Junior Advocacy and Communication EU Aid Volunteer in Philippines

PIN has been working in the Philippines since 2013, expanding our emergency response activities in those early days to now actively improving lives of poor Filipinos and supporting the change in the country for a more inclusive and equal society. We now work in sustainable livelihoods, disaster risk reduction, strengthening land rights and combating urban poverty.

 

Working closely with the Senior Management Team and Thematic Programme Managers to broaden the impact of PIN’s operations in the Philippines.

People in Need (PIN) started its operations in the Philippines in 2013, providing emergency relief to communities affected by super-Typhoon Yolanda. Ever since, its mandate has evolved and spread to a variety of sectors, such as sustainable livelihoods, market inclusion, disaster resilience, land rights and social cohesion. PIN Philippines flagship programs currently focus on Market-Systems Development (MSD) as applied to sustainable agriculture in Visayas region as well as on social cohesion, peace-building and youth empowerment in conflict-affected areas of Mindanao.

 

Operational and security context:

 

The Philippines ranks amongst the most disaster-prone countries in the world due to its geographic proximity to the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire”. Among natural hazards, typhoons are typically the most destructive disasters, with an average of twenty tropical cyclones entering the waters surrounding the country every year. In 2013, super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) affected 26 million people and claimed at least 7,000 lives. At the same time, the Philippines is one of the most dynamic economies in the East Asia and the Pacific region. With increasing urbanization, a growing middle-income class, and a large and young population, the Philippines’ economic dynamism is rooted in strong consumer demand supported by vibrant labour market and robust remittances. However, this progress is not reaching all Filipinos; the poor and those is rural areas remain vulnerable and have limited access to the healthcare system. Many people in the Philippines are also vulnerable because of poor infrastructure especially in rural areas. Owing to a crackdown on urban criminality on behalf of the current National Government, the City of Metro Manila benefits from a high degree of safety and security, especially in areas populated by expats. Areas covered by PIN Philippines programs, i.e. Eastern Samar – Visayas, do not experience any political turbulence of conflict dynamics, thus rendering this part of the country easy to access and operate within.

 

Tasks:

Communication & Advocacy

Good media coverage is essential both for the visibility of PIN in the Philippines and abroad, and for the success of our advocacy objectives within every programme. PIN Philippines Communications Volunteer is in charge of all media activities.

Volunteer will report to the Country Director, and work alongside with the project team as well as with PIN headquarters Communication and advocacy department. Volunteer will elaborate high quality and attractive materials for the media and synthesize main learning from projects (collected through project visits, as well as evaluations and monitoring reports) in easy to read materials.

 

Duties and Responsibilities

• Overall responsibility for PIN communication and visibility including assessment of PIN visibility needs, regular update of PIN visibility/communication strategy, identifying innovations and best practices in effective communication;
• Cooperates with PIN advocacy officers on preparing communication and advocacy strategy for PIN Philippines
• Networking with various media present in the Philippines;
• Assisting CD and Project Managers with all matters related to communication and visibility in the Philippines and internationally;
• Supporting Programme staff in writing media press/news releases and publishing them in printed and non-printed media;
• Events Management;
• Administrating PIN website and online social media;
• Organizing promotion events and securing presence of local media at the events, organizing journalist field visits.
• Supporting proposal development and data collection when needed.

 

Required competences:

 

Transversal competences

• Working with others
• Communication
• Inter-cultural awareness
• Self-awareness and resilience

 

Specific competences

• Communication and advocacy
• Understanding the humanitarian context of the EU Aid Volunteers initiative and applying humanitarian principles

 

Technical competences

• High standard of written and spoken English
• Ethical communication of development and humanitarian topics

 

Apprenticeship

Tailor-made apprenticeship will be hold in Prague in April 2019.

 

Eligibility and exception criteria:

The candidate for EU Aid Volunteers must be a citizen of the EU or a third country national who is a long-term resident in an EU Member State and must have a minimum age of 18 years.

