Digital Communication Specialist (Platforms and Data), Fixed-Term, P-3, Division of Global Communication and Advocacy (GCA), Valencia, Spain, Post No. 112339

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

For every child, a champion

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. And we never give up.

Today there are 1.8 billion young people worldwide who make up a quarter of the world’s population, and up to a third in many sub-Saharan African and South Asian countries. Young people are a massive cohort, with an immense potential to benefit their societies socially, politically and economically. We have a responsibility to recognize the rights of young people and work with them as partners and agents of change for today and tomorrow.

Within UNICEF’s Division of Global Communication and Advocacy (DGCA), the Youth Engagement Team works to strengthen the organization’s capacity to engage young people as advocates and campaigners for children’s rights through our flagship campaigns and initiatives and ensure that the perspectives and voices of young people are an integral part of our communications and advocacy.

U-Report is one of UNICEF’s flagship initiatives to engage and empower young people. It is cross-cutting and designed to strengthen community-led development, citizen engagement and access to and use of real-time monitoring and participation platforms. U-Report allows youth to share their views and receive information via SMS and other digital channels – via messaging-based products ranging from polls, chatbots and quizzes to 1-to-1 counselling support – on what is happening in their communities. It provides a forum to amplify their voices through local and national media and acts as a citizen-sourced, real-time data point for key stakeholders, service providers and decision-makers about the issues being faced in communities. The platform also feeds back valuable information to the U-Report participants, so they are empowered to work for change and improvements in their localities themselves – including volunteering with U-Report and UNICEF.

Our core audience are young people aged 13-24 years old. U-Report is free, anonymous and confidential.

How can you make a difference?

As more people join U-Report through digital channels, it is increasingly important that UNICEF can utilize data collected through the U-Report platform to support advocacy efforts and inform strategic platform developments and growth. The Digital Communication Specialist is expected to work with internal and external partners and stakeholders to maximize the use of data to deliver on goals and objectives, and to integrate latest technological developments to enhance the U-Report platform.

U-Report product development

a. Manage and oversee the RapidPro platform for U-Report, including creating and maintaining chatbots and polls.
Collaborate with UNICEF teams and U-Reporters to design interactive and user-friendly chat flows and polls and ensure U-Report user experience is regularly updated and optimized.
Continuously analyze and optimize user interactions, improving efficiency and satisfaction.

b. Architect solutions to common digital problems faced by U-Report projects and leading the productization of those solutions for digital reliability and scalability at the country office level.

c. Further develop functionality and sophistication of U-Report technology to better serve young people based on their feedback and demands. In close collaboration with ICTD, identify business and functional requirements in the product development and roadmap for key systems components including but not limited to RapidPro, supporting messaging platforms, the U-Report Mobile App, data dashboards etc.

d. Work with internal and external partners to integrate up to date technology into the U-Report platform, including use of Artificial Intelligence solutions.

e. Work with ICTD-RapidPro, RapidPro vendors and country offices to ensure that CO RapidPro workspaces are optimized and compliant with U-Report privacy policy and UNICEF safeguarding guidelines.
Maintain platform documentation and ensure all workflows are properly documented.

f. Lead on the technical development and delivery of U-Report Global Coordinated actions and responses to emergencies – and providing support to country office and regional office-led actions.

Data ana