Charles Hyatt

As Executive Director of Good News Jamaica Communications Limited, I am responsible for the appearance and feel of the company's website. My duties are designing our website and social media sites to increase reach and interaction. In 2013, Good News Jamaica began as a Facebook page. It has grown into a corporation that today serves more than 2 million accounts every month. Our website receives 1218 visits each day due to focused and diversified marketing.

I am the website's principal editor and copywriter. Our team ensures that our brand's message and purpose remain consistent through my leadership. Our team cultivates a devoted following by focusing on Jamaicans in the diaspora via an innovative approach.

I developed a video interview series that has surpassed one million views on YouTube. Additionally, I edit the video series.

Additionally, I produce press releases for our clients on projects, initiatives, goods, and anything else they need in this role.

I train and oversee our writing, photography, marketing, and social media teams to ensure that the material produced for GoodNewsJamaica.com or the requirements of our clients is of the highest quality and results-oriented.

The active mailing list of Good News Jamaica is over 170,000 and expanding daily due to our ongoing engagement with our consumers.

As the Lead Computer Management Specialist at the United States Embassy in Kingston, Part of my responsibility was to supervise the Information Systems Centre team of 4 individuals. Supervision entailed much more than keeping reports and giving direction. I had to write the week's events that impacted our operation each week. Management used the weekly reports to plan remedies, be proactive with our support, and reduce downtime.

The network team maintained access controls to the network while establishing procedures for performing all the mandatory unclassified systems operations, e.g. systems backups, recoveries and restorations. I also supervised the production of system reports, file management and the daily maintenance of the various components of the U.S. Embassy's network.

As the UNFPA's Sub-Regional Network Manager, I planned, constructed, implemented, and managed robust network infrastructure. I created an information management architecture and budget, encompassing computerization, telecommunications, and records management, with assistance from UNFPA headquarters.

UNFPA saved thousands of dollars using this new communications system since it eliminated communication expenditures in the area. I implemented an expanded Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone system using the headquarters' VoIP gateway.

Along with networking duties, I was responsible for ensuring that our Sub-Regional offices had an online presence through our website. I was responsible for training staff members in the remote offices on how to develop copy that would positively influence our website visitors.

I worked closely with the Communications Specialist to ensure the content on our website layout and content were easily accessible to the visitor and relevant to the agency's mission.

I also contributed to the planning, preparing, and monitoring sub-regional office Information and Communication Technology (ICT) budgets and plans and managed all ICT procurement across the sub-region. These concentrations enabled us to use information management to certify effective results while always attaining ICT efficiency. One ICT Specialist located in the Guyana office was under my supervision.

Special Projects:
Following the 2010 earthquake, I was deployed to Haiti to rebuild the UNFPA office infrastructure for continuity and disaster recovery. Coordinating with partner U.N. agencies, UNFPA headquarters, and local service providers, I made the office operational with internet access and file and printer sharing. I also designed a new wireless subnet which enabled other U.N. agencies to piggyback on our internet connection to conduct business securely. As constant communication was a necessity, I enabled VoIP communication via Skype. We assigned each user an extension accessible from any telephone routed through the Skype/PBX gateway in headquarters.

In 2011, I deployed to Istanbul, Turkey, to build the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Regional Office's network in their new office, which the Turkish government donated. In collaboration with the government and our MIS and Facilities division, I installed and configured a state of the art network architecture. The architecture included an Alcatel VOIP PBX and telephony, Cisco/Tandberg Audio/visual presentation rooms with Tele-Presence, a Cisco1GB network infrastructure with an Aruba wireless infrastructure. A Skype gateway connected to our N.Y. office and thus connected to all other offices via Skype' which provided free communications.

I initiated creating a Business Continuity Plan for the Jamaica office of the sub-region. This plan includes collaborative efforts with other U.N. agencies in Jamaica and the other branch offices to support UNFPA should a natural or otherwise disaster occur. The framework has been put into place for file restoration, information access and space utilization at other U.N. offices and from home for essential staff.