Associate Programme Officer (Communication and Advocacy)

Position description

The International Training Centre of the ILO (ITC-ILO) is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity among its staff. Applicants from non- or under-represented member States, or from those member States which staffing forecasts indicate will become non- or under-represented in the near future would be particularly welcome. A list of these countries can be found here: ILO Jobs: Non- andunder-represented Member States.

Qualified candidates living with a disability are encouraged to apply. Reasonable accommodation measures may be provided to applicants with disabilities, upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. If you are unable to complete ouronline Application form due to a disability, or if you would like to request accommodation measures to participate to the selection process, please send an email to [email protected].

This vacancy is being filled by competition in accordance with Article 1.2 and Annex H of the Staff Regulations of the Centre.

Conditions of employment are listed in the Additional Information section of the notice of vacancy.

INTRODUCTION

The International Training Centre of the ILO (ITCILO) is the training arm of the International Labour Organization (ILO), a United Nations Specialized Agency dedicated to promoting social justice and decent work. ITCILO delivers training, learning, and capacity development services to governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations, and other partners in support of decent work and sustainable development.

Organizational Setting – Within ITCILO, the Learning Innovation Programme (LIP) drives the design of sustainable learning and communication solutions, with a double mandate: to strengthen the Centre’s in-house capacity in state-of-the-art learning, communication and knowledge-sharing, and to provide communication advisory and implementation services to external partners worldwide, including United Nations agencies, multilateral development banks, international and regional organizations, governmental institutions, and non-governmental actors.

Main Purpose – The Associate Programme Officer (Communication and Advocacy) position is in LIP and supports ITCILO’s expanding role as a strategic communication service provider and partner to key stakeholders across the international development ecosystem.

Team Role – Under the close supervision of the Head of Communication and Advocacy and the Chief of LIP, the incumbent operates within specific delegated areas of responsibility.

Partnership – As part of the unit team, the incumbent liaises and interacts with colleagues, counterparts, officers, and technical staff in ITCILO, ILO headquarters and field offices, and with governments officials, international organizations, and external collaborators.  

Results – As a key member of the team, the incumbent will play a pivotal role in designing and delivering communication solutions that amplify development initiatives, that contribute to the cost-recovery of the programme portfolio, enhance the visibility of institutional mandates, and drive engagement through human-centred storytelling and innovation. His/her actions impact on the team’s achievements and specific deliverables are pre-set by the supervisor and the Chief of LIP and are reflected in the individual annual work plan, in line with established programmes priorities and the Centre’s results-based management framework.

Functional responsibilities

Specifically, the Associate Programme Officer (Communication and Advocacy) will perform the following duties:

• Assist in the delivery of communication advisory and implementation services to external partners (UN agencies, multilateral development banks, governments, NGOs, etc.) across all stages of the communication project lifecycle—from needs analysis and strategy design to content production and dissemination.
• Actively contribute to training-related delivery where communication solutions are embedded into participatory workshops or labs, including hands-on sessions with stakeholders to co-create outputs and build institutional communication capacities.
• Assist in developing and implementing integrated communication strategies for ITCILO and its external clients, applying technical audiovisual and multimedia expertise, co-creation, and human-centered design approaches.
• Support the execution of multi-platform advocacy campaigns that align with the thematic goals of UN system partners and development institution, including the development of detailed campaign plans with defined objectives, audience segmentation, key messaging, platform strategy, and performance metrics (e.g. engagement rate, reach, conversion goals). Ensure each campaign includes a monitoring and evaluation framework with baseline and post-campaign analytics (e.g. Google Analytics, UTM tracking, social listening data) to demonstrate impact and alignment with partner mandates.
• Produce multimedia content (videos, stories, digital reports, and web-based assets) tailored to international audiences and regional contexts, ensuring technical quality, narrative coherence, and alignment with ITCILO and partner branding. Contribute to the design and development of digital communication outputs such as websites, microsites, and interactive platforms by applying UI/UX principles, visual prototyping tools, and accessibility standards (e.g. WCAG 2.1). Coordinate all production phases—briefing, scripting, design, post-production—and apply quality assurance protocols including language adaptation, format optimization, and performance tracking across platforms (web, mobile, social media).
• Support digital campaigns using SEO, SEM, and analytics tools to optimize visibility and engagement for partner initiatives. Write technical reports according to the project’s KPIs with a strong focus on projects’ theory of change, SMART objectives, ISO recommended Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, and ITCILO Master Result Chain.
• Coordinate project delivery using formal project management methodologies (PRINCE2, PMP, Agile), with an emphasis on service-level agreements and performance reporting to clients.
• Support the design and implementation of workshops, communication labs, and short-format trainings on communication, advocacy, and storytelling for both internal and external audiences. Serve as facilitator for income-generating open courses (e.g. C4D), applying strong public speaking and interpersonal skills to engage diverse groups and foster co-creation. Deliver presentations on communication related topics as required.

Qualifications required

Education

• First level university degree (Bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in Communications, Journalism, Marketing, Public Relations, Media Studies, or a related field.
• Certification in project management (PRINCE2, PMP) or communication tools is an asset.

Experience

• At least three years of relevant professional experience in communication, including one year in an international context. Experience in developing countries would be an asset.
• Experience in providing communication advisory and implementation support to clients such as UN agencies, development organizations, international financial institutions, and NGOs.
• Experience in content-driven campaigns or branding projects for external partners and in facilitating participatory workshops or labs focused on communication capacity-building.
• Experience in producing strategic and multimedia communication products aligned with institutional mandates.
• Experience managing external communication contracts, client relationships, and service delivery standards.

Languages

• Excellent knowledge of either English or French with good knowledge of the other language.  
• Knowledge of Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, or Portuguese is an asset.

Core competencies

• Adaptability: ability to adapt to major changes in work tasks or in the work environment.
• Client service: ability to meet client (in-house and external) needs effectively.
• Collaboration: ability to develop and use collaborative relationships to achieve work goals.
• Communication: ability to convey information clearly to individuals and groups.
• Initiative: ability to take prompt action to accomplish objectives, even beyond what is required.
• Integrity: ability to maintain social, ethical and organizational norms and adhere to codes of conduct and ethical principles.
• Knowledge management: ability to develop and update professional knowledge continuously, and to assimilate and apply new job-related information in a timely manner.
• Sensitivity to diversity: ability to accommodate cultural and gender differences to interact effectively with people of different cultures.

Level competencies

• Decision-making: analysis, judgement and problem solving.
• Managing work: ability to manage one’s time and resources effectively to ensure that work is completed efficiently

Technical competencies

• Expertise in developing and delivering external-facing communication services tailored to UN and development partners.
• Skills in digital strategy, audience segmentation, and partner messaging alignment.
• Command of audiovisual and content production workflows.
• Proven ability to manage external client expectations, deliverables, and reporting.
• Familiarity with content management systems, video editing software, and analytics platforms.
• Excellent public speaking, facilitation, and storytelling skills, particularly in training or advisory contexts where influencing and engaging diverse groups is essential.

Personal Skills

• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely both orally and in writing.
• Ability to plan and organize work.
• Ability to work with team spirit, within the Programme and with other Centre units.

Application instructions

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