The Philippines is an archipelago of islands of South-East Asia with significant cultural affinity to the West, especially to the American culture. A Spanish colony for over 3 centuries before, the country was put under the American rule at the onset of of the 19th century until the Second World War. At least 80% of Filipinos belong to the Roman Catholic faith, where many practices and beliefs are rooted. About 15% is Muslim, with most of these people living in Mindanao. The rest of the population consists mostly of smaller Christian denominations and indigenous belief systems. Filipino (formerly Pilipino) is based on Tagalog and is the official language of the Philippines. In spite of being a national language, only about 55% of Filipinos speak the language. In addition to Filipino, there are about 111 distinct indigenous languages and dialects, of which only about 10 are important regionally. English is generally used for educational, governmental and commercial purposes and is widely understood since it is the medium of instruction in schools. The Philippines is the third largest English-speaking country in the world, after the United States and the United Kingdom. The Philippines has a tropical maritime climate that is usually hot and humid. It has three seasons: hot dry or summer season, rainy or wet season, and cool dry season. The hot dry or summer season starts form March to May. The rainy or wet season starts from June to November. December to February is generally cool with fair weather – it is a cool dry season. The coolest month is January; the warmest month is May. September and October are often the typhoon season in the Philippines. Due to its geographical location, the country is ranked among the most at risks of natural disasters. When traveling or planning for a trip across the country, it is advisable to closely consult weather forecasts in advance and be kept up to date through the alert system provided by UNDSS and/or the national government. With its 20 million inhabitants, Metro Manila - officially known as the National Capital Region (NCR) – is conglomerate of 16 cities. PIN Philippines’ office is situated Makati, which is a very secure area full of shopping malls and other services, such as hospitals, banks etc. It is rather expensive in comparison to other areas in the provinces, but recommended for accommodation, dining out and night life, along with BGC Taguig. Gridlocks and traffic congestions are very recurrent on Manila’s roads all day long, but drivers are quite prudent and car accidents do not too frequently. Public transportation is not comfortable or convenient in the city, therefore using apps like Grab or taxis is advisable, especially for expats.

 

 

Minimum requirements:

 

Essential:

• Bachelor/Masters level graduate – Media/Communications Studies, Development, Journalism;
• Up to five years field experience in development in different countries, preferably with non-governmental organizations;
• Good understanding of relevant development issues;
• Strong interpersonal and organizational skills;
• Excellent spoken and written English,

Desirable:

• Previous experience in PR, Communications, Journalism;
• Excellent networking and communication skills with demonstrated ability to build strong relations with relevant stakeholders;
• Proven ability to work independently, strong self-motivation;
• Good command of MS Office applications and experience with online media;
• Willingness to occasionally travel to other regions and islands of the Philippine archipelago.

Demonstrated ability in the following core competencies

 

• Developing and maintaining collaborative relationships
• Managing One-self in a pressured and changing environment
• Achieving Results

 

 

Deployment dates:

May, 2019 – April, 2020

 

Learning opportunities:

A structured learning and development plan will be developed for each EU Aid Volunteer. This will include: self-assessment, structured learning and development plan reviews, on-line learning, peer-to-peer support, a two-week EU-run training, followed by PIN induction/apprenticeship. EU Aid Volunteers will also have an assigned Mentor for the entirety of their volunteer placement with PIN. This is combined with line management in country from an experienced humanitarian professional. The EUAV will be enabled to learn from strategy and program development as well as operations and systems of PIN Philippines country mission. With the support of senior managers, the EUAV will have the opportunity to engage in coordination platforms in cooperation with prominent humanitarian and development actors, e.g. the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), the Philippines INGO Network (PINGON), the UN Task Force for the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) etc. In addition, the EUAV will be offered training opportunities in country when available, e.g. DRR simulations.

 

Working and living conditions:

Contract:

EU Aid Volunteer Agreement

Volunteer Allowance:

In line with EU Aid Volunteer subsistence allowances:

Whilst in Philippines €322,03 per month

Whilst in the Czech Republic €401,64 per month

Accommodation

Accommodation when deployed in Manila, Philippines, or when travelling for short term assignments outside Manila will be provided by PIN.

At the end of volunteer placement an allowance of €100/per each month deployed will be provided as a resettlement allowance.

Travel

A return flight will be provided to Manila, Philippines from the EU Aid Volunteers home country or from the Czech Republic upon apprenticeship completion.

The cost of pre-departure preparations; insurance, medical clearance and vaccinations will be provided.

Line Management and Mentoring

Line Manager whilst deployed – Claudia Oriolo, country director

Mentor – Mentor based in Prague assigned for the entirety of the volunteer placement with PIN.

 

SELECTION PROCESS

Shortlisting and interviews:

Shortlisting and interviews will be conducted in February 2019

Interview process:

Pre-selected candidates will be contacted and requested to record a video-questionnaire. If successful, two rounds of interviews will be carried out (by Sending and Hosting organisations).

Expected date on decision of outcome:

February 2019

 

How to apply:

Please send us your CV in EuroPass format and Self assessment form till 21, February, 2019 by clicking on following link. The EuroPass CV template, as well as the Self-assessment form, can be found here.