Background:

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.In line with this mandate, UN Women contributes to global and national efforts to address hate speech and harmful narratives that undermine gender equality, democratic participation, and social cohesion. The United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech (2019) calls on UN entities to strengthen prevention, promote inclusive dialogue, and support coordinated responses that protect freedom of expression while addressing speech that incites discrimination, hostility or violence.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), hate speech and divisive narratives remain significant challenges to social cohesion, democratic governance, and reconciliation. Political rhetoric, online platforms, and parts of the media landscape continue to amplify discriminatory narratives based on ethnicity, gender, and other identity factors, often intensifying during periods of political contestation. Gender-based hate speech in particular increasingly targets women in public life including journalists, activists, and politicians contributing to shrinking civic space and limiting women’s participation in public discourse. In response, the Joint Programme “Partnerships for Equality: No to Hate Speech and Divisive Narratives in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” funded by the UN Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund and implemented by UNESCO, UN Women and UNDP, aims to strengthen institutional responses, promote gender-responsible media practices, and foster inclusive dialogue to counter hate speech and support peacebuilding and social cohesion in BiH. 

To contribute to the objectives of the Joint Programme, UN Women is leading targeted interventions aimed at promoting gender-responsive public discourse, strengthening responsible media practices, and supporting evidence-informed policymaking to counter hate speech and divisive narratives. These efforts align with the UN Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech and seek to address the gendered dimensions of hate speech while strengthening cooperation among institutions, media actors, and civil society organizations.

Under the Joint Programme, UN Women will focus on strengthening gender-responsive approaches to hate speech prevention and response through a set of complementary interventions. In particular, the initiative will:

  • Facilitate gender-responsive multi-stakeholder dialogue with policymakers, political actors, civil society, and media representatives to promote responsible and inclusive public communication;
  • Support evidence-based policy engagement through research, dialogue processes, and knowledge products addressing trends in hate speech and divisive narratives;
  • Promote positive narratives and visibility of inclusive communication practices that contribute to social cohesion and democratic dialogue.

To support the effective implementation of these activities, UN Women seeks to engage a Governance and Communications Expert with demonstrated expertise in political communication and multi-stakeholder dialogue to provide technical support to programme implementation and engagement with key stakeholders.

The objective of this consultancy is to support the implementation of activities under the Joint Programme “Partnerships for Equality: No to Hate Speech and Divisive Narratives in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, and contribute to strengthening institutional responses, responsible public discourse, and gender-responsive political party practices. Through facilitating dialogue processes, supporting policy engagement, and strengthening cooperation between institutions, media, and civil society actors, the consultancy will contribute to addressing the spread of hate speech and divisive narratives and promoting inclusive communication in line with international human rights standards.

The consultant will report to the Hate Speech and Divisive Narratives Programme Coordination Analyst under the overall guidance of the Women Peace and Security Programme Specialist and will work in close collaboration with relevant programme staff and partner organizations to ensure alignment with Joint Programme objectives and UN programming on hate speech prevention and gender equality. The consultant will also coordinate with implementing partners, including civil society organizations, media representatives, and institutional stakeholders.

The consultant will be responsible for submitting a workplan at the start of the assignment, followed by regular progress updates and short reports following key programme activities. A final consolidated report will be required at the end of the assignment summarizing achievements, challenges, and lessons learned. All reports must be submitted in English and in electronic format. Outputs will be reviewed and approved by UN Women, and payments will be made upon satisfactory completion of agreed deliverables.

In this context, the consultancy is expected to contribute to an integrated programme approach, ensuring that insights from stakeholder dialogue and policy engagement are informed by evidence generated through media monitoring and experiences of women affected by hate speech, and that resulting policy recommendations and dialogue outcomes are effectively translated into broader programme interventions, including public narratives and advocacy initiatives.

Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work

The selected consultant will be responsible for the following:

  1. Activity Coordination and Implementation
  • Develop a detailed implementation plan and schedule for governance and dialogue activities under the Joint Programme, monitor progress against the workplan, identify risks or delays, and propose mitigation measures.
  • Support coordination with responsible parties (CSOs, media organizations, research partners, and experts) to ensure timely and quality delivery of planned outputs related to dialogue processes, research, and policy engagement.
  • Ensure active integration of governance and dialogue activities with other programme components by facilitating the use of evidence generated through AI-supported monitoring and civil society engagement, and contributing to the development of coherent programme outputs across policy, media, and narrative interventions.Provide regular updates and draft inputs for internal progress reports, briefs, knowledge products, and donor reporting related to programme implementation.
  • Support coordination with other programme components, including media engagement and counter-narrative campaigns.

