South Sudan: South Sudan: Humanitarian Liaison Officer

GENERAL FUNCTION

Internews Network is an international media development organization based in Arcata, CA and Washington, DC whose mission is to empower local media worldwide to give people the news and information they need, the ability to connect, and the means to make their voices heard. Internews has been working in South Sudan since 2006 to establish community radio stations across the country, and to train South Sudanese journalists to operate them. We also implement other activities across the sector, including actively working to meet the critical information needs of the South Sudanese communities who have been impacted by the recent conflict.

Internews is starting an exciting new project to meet the information needs of the more than 100,000 Sudanese refugees in Northern Unity, including in the Yida settlement, Ajuong Thuk Refugee Camp, and eventually Pamir camp, currently under construction. The Humanitarian Liaison Officer (HLO) will develop Internews’ effectiveness in humanitarian programming and critical humanitarian partnership building. S/he will work closely with UN Agencies and humanitarian partners to help them communicate critical information to communities through multiple platforms, including a potential new community radio station. The HLO will work closely with communities to ensure they have a voice and a way to give their feedback on services provided. The position in based in Yida and Jam Jang, South Sudan for the duration of the project, with frequent travel between the sites as required. The HLO reports to Humanitarian Project Manager and works closely with the HPM on project planning and coordination.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead on relationships with humanitarian partners (UN and NGO) relevant to the two sites to strategize about messaging; represent Internews in all relevant coordination fora and through bilateral interaction with key partners; maintain and update a database with relevant contacts.
• Explore new ways of engaging with communities and channeling their feedback to humanitarian service providers. Produce a weekly headlines document that is shared with NGOs to reflect community concerns.
• Conduct one-to-one meetings with UN agencies and partner NGOs to assess current Communication with Communities needs and gaps, and to strengthen their overarching CWC strategies.
• Support agencies to have a better understanding of the communications tools and strategies they can deploy for improved community awareness, engagement, mobilization and accountability by delivering presentations, training sessions and workshops.
• Support partners to operate in a more strategic and coordinated way to identify critical issues to pool together CWC and accountability resources for greater program impact.
• Provide capacity building support to senior managers, team leaders and community mobilization teams to strengthen their knowledge of CWC techniques and tools.
• Identify multiple communications channels agencies could potentially employ to strengthen community engagement – outside of or alongside the Internews Humanitarian Information Service e.g., text messaging, posters, outreach workers, art installations, community dramas or songs - developing more space for agencies to have ‘conversations with communities’ and to respond better.
• Assist trainers in the capacity building of local community correspondents on information gathering techniques, humanitarian communication, including Communications with Communities, behavior change communications, script writing, and technical aspects of mixing program content.
• Manage the audio delivery processes and find innovative ways to expand these e.g., mobile phones, static speaker sites, mobile speakers etc.
• Manage dedicated listening groups, building the number of groups, listeners and sites where the program is played.
• Attend agency meetings as needed.
• Ensure all deliverables are met on time to a high standard.
• Support research activities (including surveys, focus group discussions etc.) to learn and build the program.
• Deliver regular (e.g., weekly M&E) program reports and newsletters and liaise with donors as needed.
• Produce multimedia materials (blog posts, photos, tweets etc.) from the project for external audiences; liaise with communications sections within Internews to promote the project.
• Understanding of and demonstrated commitment to upholding Internews’ Core Values

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Relevant university degree in media, communication, international development, or humanitarian sector
• Experience in Communication with Communities (CwC) projects, and community accountability, with a strong focus on the community feedback loop into the humanitarian system.
• A thorough understanding of the work of humanitarian and development agencies, including working within the UN cluster system.
• A solid background in journalism and/or communication for development.
• Strong communication and diplomatic skills.
• Proven ability to develop and monitor work plans and training plans.
• Practical experience in establishing and operating training programs.
• Experience in designing manuals, training materials, campaigns, promotional items etc.
• Experience living and working in Africa and/or conflict/post-conflict environments.
• Ability to adjust to shifting political circumstances and create programming accordingly.
• Sensitivity to cross-cultural dynamics in the work place and experience supervising staff.
• Must be self-reliant, resourceful, good problem-solver, good humored, and flexible.
• Ability to travel within and spend extended time in the field, with limited facilities, often under harsh conditions.
• Fluency in English required

Please visit: https://chc.tbe.taleo.net/chc06/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=INTERNEWS&cws=1&rid=503