Individual Contractor, Information Management Assistant

ISDR/C/30/2014

United Nations Core Values:

Integrity ● Professionalism ● Respect for Diversity

Background:

Created in December 1999, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) is the designated focal point in the United Nations system for the coordination of disaster reduction and to ensure synergies among the disaster reduction activities of the United Nations and regional organizations and activities in socio-economic and humanitarian fields. Led by the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, UNISDR has around 100 staff located in its HQ in Geneva, Switzerland, and 5 regional offices and other field presences. Specifically, UNISDR coordinates international efforts in disaster risk reduction, and guides, monitors and reports on the progress of the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action; campaigns to create global awareness of disaster risk reduction benefits and empower people to reduce their vulnerability to hazards; advocates for greater investments in disaster risk reduction to protect people's lives and assets, and for increased and informed participation of men and women in reducing disaster risk; and informs and connects people by providing practical services and tools such as Prevention Web,publications on good practices, and by leading the preparation of the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction and the organisation of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Organizational Setting and Reporting Relationships:

In March 2015, the United Nations will hold the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) in Sendai, Japan, of which UNISDR is the secretariat. Over 8,000 participants including Heads of States, Government Ministers, Mayors, CEOs, Academics, NGOs and members of the civil society are expected to attend and adopt a post-2015 framework on disaster risk reduction that will be the basis for global cooperation on this issue in the coming decades.

PreventionWeb is the online disaster risk reduction knowledge platform, and therefore the knowledge platform for capturing current and relevant disaster risk reduction content and disaster risk reduction organizational profiles of a broad range of partners and stakeholders.

The UNISDR Information Management Unit has been tasked with the redesign of the PreventionWeb website and other sub-sites in preparation for the WCDRR.

The Consultant will report to and work under the direct supervision of the PreventionWeb Managing Editor of the UNISDR Information Management Unit (IMU), in collaboration with other IMU colleagues.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Within limits of delegated authority, the consultant will be responsible for the following duties:

• Assist the maintenance of publishing disaster risk reduction content according to PreventionWeb standards, practices and procedures including:
- monitoring relevant sources and user-published content
- validating content for quality control
- web-ready formatting of content
- writing abstracts in English for news, documents, policy and plans, etc.
- selecting and adding relevant metadata to content
- posting and monitoring of all content types: news, documents, policy and plans, jobs, events, academic programmes, educational materials, networks, multimedia and organizations
• Select and send appropriate partner correspondence from standard messages
• Assist Managing Editor in identifying and documenting editorial process improvements, as needed
• Assist in photo research for PreventionWeb use
Work implies interaction with the following:

Program Officers and other information management specialists throughout the UNISDR, and outbound correspondence with other UN agencies, Government offices, Universities and NGOs. Information management staff and managers in user offices and other user clients, including external users (e.g. governments, international organizations, etc.).

Results Expected:

• PreventionWeb content is up-to-date according to standards and meets editorial criteria
• PreventionWeb public-facing pages are well formatted
• Appropriate correspondence with partners is sent and in a timely manner.

Competencies:

• Professionalism - Ability to manage processes, follow workflow, maintain records in a systematic fashion, interpret/analyze a wide variety of content and data, and identify/resolve data discrepancies and activity problems.
• Planning and Organizing - Demonstrated effective organizational skills and ability to handle work in an efficient and timely manner, working to tight deadlines.
• Technological Awareness - Fully proficient computer skills, particularly in using relevant content management systems/content databases, internet and library search.

Qualifications:

Education: Completion of secondary school or its equivalent commercial school. Qualifying years of experience are calculated following the date of receipt of a high-school diploma or the equivalent certification.

Experience: At least 3 years of experience in content management for large-scale complex websites. Knowledge of disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and/or international development is an asset.

Language Skills: Fluency in written and spoken English.

Other Skills: Experience using content management systems (CMS), basic HTML editing, advanced Internet search. Familiarity with WebsiteWatcher (or similar), Dreamweaver, Photoshop, and video and audio editing applications desirable.