Alona Volinsky

Experience

• 

  NoCamels.com: Environment Desk

  Jan 2010 - Jan 2012

  Tech Journalist

  • Conducted and published over 30 interviews with leading Israeli environmental startup companies that were then republished by leading Israeli news outlets including The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz• Regularly participated in high level environmental conferences and parliamentary discussions with an aim of identifying potential stories• Maintained and expanded a network of CEOs and entrepreneurs with an aim of producing a story about their work

• 

  Channel 2 News

  Jun 2012 - Aug 2013

  News Editor and Producer

  • Managed the research, compilation, production and editing of TV programmes and segments, from breaking news stories to investigative reports and interviews with politicians• Wrote texts and scripts for daily news editions and TV shows• Maintained an extensive network of local and international experts to serve as guest speakers in the channel's programming• Initiated and nourished professional relationships with individual journalists, other media outlets, high-level government officials, politicians, civil society leaders and academics to broker appearances in the channel’s programming• Coordinated coverage of major events by liaising with other news agencies, reporters, government officials, civil society actors and other potential speakers• Produced an international politics weekly TV magazine- ‘Political World’• Strategically managed the social media presence for various TV shows (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) Show less

• 

  Alliance for Peacebuilding

  Aug 2014 - Dec 2014

  Communications Consultant

  • Developed a marketing and communication strategy for the organization's bi-annual publication 'Building Peace' aimed at fostering a dedicated and active online community, growing the social media followers (Twitter and Facebook) and journal's email subscribers by over 35% in two months• Developed a media strategy and action plan for increasing the outreach of the publication• Created a set of best practices and recommendations for expanding the publication's readership by using various social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn, Instagram• Drafted an action plan for the use of advertisement to off-set current publication expenditures • Developed an analysis of current and desired audiences of the journal and purposes of the outreach with regards to the organization's mission• Created daily social media content (Facebook & Twitter) to promote the journal's Sep 14' issue • Identified a network of influencers to form a customized distribution list of over 150 contacts: NGO leaders, media outlets, academia and private sector with potential interest in the journal's theme (tech & peacebuilding). The contacts in the list were used for finding authors for the publication, reaching out to journalists and bloggers who have interest in the publication and for general distribution Show less

• 

  Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS

  May 2015 - Jul 2016

  Marketing Coordinator

  • Conceptualized major campaigns and fundraising events involving actors, producers, entertainers and key figures in the LGBTQ and Broadway theatre communities in New York• Planned and executed an innovative year-end fundraising campaign that brought in over $50,000 in three days- the highest the organization had ever raised in a year-end campaign• Developed communication strategies and materials for fundraising events • Wrote and edited all content for donor reports, print magazine, press releases, website, social media, print promotional materials (brochures, booklets, posters, postcards), monthly e-newsletter, mass emails and mailings and more• Facilitated development of all creative materials for campaigns (imagery, video, web banners and other multimedia features) liaising with producers, donors, graphic designers, IT specialists and more• Managed relationships with media sponsors and partners including the Huffington Post and the New York Times• Regularly liaised with media to pitch stories and ensure coverage of events• Managed paid marketing, paid search and email marketing campaigns and budgets; Delivered a series of Facebook ad campaigns that resulted in over 50% increase in sales of tickets for charity events• Defined communications KPIs and generated analytics reports for the organization’s website and social media platforms Show less

• 

  United Nations OCHA

  Sept 2016 - Feb 2018

  Marketing and Communications Strategist

  • Implemented an overarching marketing strategy for UNOCHA's suite of humanitarian response coordination tools to increase their adoption and integration into overall response workflows • Provided strategic communications support to teams within the organization: target audience identification and segmentation, persona building, campaign development, editorial, social media• Conceptualized, wrote and edited promotional materials: email campaigns, branding guidelines, strategy documents, press releases, content for websites and Intranet, social media content, presentations for senior management, internal and external reports• Developed engaging visual materials for OCHA’s communication products in HQ and the field: videos, imagery, infographics• Developed and implemented branding guidelines for the various humanitarian platforms OCHA maintains• Helped teams focused on complex data processing (such as Humanitarian Data Exchange) translate data and technical information into simple and engaging messaging, fundraising and marketing opportunities• Conducted research on best practices and market trends to facilitate decision-making, assisting in the design and development of new digital products aimed at facilitating and improving the work of the global humanitarian community• Advised senior management on personal social media use Show less

