Sugata Roy Takes UNICEF South Asia Media Communications Role
Sugata Roy has taken on the role of Communications Specialist (Media, South Asia) at UNICEF Asia and the Pacific, he announced on LinkedIn on 26 October. The move starts a new chapter in nearly 21 years with the UN children's agency.
- Organisation: UNICEF Asia and the Pacific
- Role: Communications Specialist (Media, South Asia)
- Previously: Social and behaviour change specialist at UNICEF, November 2021 to October 2026
- Advertising background: Ogilvy, 1999 to 2003
Sugata Roy at UNICEF
Roy's UNICEF career began in January 2006 as programme communication officer for polio in Lucknow. He moved to Ranchi as communication officer in May 2009, then to Chennai in August 2011 as communication specialist, covering strategic communication, media advocacy, policy and partnerships with the private sector, civil society and academia. That role also took in child-centred CSR and child rights and business principles.
From October 2020 to August 2021 he was officer in charge of the Tamil Nadu and Kerala state office, supervising seven staff on Covid-19 vaccination, Covid-appropriate behaviour, advocacy and partnerships. As social and behaviour change specialist from November 2021, he also served as officer in charge of the Odisha state office from November 2022 to July 2023, supervising 20 staff and leading advocacy with the state government.
From Rural Marketing to Ogilvy
Roy started in rural communication. He was district marketing manager at International Development Enterprises (iDE) from June 1996, working with small and marginalised farmers and women's self-help groups, and then institutional development officer at OMFED until November 1998.
He spent nearly four years at Ogilvy from May 1999, on the team responsible for process management, working on advertising strategy and on-ground activation for rural audiences. He then joined UNICEF as a communication consultant on polio eradication advocacy, and led behaviour change communication for HIV/AIDS prevention at Population Services International from 2004 to 2005.
Why It Matters
Media relations for a UN agency across South Asia calls for the same skills an agency planner uses: knowing the audience, choosing the channel and timing the message. Roy is one of a small group of public sector communicators whose training began in Indian advertising.
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