Mission and objectives

UNICEF is mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. UNICEF is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and strives to establish children's rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behaviour towards children. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has been present in Brazil since 1950, supporting the most important changes in childhood and adolescence in the country. UNICEF participated in major immunization and breastfeeding campaigns; the mobilization that resulted in the approval of Article 227 of the Federal Constitution and the drafting of the Child and Adolescent Statute; the movement for universal access to education; programmes to combat child labour; among other great advances in guaranteeing the rights of Brazilian girls and boys. In recent decades, Brazil has promoted a strong process of inclusion of children and adolescents in public policies. However, a significant portion of the population remains excluded. Therefore, in its cooperation programme with the Brazilian Government for the period 2024-2028, UNICEF focuses its efforts on the most vulnerable and excluded girls and boys, with a special focus on children and adolescents who are victims of extreme forms of violence. These children and adolescents in situations of greater vulnerability are spread throughout Brazil, but they are more concentrated in the Amazon, in the Northeast and in large urban centers. Through the UNICEF Seal, UNICEF promotes commitments to guarantee the rights of children and adolescents in the Northeast and in the Amazon regions in Brazil. In large cities, UNICEF works with a focus on reducing intra-municipal inequalities, through the #AgendaCidadeUNICEF.

Context

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is present with 10 offices across Brazil, including one national office in Brasília and 9 Zone Offices. UNICEF has just started a new Country Programme in Brazil for the period 2024- 2028. The programme incorporates significant components related to communication, advocacy, and social & behaviour change (SBC). The Communication Section plays a crucial role in these areas by raising public awareness on child rights issues, creating visibility for UNICEF's initiatives, and collaborating with local communities to foster behavioural changes and advance children's rights. The Communication Section is responsible for achieving outcomes related to communication, public advocacy, and SBC. The Communication Team is distributed between the Brasília Team, which oversees national communication, and the Zone Office Teams, which manage local communication. The Zone Offices are organized by territories, including the Amazon, the Northeast and Southeast regions. Within the Northeast Region, the São Luís Zone Office is currently responsible for the states of Maranhão and Piauí starting in 2025. This assignment, based in São Luís, aims to support the Communication Specialist based in Salvador and the Chief of the São Luís Zone Office in developing and implementing communication, advocacy, and SBC strategies for the states and municipalities under the coordination of the São Luís Zone Office. It includes the following objectives: 1) Supporting the development and execution of local communication and public advocacy strategies for children's rights. 2) Strengthening UNICEF's relationships with the local media. 3) Supporting locally the design and implementation of tailored SBC strategies

Task Description

Under the direct supervision of the Chief of the São Luís Zonal Office, and having the Communication Specialist for the Northeast Territory as a second supervisor, the UN Volunteer will support the Communication Team in implementing communication, advocacy and SBC strategies, undertaking the following tasks: Advocacy • Support the Communication Specialist and the Chief of São Luís ZO in outlining and implementing advocacy strategies focused on the states and municipalities coordinated by the São Luís ZO • Support the development of materials for policy advocacy opportunities. • Support to monitor and to evaluate the appropriate and timely dissemination of advocacy and communication materials to target audiences and participate in the evaluation of their impact. • Support to monitor and to evaluate the use and effectiveness of media materials. Maintain a library of coverage (clippings, coverage etc.) in the territory. • Ensure good quality data collection, analysis, evaluation and reporting to ensure effective communication strategies, planning and advocacy. • Ensure good quality data collection, analysis, evaluation and reporting to ensure effective communication strategies, planning and advocacy. Media Relations • Ensure rapid and accurate information dissemination to the media. • Develop and maintain close collaboration with mass media, as well as with groups and organizations whose support is essential to the achievement of advocacy and communication objectives. • Draft and edit articles, press releases, human interest stories and other advocacy/information materials in all media formats, as appropriate. • Support the development of background communication and promotional materials for briefing and visits of media and other special interest groups. • Collaborate with the media through activities such as organizing project site visits, facilitating photo coverage and TV footage and utilizing both web-based and traditional media as appropriate. • Support to monitor and to evaluate the use and effectiveness of media materials. • Support the Communication Specialist based in Salvador and the Communication Section in Brasília in compiling a daily media monitoring report that analyses UNICEF’s presence and topics of interest for advocacy and fundraising in the media. Social Behaviour Change Communication • Support the strategy design and implementation of SBC activities and participation mechanisms in both development and humanitarian contexts, if applicable. • Assess and recommend potential contacts, networks, resources and tools to support the maximum outreach of SBC initiatives. • Collect and assess information for budget planning and management of programme funds, monitor/track and report the use of resources as planned and verify compliance with organizational guidelines. • Support building and maintaining partnerships through networking and proactive collaboration with national and international civil society organizations, UN agencies and public authorities to reinforce cooperation through engagement, empowerment and self-determination of target vulnerable groups.

