff members in other categories JPOs staff members on temporary appointment affiliate workforce interns and staff loaned/seconded) will be considered for regular appointments and assignments.

Please note that this position is offered under an initial one-year Fixed-term appointment. Extension is subject to operational needs budget and performance.
Only short-listed candidates will be notified and might be requested to sit a test and/or a functional assessment. No late applications will be accepted.

Recruitment as a UNHCR staff member is subject to proof of vaccination against Covid-19.

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted based on the information submitted during the application. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications. No amendment addition deletion revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

UNHCR does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application interview meeting processing training or any other fees).

The UNHCR workforce consists of many diverse nationalities cultures languages and opinions. UNHCR seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. Applications are encouraged from all qualified candidates without distinction on grounds of race color sex national origin age religion disability sexual orientation and gender identity. All applications willl be treated with the strictest confidentiality.

English

Spanish

Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

To view occupational safety and health considerations for this duty station please visit this link:

of Position:

With over 1.5 million Venezuelans out of which 532K are asylum-seekers Peru is the second destination country for Venezuelan nationals only after Colombia and the first host country for Venezuelan asylum-seekers worldwide.

UNHCR and partners have supported over 244.000 persons in 2023 with legal assistance psychosocial support core relief items multipurpose cash grants access to shelter and safe spaces for people with specific needs especially survivors of SGBV and economic inclusion projects among others.

This position supervised by the External Relations Officer serves as the leader of UNHCR Perus Communication team which aims to develop and implement of a comprehensive communications line with UNHCRs global communication objectivesleading the narrative generating empathy and mobilizing support for the organization and the forcibly displacedthe incumbent will advance the operations strategic priorities. These priorities include combating xenophobia reinforcing the protection narrative and amplifying UNHCRs mandate and role ensuring that the operations work is visible impactful and resonates with diverse audiences.

The incumbent will collaborate with key actors including media other UN agencies civil society donors and refugees to amplify advocacy messages create impactful multimedia content and support fundraising addition to engaging external audiences the incumbent will work closely with colleagues across the UNHCR Peru operation senior management expert teams and regional communications colleagues to strengthen internal awareness of UNHCRs mandate and role aligning messaging across teams and ensuring the consistent and timely delivery of communication products.
The position also involves the supervision of the social media accounts and any media communication output. The incumbent will play a critical role in producing multimedia assets including videos explainers and social media content tailored to diverse target audiences. By leading the editorial and design calendar the incumbent will define key communication priorities establish deadlines and ensure the smooth production and dissemination of materials for key moments and campaigns.

Living and Working Conditions:

• Despite the security concerns mentioned below and the current stranded health situation Lima - category A - is a family duty station having good medical services. The recreational facilities schools and hotels are of international standards. There are possibilities of renting private accommodation as well as good banking and currency exchange facilities available at the airport terminal local banks shopping malls and main hotels; there is also unlimited access to communication options such as the internet telephone sim cards etc. Lima is a modern city with a great variety of commercial economic cultural and industrial activities.

• No vaccinations are required to enter the country; however it is important to check if the itinerary of the incumbent includes endemic areas of malaria dengue or yellow fever to take precautionary prevention measures.

• February is the hottest month in Lima with an average temperature of 24 C and the coldest is August at 17 C.

• Lima is considered of Low-Security level according to the security Level system methodology.

• The most frequent crimes reported nationwide are violent assaults in the streets occurring at night extortion robberies in hotels restaurants and malls.

• Traffic accidents have become a public health issue nationwide due to driving negligence low road safety as well as climatic factors.

• It is strongly advised to avoid using ATMs or banking services without basic precautions and if necessary use of credit and debit cards which should never leave one s sight to prevent possible fraud through cloning. Also avoid withdrawing large amounts of cash use cashier cheques as much as possible or electronic transactions.

• Social unrest is frequently reported in the city of Lima due to its media impact with demonstrations; however these are also registered in other cities of the coastal regions. These actions mainly related to socio-environmental conflicts cause roadblocks and demonstrations in Lima tending to happen at the historical downtown area near the Congress and in areas where the main government buildings are located showing a recent tendency towards localized violence thereby stressing the government crowd control mechanisms.

• Peru is a highly exposed country to natural disasters in particular as it is seismic with several instances of devastating earthquakes and tremors; therefore the possibility of earthquakes is expected at any time.

Additional Qualifications

Skills

CO-Digital content production CO-Drafting and Documentation CO-Editing CO-International Media Contacts CO-Journalism (incl. print broadcast photography video layout & graphics) CO-Preparation of key messages/talking points/speeches CO-Public Speaking CO-Spokesperson skills CO-Video production for digital platforms (including news organizations) IT-Web Content Management

Bachelor of Arts: Communication Bachelor of Arts: International Relations Bachelor of Arts: Journalism Bachelor of Arts: Media Bachelor of Arts: Political Science Bachelor of Arts: Public Information

Certifications

Competencies

Accountability Analytical thinking Client & results orientation Commitment to continuous learning Communication Empowering & building trust Innovation & creativity Organizational awareness Political awareness Teamwork & collaboration

Additional Information

This position requires Functional Clearance