National Communication and Advocacy Intern- Human Interest Story & Social Media Content (6 months)

UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

At UNICEF, we are committed, passionate, and proud of what we do for as long as we are needed. Promoting the rights of every child is not just a job – it is a calling.

UNICEF is a place where careers are built: we offer our staff diverse opportunities for professional and personal development that will help them reinforce a sense of purpose while serving children and communities across the world. We welcome everyone who wants to belong and grow in a diverse and passionate culture.., coupled with an attractive compensation and benefits package.

Visit our website to learn more about what we do at UNICEF.

For every child, a vision

UNICEF Liberia's Communication and Advocacy Section works across programme areas to communicate results for children, amplify the voices and experiences of children, adolescents, families and communities, strengthen public awareness of children's rights, and increase the visibility of UNICEF-supported programmes and partnerships.

Effective storytelling is essential to demonstrating how UNICEF's programmes translate into meaningful results for children and communities. Human-interest stories, beneficiary voices, photographs, short-form digital content and social media provide important opportunities to communicate these results in ways that are accessible, engaging and people-centred.

With programme activities taking place across multiple sectors and counties, there is a continuing need to systematically identify, collect, develop and publish stories that demonstrate programme results while ensuring that content is produced in accordance with UNICEF's ethical reporting, child safeguarding, consent and branding standards.

The Intern will provide dedicated support to the Communication and Advocacy Section in identifying and developing human-interest stories and producing engaging social media content from UNICEF-supported programmes across Liberia.

How can you make a difference?

Key Responsibilities

A. Human-Interest Story Development

B. Social Media Content Development

C. Field Content Collection

D. Content Research and Programme Documentation

E. Website and Digital Content Support

Expected Outputs

During the internship, the intern is expected to contribute to:

• A regular pipeline of human-interest stories from UNICEF-supported programmes.
• Draft human-interest stories suitable for publications across various platforms.
• Short beneficiary profiles, testimonials and quotes for digital communications.
• Regular social media content supporting programme priorities and advocacy campaigns.
• Developed content packages from selected field missions and programme activities.
• Properly organized interview notes, consent information, photographs and supporting materials.
• Increased availability of programme content that can be used for social media, donor visibility, advocacy and reporting.
• Improved documentation of the voices and experiences of children, adolescents, families and communities reached through UNICEF-supported programmes.

If you would like to know more about this position, please review the complete Job Description here: Full TOR Social Media_Coms intern.pdf

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have…

Minimum requirements:

• Education:

Be enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree programme, or have graduated within the past two years in: Communications, Journalism, Mass Communication, English, Public Relations, Digital Media, or Development Studies.

• Skills

  Previous professional experience is not required; however, demonstrated experience through university activities, volunteering, internships, journalism, blogging, content creation or other relevant activities would be an advantage.

• Language Requirements:

  Fluency in written and spoken English is required.

  Knowledge of one or more Liberian dialects is an asset, particularly for conducting interviews and collecting stories in communities

Desirables:

• The ideal candidate should demonstrate:

  • Interest in human-interest and development storytelling.
  • Ability to conduct interviews and accurately capture people's experiences and voices.
  • Good understanding of social media and digital content.
  • Basic photography and/or short-form video skills would be an asset.
  • Familiarity with Canva, CapCut or similar content creation tools would be an advantage.
  • Strong research, proofreading and editing skills.
  • Ability to communicate sensitively and respectfully with children and vulnerable populations.
  • Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues across different programme areas.
  • Ability to work under deadlines and respond to changing communication priorities.

• Relevant experience at country level, particularly in development, fragile settings and humanitarian contexts.

Living and Working Conditions

The intern will be based in Monrovia and may undertake field travel to UNICEF programme locations throughout Liberia, subject to operational requirements and applicable UNICEF procedures.

Conditions

• Age: Interns must be at least 18 years
• Have good academic performance as demonstrated by recent university or institution records.
• Have no immediate relatives (e.g. father, mother, brother, sister) working in any UNICEF office.
• Have no other relatives in the line of authority which the intern will report to.
• Individuals must have proof of medical insurance covering the time and location of their internship.
• Laptop and internet connection will be provided by UNICEF
• Selected candidates will receive a monthly stipend (unless already in receipt of any support for the internship from a third party).

