Mission and objectives

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, UN-Habitat, is the agency for human settlements. It is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. UN-Habitat is the coordinating agency within the United Nations System for human settlement activities and in collaboration with governments is responsible for promoting and consolidating collaboration with all partners, including local authorities, private and non-governmental organizations in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular, Goal 11 of “Making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”, as well as the task manager of the human settlements chapter of Agenda 21 and focal point for the monitoring, evaluation and implementation of the New Urban Agenda adopted during the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III),held in Quito, Ecuador, in 2016.

Context

The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) was established in 1978 as the UN’s agency for human settlements and sustainable urban development. Its mandate is to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities, with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. UN-Habitat works with governments, local authorities, civil society, and other partners to advance the New Urban Agenda and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. The External Relations, Strategy, Knowledge and Innovation Division (ERSKID) leads UN-Habitat’s corporate strategy, external partnerships, resource mobilization, advocacy, communications, and knowledge management. ERSKID plays a central role in strengthening the agency’s visibility, influence, and stakeholder engagement at the global level.

Task Description

Under the direct supervision of the Chief of Communication, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks: • Develop and implement a comprehensive digital communication strategy, including social media strategy, to enhance UN-Habitat’s global digital presence, with a focus on amplifying the World Urban Forum (WUF). • Manage UN-Habitat’s social media accounts, ensuring strategic content planning, au-dience engagement, and performance optimization, with dedicated attention to WUF-related campaigns. • Provide dedicated support and contribute content to the World Urban Forum social media accounts and campaign outputs. • Design and produce high-quality multimedia and communication materials for digital and promotional use, including graphics, videos, infographics, live content, presenta-tion deck, flyers, posters, advocacy toolkit and adaptable templates, ensuring visual consistency and platform optimization, particularly for WUF communication needs. • Develop and maintain a content calendar aligned with key international events and UN-Habitat activities, with dedicated campaigns for major UN-Habitat events such as the World Urban Forum. • Develop engagement strategies and identify opportunities to strengthen connections with target audiences, including youth, policymakers, media, and urban development practitioners, in line with UN-Habitat’s priorities and WUF’s global agenda. • Source and repurpose content from the different UN-Habitat offices while maintaining consistency in branding and messaging. • Provide real-time social media coverage for live events, including conferences, high-level meetings, and sessions of the World Urban Forum. • Monitor conversations, comments, and mentions across digital platforms, ensuring timely and appropriate responses in coordination with relevant UN-Habitat offices. • Develop strategic responses to sensitive social media inquiries and issues, advising senior management on recommended approaches. • Track, analyze and report on the performance of UN-Habitat’s social media and digital campaigns, including monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs), audience en-gagement, reach and impact, using analytics tools to provide regular reports, including on WUF campaigns. • Provide insights and recommendations based on data analysis to inform content crea-tion, adjust ongoing initiatives, and strengthen overall digital communication strategies. • Establish and maintain strategic partnerships with key stakeholders, social media influencers, and media outlets to amplify UN-Habitat’s messages and campaigns, with emphasis on WUF visibility. • Train and provide guidance to UN-Habitat staff in headquarters and outposted offices on best practices for digital engagement. • Research global trends, best practices, and emerging tools in social media and digital communications and recommend their integration into UN-Habitat’s strategy. • Manage reputational risks in the digital space, including identifying and flagging potential risks, responding to misinformation, and contributing to the development of strategic responses. • Stay abreast of digital communication trends, measuring impact and adjusting content strategies as needed, ensuring continuous improvement of WUF campaigns. • Perform other related duties as required. Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to: • Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for in-stance in events that mark International Volunteer Day). • Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country. • Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities. • Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publica-tions/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.; • Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly arrived UN Volunteers. • Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

Competencies and values

Communication Planning and Organizing Professionalism

Living conditions and remarks

The Republic of Kenya is an equatorial nation on the coast of East Africa, neighboring Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, and the Indian Ocean. Kenya has two levels of Government; National Government and 47 sub-national Governments called Counties. Counties are further divided into sub-counties. Kenya is a multi-party state with Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. Kenya’s population of more than 40 million is growing at an annual rate of 2.2%. The country’s GNP per capita estimated at purchasing power parity (PPP) is $975, and the GNP is growing at an average rate of 0.1% annually. More than 26% of Kenya’s people live below the international poverty line of $1 per day. Kenya’s main food crops are “maize, wheat, pulses, roots and tubers.” (FAO). Nairobi is a modern metropolitan city where most basic goods and services, health facilities, public transport, telecommunication and banking services and educational facilities are readily available. The city is widely connected through its main airport, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and the smaller Wilson Airport. Air transport is also available to many up-country destinations. The city is home to some 3,000 UN personnel mainly attributed to the fact that it serves as the headquarters for both the UN HABITAT and UNEP. The socio-economic and cultural background of the immediate society the UNV would be living and working in is diverse and prevailing security conditions at the place of assignment is modest. The topographic and climatic features of the assignment location is highland cool and warm tropical climate. Link to the Entitlement Calculator: https://app.unv.org/calculator