2. Stakeholder Engagement and Partnership Coordination

  • Organize and facilitate regular coordination meetings with relevant institutions, civil society organizations, media representatives, and other programme stakeholders, in close coordination with UN Women.
  • Conduct stakeholder mapping and support regular UN Women engagement with policymakers, political actors, media professionals, and civil society actors participating in programme activities.
  • Support the development, finalization, and implementation of collaboration arrangements with implementing partners, including relevant documentation where required.
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3. Technical Support and Policy Engagement

  • Provide technical support to the design and facilitation of policy dialogues, consultations, and thematic roundtables addressing hate speech, divisive narratives, and responsible public discourse.
  • Support the preparation of analytical inputs, background papers, and policy briefs to inform dialogue processes and evidence-based policymaking.
  • Provide technical input into the development of guidance or recommendations on responsible political communication and inclusive public discourse
  • Support initiatives aimed at strengthening institutional responses to hate speech, including engagement with policymakers, political actors, and relevant institutions.
  • Contribute to documenting programme learning and good practices related to dialogue processes and policy engagement.
  • Ensure that policy analysis and dialogue processes are informed by data and insights generated through AI-supported monitoring and inputs from civil society partners, and that findings are translated into actionable recommendations for programme interventions, including advocacy and narrative change components.

4. Facilitation of Dialogue Processes and Knowledge Sharing

  • Organize and facilitate multi-stakeholder dialogues, roundtables, and consultations bringing together policymakers, political actors, civil society organizations, and media representatives.
  • Support the organization of national conferences or public events presenting research findings, programme results, and policy recommendations.
  • Contribute to the development of knowledge products and summaries highlighting dialogue outcomes and recommendations.
  • Support dissemination of programme results and lessons learned from relevant stakeholders and partners.

Financial arrangements
Payments will be made on a bi monthly basis, subject to the Consultant’s submission of bi monthly progress reports and timesheets and their subsequent endorsement by UN Women. The expected workload is approximately four (4) working days per month, with an additional four (4) days allocated for the development of the workplan and the preparation of the final consolidated report. The level of remuneration will be determined in accordance with the UN salary scale.


Inputs
UN Women will provide the Consultant with background materials related to the assignment. The Consultant is expected to work using her/his own computer.


Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel
The assignment might require some presence at UN Women premises in Sarajevo. The consultancy will require some travel to field locations, as per the agreed workplan. Any travel to field locations for meetings and events will be pre-arranged and approved in consultation with the supervisor, with all travel expenses covered by UN Women.
 

Competencies :

Core Values:

  • Integrity;
  • Professionalism;
  • Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

  • Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
  • Accountability;
  • Creative Problem Solving;
  • Effective Communication;
  • Inclusive Collaboration;
  • Stakeholder Engagement;
  • Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

•    Project coordination and delivery: Demonstrated ability to coordinate and implement complex multi-stakeholder initiatives in politically sensitive environments, particularly those involving governance actors, media institutions, and civil society organizations.
•    Stakeholder engagement and partnership building: Strong capacity to build trust, facilitate dialogue, and maintain strategic partnerships with policymakers, political actors, media representatives, and civil society organizations.
•    Technical expertise in governance, public discourse, and hate speech prevention: Applied knowledge of governance processes, political communication, and policy engagement related to hate speech, divisive narratives, and gender equality.
•    Facilitation of dialogue and policy processes: Ability to design and facilitate inclusive consultations, roundtables, and policy dialogues addressing sensitive governance and social cohesion issues.
•    Communication and reporting: Ability to clearly communicate complex governance and policy issues in verbal and written form in both B/C/S and English, including preparation of analytical reports, policy briefs, and programme documentation.
•    Monitoring and adaptive implementation: Capacity to track progress against programme workplans and results frameworks, identify emerging challenges in dialogue processes, and support adaptive programme implementation.
 

Education and Certification:

  • Master’s degree or equivalent in political science, communications, law, public policy, human rights, gender studies, international relations, or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. (pass/fail)
  • Certification in project/programme management, mediation, dialogue facilitation, or governance-related training would be considered an advantage. (5 points)

Experience:

  • At least 5 years of progressively responsible work experience in coordinating or implementing governance, human rights, peacebuilding, media development, or policy dialogue initiatives is required. (50 points)
  • At least 5 years of experience working with government institutions, civil society organizations, or media actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina on issues related to governance, public discourse, or democratic participation is required. (25 points)
  • Experience in designing or facilitating policy dialogues, consultations, trainings, or multi-stakeholder workshops is required, with at least 5 similar activities implemented. (20 points)

Languages:

  • Fluency in English and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian is required. (pass/fail)

Statements :

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.


 

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Before applying, please make sure that you have read the requirements for the position and that you qualify. Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.