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF’s Core Values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust and Accountability and Sustainability (CRITAS) underpin everything we do and how we do it. Get acquainted with Our Values Charter: UNICEF Values

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are…

(1) Builds and maintains partnerships

(2) Demonstrates self-awareness and ethical awareness

(3) Drive to achieve results for impact

(4) Innovates and embraces change

(5) Manages ambiguity and complexity

(6) Thinks and acts strategically

(7) Works collaboratively with others

Familiarize yourself with our competency framework and its different levels.

This position has been assessed as an elevated risk role for Child Safeguarding purposes as it is either a role with direct contact with children, a role that works directly with identifiable children’s data, a safeguarding response role, or an assessed risk role. Additional vetting and assessment for elevated risk roles in child safeguarding (potentially including additional criminal background checks) apply.

UNICEF promotes and advocates for the protection of the rights of every child, everywhere, in everything it does and is mandated to support the realization of the rights of every child, including those most disadvantaged, and our global workforce must reflect the diversity of those children. The UNICEF family is committed to include everyone, irrespective of their race/ethnicity, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, socio-economic background, minority, or any other status.

UNICEF encourages applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of gender, nationality, religious or ethnic backgrounds, and from people with disabilities, including neurodivergence. We offer a wide range of benefits to our staff, including paid parental leave, breastfeeding breaks and reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities. UNICEF provides reasonable accommodation throughout the recruitment process. If you require any accommodation, please submit your request through the accessibility email button on the UNICEF Careers webpage Accessibility | UNICEF. Should you be shortlisted, please get in touch with the recruiter directly to share further details, enabling us to make the necessary arrangements in advance.

UNICEF does not hire candidates who are married to children (persons under 18). UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, discrimination, fraud, corruption and other forms of misconduct.
UNICEF is committed to promoting the protection and safeguarding of all children. All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference, safeguarding and background verification checks. These checks may include verification of academic credentials and employment history, screening against relevant United Nations misconduct databases, and requests for misconduct disclosures from current and former employers, professional associations, other relevant organizations and participating organizations under inter-agency safeguarding initiatives, including the Misconduct Disclosure Scheme (MDS), where applicable.
Appointment, selection and continued engagement are subject to the satisfactory completion of all required checks. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information and consent to enable UNICEF to undertake these checks.

Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check, and selected candidates with disabilities may be requested to submit supporting documentation in relation to their disability confidentially

UNICEF appointments are subject to medical clearance. Issuance of a visa by the host country of the duty station is required for IP positions and will be facilitated by UNICEF. Appointments are conditional on the selected candidates’ willingness to comply with current or future vaccination requirements, should UNICEF mandate it for personnel.
Failure to comply with such requirements, where applicable and without a duly approved medical exemption from the relevant UN authority, will result in the cancellation of the selection or may lead to other administrative measures, including separation from service

Remarks:

As per Article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity.

UNICEF is committed to fostering an inclusive, representative, and welcoming workforce. For this position, eligible and suitable candidates are encouraged to apply.

Government employees who are considered for employment with UNICEF are normally required to resign from their government positions before taking up an assignment with UNICEF. UNICEF reserves the right to withdraw an offer of appointment, without compensation, if a visa or medical clearance is not obtained, or necessary inoculation requirements are not met, within a reasonable period for any reason.

UNICEF does not charge a processing fee at any stage of its recruitment, selection, and hiring processes (i.e., application stage, interview stage, validation stage, or appointment and training). UNICEF will not ask for applicants’ bank account information.

Humanitarian action is a cross-cutting priority within UNICEF’s Strategic Plan. UNICEF is committed to stay and deliver in humanitarian contexts. Therefore, all staff, at all levels across all functional areas, can be called upon to be deployed to support humanitarian response, contributing to both strengthening resilience of communities and capacity of national authorities.

All UNICEF positions are advertised, and only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process. An internal candidate performing at the level of the post in the relevant functional area, or an internal/external candidate in the corresponding Talent Group, may be selected, if suitable for the post, without assessment of other candidates.

Additional information about working for UNICEF can be found here.