Mission and objectives

UNFPA is the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency. Our mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. UNFPA Supports: 1. Reproductive health care for women and youth in more than 150 countries – which are home to more than 80 per cent of the world’s population 2. The health of pregnant women, especially the 1 million who face life-threatening complications each month 3. Reliable access to modern contraceptives sufficient to benefit 20 million women a year 4. Training of thousands of health workers to help ensure at least 90 per cent of all childbirths are supervised by skilled attendants 5. Prevention of gender-based violence, which affects 1 in 3 women 6. Abandonment of female genital mutilation, which harms 3 million girls annually 7. Prevention of teen pregnancies, complications of which are the leading cause of death for girls 15-19 years old 8. Efforts to end child marriage, which could affect an estimated 70 million girls over the next 5 years 9. Delivery of safe birth supplies, dignity kits and other life-saving materials to survivors of conflict and natural disaster 10. Censuses, data collection and analyses, which are essential for development planning

Context

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), established in 1967 as the UN Agency for sexual and reproductive health, works in more than 150 countries to promote gender equality and ensure universal access to reproductive health services, guided by its mission to achieve a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. UNFPA advances global and national development priorities by supporting countries to end preventable maternal deaths, addressing unmet need for family planning, and eliminate gender-based violence and harmful practices, in line with the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Program of Action and the Sustainable Development Goals. UNFPA has operated in South Sudan since 2006 and established a full Country Office in 2012, working closely with government institutions, UN agencies, civil society organizations, and development partners to strengthen health systems, expand access to quality reproductive health services, train midwives, improve population data for planning, and prevent and respond to gender-based violence. Within humanitarian and recovery settings, UNFPA delivers life-saving sexual and reproductive health interventions and coordinates technical and protection initiatives to support women, girls, and young people. This online volunteering assignment forms part of UNFPA program portfolio in South Sudan, supporting national priorities and UN cooperation frameworks to enhance rights, resilience, and wellbeing across the country.

Task Description

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of UNFPA South Sudan Emergency Coordinator, the Online Volunteer will carry out the following duties: · Engage with electronic and print media outlets to promote accurate and timely coverage of UNFPA humanitarian work. · Identify compelling stories related to UNFPA humanitarian program and proactively pitch them to national, regional, and international media, while supporting implementing partners to generate field-based content aligned with UNFPA priorities. · In coordination with implementing partners, develop timely and high-quality multimedia materials such as articles, photos, videos and human-interest stories for use across UNFPA country, regional, and global platforms. · Support the management of country social media channels by providing regular updates and integrating humanitarian response messaging into digital outreach. · Draft press releases, fact sheets, talking points, and other rapid-response communication materials for use by UNFPA country, regional and headquarters, offices. · Prepare periodic communications and visibility updates for humanitarian donors, including but not limited to KOICA and ECHO, in line with agreed donor visibility and branding requirements. · Support advocacy initiatives such as public events, campaigns, and high-level missions, including coordination of media engagement and field visits for senior UN officials. · Strengthen collaboration with UN Country Team communications colleagues and partner agencies to identify joint messaging opportunities and advance “One UN” communications approaches. · Establish and maintain effective working relationships with local, regional, and international media, as well as strategic partners, to expand outreach and advocacy opportunities. · Work closely with the UNFPA Country Office communications team to ensure coherence, consistency, and alignment of messaging and products. · Provide technical guidance and mentoring support to communications focal points of implementing partners to enhance content quality and adherence to UNFPA standards. · Contribute to capacity strengthening of staff through knowledge-sharing, practical coaching, and development of simple tools or guidance that improve communications effectiveness. · Any other related tasks may be required or assigned by the supervisor. As an active UNFPA team member, efficient, timely, responsive, client-friendly and high-quality support rendered to UNFPA and its beneficiaries in the accomplishment of her/his functions, including: o Increased visibility of the humanitarian response of UNFPA South Sudan through regular publication of high-quality multimedia content featured on country, regional, or global platforms. o Strengthened media engagement demonstrated by expanded and active media contacts list, proactive pitching of stories, and increased positive media coverage of UNFPA humanitarian work. o Timely production of communication materials for emergencies, including press releases, situation reports, fact sheets, and talking points, ensuring rapid dissemination during priority humanitarian moments. o Consistent donor visibility achieved through monthly and/or periodic communications updates and visibility products that meet branding and reporting requirements for key humanitarian donors, including KOICA, ECHO, and others as assigned. o Enhanced social media presence through regular, coordinated content that integrates humanitarian messaging and aligns with corporate standards and campaign priorities. o Improved coordination and message coherence across UNFPA communications outputs through structured collaboration with the Country Office communications team and adherence to approved messaging frameworks. o Strengthened inter-agency collaboration demonstrated by joint communication initiatives, shared campaigns, or coordinated messaging with UN Country Team partners. o Increased availability of field-based content through strengthened engagement with implementing partners and establishment of simple content-submission workflows or guidance. o Enhanced communications capacity among partners and staff through mentorship sessions, practical guidance tools, or short training that improve storytelling, branding compliance, and content quality. o Effective support to advocacy and visibility events, including senior-level visits and campaigns, resulting in well-documented media coverage and communications packages.

Competencies and values

Living conditions and remarks