Communications Officer in Multi-Country Office Jamaica

What difference can a Communications Officer in the Resident Coordinator’s Office make in highly uncertain contexts? Meet Jomain McKenzie, who joined United Nations in Jamaica a few weeks before a hurricane, in July 2019, unfolded in The Bahamas, one of the countries within his portfolio under the multi-Country Office setup. This event triggered different phases of emergency, humanitarian, and recovery responses each requiring strategic communications support. In parallel, the Resident Coordinator Office had begun to take steps to formalize UN-Bahamas relations. As the disaster peaked and vulnerabilities exposed, it was critical to ensure the protection of the human rights of the most vulnerable. Jomain’s task was to support strategic human rights interventions with nuanced communications approaches that appreciated the rule of law, tactful diplomacy, while respecting the inalienable rights of all people. As a result of these efforts, two key milestones were achieved: the signing of a new United Nations Multi-Country Sustainable Development Framework in the Caribbean (March 2022) and the protection of migrant groups.  

Jomain is also proud of having coordinated and convened all communications experts from the UN country team to lend support to a national COVID-19 vaccination programme addressing vaccine uptake and tackling hesitancy – especially in underserved rural areas