• 

  UNICEF

  Oct 2019 - May 2023

  • Liaised with programme, advocacy and communication teams to project manage the delivery of UNICEF’s most prominent digital campaigns including COVID-19 vaccination, World Immunization Week, On My Mind, World Children's Day, State of the World’s Children and more• Led the digital analytics and social listening portfolio including campaigns M&E, reputational risk management, audience insights, optimization of distribution strategies, and global capacity building• Collaborated with Private Fundraising and Partnerships teams to contextually integrate fundraising calls to action in the global advocacy & communication messaging and to develop a first-ever integrated fundraising and communications digital strategy for all UNICEF offices• Led on creation of the section’s annual working plan, mid- and end-year evaluations, resource allocation strategies and other ad-hoc strategic tasks• Conceptualized and implemented complex multi-stakeholder projects and strategies, including creation of UNICEF's new multi-year digital communication strategy and investment case for all UNICEF offices worldwide• Supported the Chief of Digital Strategy with planning, budget, coordination, monitoring and iterative optimization of the section's management systems Show less • Developed a new digital communication strategy for the Country Office with a focus on the Ukraine refugee crisis response and on building the capacity of local staff• Analyzed purpose and performance of all existing digital communication products (websites, platforms, social media and programmatic products) and offered recommendations to streamline and improve programme delivery, fundraising and UNICEF's public image in the country through strategic communication• Advised on the effective use of digital communication channels for brand awareness, behavior change, and fundraising campaigns, with the goal of utilizing UNICEF’s brand, engaging existing target audiences, and reaching new ones• Guided the office to launch of social listening framework in order to enhance Social & Behaviour Change and external communication work Show less • Project managed UNICEF Europe & Central Asia's L3 emergency Ukraine digital comms response, establishing coordination structures with all country offices and programmes involved in the emergency response, external partners, media outlets, and other key stakeholders• Developed an emergency response communication toolkit to tackle rising xenophobia and anti-refugee sentiment in countries accepting large amounts of Ukrainian refugees• Developed an innovative partnership proposal for Meta and UNICEF Europe & Central Asia to collaborate on leveraging digital technologies for child protection programming in emergencies. The proposal was fully funded by Meta and is currently being implemented by the Regional Office• Created a digital communications strategy for UNICEF's programmatic response to the war in Ukraine, with a strong focus on protecting children from abuse, exploitation and trafficking• Created new, high-impact digital communications partnerships to bolster the implementation of UNICEF's L3 Ukraine war response, particularly in areas of SBC, youth engagement and child protection: Meta, TikTok, Google Arts and Culture, Viber and others• Monitored and evaluated weekly digital comms plans, including dynamic, real-time social listening to closely monitor the situation Show less • Provided strategic guidance on the effective use of digital communication channels to all UNICEF offices, with the goal of utilizing UNICEF’s brand and engaging target audiences in optimal ways• Created UNICEF’s first ever standards on safeguarding in digital and online environments, in collaboration with UNICEF’s Legal, Programme, and Youth Engagement teams. These standards support UNICEF’s core mission of safeguarding children against online risks and maximizing the support it provides to its youngest audiences online• Conducted a comprehensive audit of over 80 regional and country office websites as part of an effort to establish stronger governance on the global unicef.org platform, identify gaps in capacity building and ensure high editorial standards across all unicef.org websites.• Conducted business analysis for new digital product ideas across the organization and helped project owners plan and execute creation of new digital products• Created, communicated, managed and applied digital communication excellence standards, including web accessibility, security, SEO, branding, partnership visibility guidelines for digital channels, legal considerations and more• Developed innovative learning and training strategies, programmes and materials (presentations, guidebooks, webinars, workshops, e-courses, newsletters) to build organizational capacity and facilitate knowledge sharing in digital communications• Researched and advised on the latest trends in new technology, industry standards, best practices and benchmarks Show less • Liaised with programme, advocacy and communication teams to project manage the delivery of UNICEF’s most prominent digital campaigns including COVID-19 prevention, World Immunization Week, and more• Led the digital analytics and social listening portfolio including campaigns M&E, reputational risk management, audience insights, optimization of distribution strategies, and global capacity building• Led on creation of the section’s annual working plan, mid- and end-year evaluations, resource allocation strategies and other ad-hoc strategic tasks• Supported the Chief of Digital Strategy with planning, budget, coordination, monitoring and iterative optimization of the section's management systems Show less

  • Communication Strategist and Digital Intelligence Lead

    Oct 2020 - May 2023

  • Emergency Communications Specialist - Ukraine Refugee Crisis Response

    Jul 2022 - Jul 2022

  • Emergency Communication Specialist and Digital Project Manager - Ukraine Emergency Response

    Apr 2022 - Jun 2022

  • Digital Communication Officer

    Feb 2018 - Sept 2020

  • Digital Management Specialist (Maternity-leave cover)

    Oct 2019 - Apr 2020
• 

  World Health Organization

  Jun 2023 - May 2024

  Head of Communication

  • Built a clear communication strategy and implemented an associated work plan to support WHO's humanitarian and development work in the country• Managed media relations: proactively placed stories portraying WHO's work in local and international media, monitored and mitigated risks, ensured timely response to incoming inquiries, and refined the process of communicating with media• Advised the Head of the Office and senior leadership on optimal communication and advocacy approaches; prepared leaders for media appearances • Led the development of high-quality content, including video, photography, graphics, human interest stories, social media, print materials, and media features to promote WHO's work• Managed communication activities during missions and high-level visits to the field emergency operations• Mobilized country office communication capacity to highlight success stories for resource mobilization and donor visibility• Built partnerships with civil society organizations, WHO field, regional and HQ offices, other UN agencies, humanitarian clusters, and others to advance advocacy and communication priorities• Managed and optimized the use of human and financial resources at the unit level; Identified, recruited and supervised staff, consultants and vendors• Established an M&E framework to assess the effectiveness of communication strategy and activities• Optimized knowledge management and information exchange and built the capacity of the country communication team Show less

• 

  UNICEF

  Jun 2024 - Nov 2024

  AI for Communication Lead

  • Created and led a cross-functional working group focusing on the use of AI for communication and advocacy• Led the creation of the organization's first-ever guidelines on the use of AI (LLMs) in a wide range of external communication tasks, including writing and editing, graphic and imagery design, marketing, translation, and countering of AI-driven mis- and disinformation• Fed into an organization-wide multi-year strategy for the use of AI to maximize programmatic outcomes, advocacy and internal efficiency• Developed an upskilling plan and capacity-building activities for Communication and Advocacy staff to improve proficiency in the use of AI Show less

• 

  UNICEF East Asia and Pacific

  Dec 2024 - now

  Digital Strategy Manager

  • Develop and implement comprehensive digital communication strategies to increase supporter engagement and partner support • Manage the production of high-quality content for UNICEF's regional digital platforms• Provide strategic guidance and build the capacity of country offices in digital communication best practices and fundraising integration• Create marketing strategies for advocacy priority campaigns to amplify UNICEF's mission and reach• Build and manage partnerships with digital platforms and influencers to amplify UNICEF’s advocacy Show less