Competencies and values

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS). The UNICEF competencies required and expected for this post are: Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness; Works Collaboratively with others; Builds and Maintains Partnerships; Innovates and Embraces Change; Thinks and Acts Strategically; Drive to achieve impactful results; Manages ambiguity and complexity. • Integrity and professionalism; demonstrated expertise in area of specialty and ability to apply good judgment; high degree of autonomy, personal initiative and ability to take ownership. • Accountability; effective organizational and problem-solving skills and ability to manage a large volume of work in an efficient and timely manner. • Teamwork and respect for diversity; good spoken and written communication skills, including ability to prepare clear and concise reports; ability to make and defend recommendations; capacity to transfer information and knowledge to a wide range of different target groups; flexibility, adaptability, and ability and willingness to operate independently genuine commitment towards the principles of voluntary engagement; and commitment towards the UN core values.

Living conditions and remarks

The city of São Luís has an area of 312,353 km² and 2,428,678 inhabitants according to the 2022 Demographic Census, in addition to the highest demographic density among the country's capitals, with 8,390.76 inhabitants/km². It is the largest city in the North and Northeast regions in terms of population and the fourth in Brazil. The Metropolitan Region of São Luís is the sixth most populous in Brazil and the first in the North and Northeast, with more than 4 million inhabitants in 2017. Currently, it is the eleventh richest city in the country in terms of GDP and the 1st richest in the Northeast, with 65 billion reais (GDP of the municipalities). It also has the third richest metropolitan region in the North and Northeast regions. It is an important industrial and commercial center in Brazil, with the eighth largest municipal purchasing power in the nation. It is located on the Atlantic coast, at an average altitude of sixteen meters, with 34 km of beaches. The cost of living in São Luís, Maranhão, is considered relatively low compared to other capitals in the Northeast, offering a good quality of life with access to beaches, historical heritage and leisure options. Average monthly rent for a one bedroom apartment may rank from U$400 to U$700, depending on the location. Health public services are available and with no-cost accessible to all residents, as it is the norm of the Brazilian public health system. Private health services are also available both for emergencies and regular assistance in all types of conditions/diseases. There is a good range of services, including supermarkets, shopping malls, hospitals, and gyms, as well as an efficient transportation and delivery system. Transportation apps operate efficiently, and fiber optic internet infrastructure is growing in the city. As this is a national UN Volunteer assignment, the UN Volunteer will be responsible for arranging their own housing and other living essentials. National UN Volunteers are part of the malicious insurance plan. Brazil is security level 3 (moderate). United Nations Department of Safety and Security UNDSS Brazil advises to exercise a high degree of caution in Brazil due to high levels of serious and violent crime, particularly in major cities. Violent crime as muggings, armed robbery, kidnappings, and sexual assault, is very high. Avoid shanty towns (favelas) in the big cities and if you are attacked or robbed, do not resist. Demonstrations can occur at any time and may turn violent with little or no warning. All United Nations personnel must scrupulously comply with UNDSS procedures and recommendations during their assignment in Brazil. For missions in rural areas or indigenous reservations, special procedures may apply; UN personnel should consult with the local DSS office in advance. Information on entitlements at the duty station is available at https://app.unv.org/calculator. The complete UN Volunteer Conditions of Service is available at https://explore.unv.org/cos