Senior Communications Assistant - Video

November 17, 2025

H (no hardship)

FamilyFamily

GS5

General Service

Reason

Regular > Regular Assignment

2025-11-01

Senior Communications Assistant

Organizational Setting and Work Relationships
The Senior Communications Assistant is normally supervised by a Communication Officer or other position as decided by the senior management in the area of responsibility. The supervisor provides the incumbent with regular guidance. The incumbent will have frequent contacts involving the exchange of a wide range of information with colleagues within UNHCR as well as media, international organizations, academic institutions and private individuals.

All UNHCR staff members are accountable to perform their duties as reflected in their job description. They do so within their delegated authorities, in line with the regulatory framework of UNHCR which includes the UN Charter, UN Staff Regulations and Rules, UNHCR Policies and Administrative Instructions as well as relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, staff members are required to discharge their responsibilities in a manner consistent with the core, functional, cross-functional and managerial competencies and UNHCR's core values of professionalism, integrity and respect for diversity.

Duties
- Regularly monitor media and local situation regarding UNHCR.
- Follow-up on administrative and logistical arrangements to organise press briefings and other events, such as workshop and conferences.
- Contribute to the production of information materials for public awareness campaigns and for the preparation of in-house bulletins, newsletters and information kits by contributing to articles, reports and other information gathered from various sources.
- Liaise with printers concerning brochures and publications published by the office.
- Draft routine correspondence and texts for the office's website and maintain information databases.
- Compile and distribute a daily news clipping service.
- Distribute press statements and similar information to media, to other offices locally as well as to Headquarters.
- Maintain up-to-date filing system and appointments diary.

- Support the identification and management of risks and seek to seize opportunities impacting objectives in the area of responsibility. Ensure decision making in risk based in the functional area of work. Raise risks, issues and concerns to a supervisor or to relevant functional colleague(s).
- Perform other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications

Years of Experience / Degree Level
For G5 - 2 years relevant experience with High School Diploma; or 1 year relevant work experience with Bachelor or equivalent or higher

Field(s) of Education
Not applicable.

Certificates and/or Licenses
International Relations; Journalism; Political Science;
(Certificates and Licenses marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Relevant Job Experience
Essential
Some work experience relevant to the position. Communication and computer skills. Excellent drafting skills as well as translation and interpreting skills.

Desirable
Completion of UNHCR learning programmes or specific training relevant to functions of position.

Functional Skills
CO-Journalism (incl. print, broadcast, photography, video, layout & graphics)
CO-Drafting and Documentation
IT-Web Content Management
CO-Digital content production
CO-Social Media Publishing/Monitoring/Marketing tools
IT-Web publishing
(Functional Skills marked with an asterisk* are essential)

Language Requirements
For International Professional and Field Service jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English.
For National Professional jobs: Knowledge of English and UN working language of the duty station if not English and local language.
For General Service jobs: Knowledge of English and/or UN working language of the duty station if not English.

All UNHCR workforce members must individually and collectively, contribute towards a working environment where each person feels safe, and empowered to perform their duties. This includes by demonstrating no tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, harassment including sexual harassment, sexism, gender inequality, discrimination and abuse of power.

As individuals and as managers, all must be proactive in preventing and responding to inappropriate conduct, support ongoing dialogue on these matters and speaking up and seeking guidance and support from relevant UNHCR resources when these issues arise.

This is a Standard Job Description for all UNHCR jobs with this job title and grade level. The Operational Context may contain additional essential and/or desirable qualifications relating to the specific operation and/or position. Any such requirements are incorporated by reference in this Job Description and will be considered for the screening, shortlisting and selection of candidates.

UNHCR is seeking a technically qualified individual in the field of video production and studio management as part of DER, GCS, Video Unit.
The Video Unit operates an audio-visual studio for UNHCR at Geneva Headquarters and offers support for Divisions across UNHCR including operations and bureaus in all parts of the organization. The studio is central to the work of DER and serves as the audio-visual hub for internal and external communications.

Day to day roles and responsibilities include videography, photography, sound and motion graphic design, editing, story production, technical support, training, on-site management of studio services and equipment, live recordings, media management of NAS (Networked Storage Servers), management of Data Asset Management systems (Refugees Media) as well as physical video repositories and archives.

The candidate will work with the studio manager to oversee the maintenance and upkeep of the technical capacity, including connectivity, equipment, and software.

The candidate must have experience in managing projects efficiently, maintaining studio processes, and managing technical tasks independently while delivering high-quality multi-media products to serve communications priorities of UNHCR.

The proven technical expertise to set up multicamera recordings and live events at HQ and remote/mobile locations as well as the ability to troubleshoot is crucial for this role.

A detailed portfolio showing experience in studio management, filming, editing, photography and motion graphics for storytelling, advocacy and fundraising, will be required.

The position requires proven experience working with the full range of ADOBE Creative Cloud tools and services.

The position requires prior experience with the UN or UNHCR in a similar capacity.

English

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French

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Operational context

Occupational Safety and Health Considerations:

To view occupational safety and health considerations for this duty station, please visit: https://www.cdc.gov/travel

Nature of Position:

This position sits within Global Communications Service, Multimedia Content Section’s Video Unit, in Geneva. It is directly supervised by the Head of the Video Unit. 

The Video Unit operates the central video support service for the organization, serving senior leadership and divisions at HQ and in the field to produce high quality, impactful video to advocate, generate empathy and mobilize meaningful support for refugees, stateless and internally displaced people.

S/he will work together with teams at HQ locations (Geneva, Copenhagen and Budapest), regional bureaus, country operations and partners to produce multimedia content for various communications priorities, themes, events and emergencies.

S/he will act as the assistant/ second manager for the audio-visual studio production for HQ, with the full capacity required to support scheduled events, day to day needs and emergencies.

The incumbent will be the focal point for capacity building and training when teams will require support to create content of their own.

S/he will also be required to manage UNHCR’s extensive audio-visual files and archives going back 70+ years, through the Digital Asset Management system (Refugees Media) and the NAS (Network Attached Storage) at HQ, as well as ongoing tape digitization.

This position requires technical work experience in audio-visual production, physical studio networking and management, as well as day-to-day operations that include professional videography, photography, editing and multimedia content production.

Additional Qualifications

Skills

CO-Digital content production, CO-Drafting and Documentation, CO-Journalism (incl. print, broadcast, photography, video, layout & graphics), CO-Social Media Publishing/Monitoring/Marketing tools, IT-Web Content Management, IT-Web publishing

Certifications

International Relations - Other, Journalism - Other, Political Science - Other

Competencies

Accountability, Client & results orientation, Commitment to continuous learning, Communication, Innovation & creativity, Organizational awareness, Political awareness, Teamwork & collaboration, Technological awareness

https://icsc.un.org/Home/SalaryScales

Compendium

Additional Information

Candidates might be required to sit for a test in connection with this Job Requisition.

This position doesn't require a functional clearance