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.

UN Women's mandate (GA resolution 64/289) is to lead, coordinate and promote accountability of the UN System to deliver on gender equality and women empowerment (GEWE) with the primary objective of enhancing country-level coherence, ensuring coordinated interventions, and securing positive impacts on the lives of women and girls, including those living in rural areas and face other forms of vulnerabilities. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. UN Women is committed to the principle of Leaving No One Behind , by intentionally supporting targeted actions aimed at addressing barriers preventing marginalized and vulnerable groups of women and girls from fully exercising their rights. The UN Women Rwanda Country Office leverage its triple mandate- normative, coordination, and operational, to translate global gender standards into national policies, strengthen UN system coordination, and deliver evidence-based programs. In partnership with government, civil society, development partners, and the private sector, UN Women Rwanda fosters , an enabling environment for women and girls, advancing the SDGs, Convention of the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Beijing Platform for Action, and Rwanda’s Governance as well as socio-economic transformation agenda.

The UN Women Rwanda Country Office (CO) Strategic Note (2026–2029), aligned with NST II, the UNSDCF 2025–2029, and the UN Women Strategic Plan 2026–2029, advances a refocused country presence centered on upstream policy influence, evidence-based advocacy, catalytic programming, and strengthened UN system coordination to accelerate gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE). Leveraging UN Women’s triple mandate, normative, coordination, and operational, the CO plays a central coordination and advocacy role across national development processes and multi-stakeholder partnerships, strengthening inter-agency collaboration, supporting government-led gender integration in policies, plans, and budgets, and advancing strategic engagement with development partners, civil society, the private sector, and academia. The CO also promotes high-level advocacy, visibility, and accountability for GEWE commitments while facilitating knowledge exchange and positioning gender equality as a cross-cutting development priority 

Reporting to the Country Representative, Under the direct supervision of the National Programme Specialist, the Communications Associate supports the formulation and implementation of the communications and advocacy strategies to increase the standing and awareness of UN Women with partners, the media and the public. The Communications Associate adopts a quality- and a client-oriented approach to deliver results. 

Scope of Work.

1.Provide coordination support in the development of a coherent CO communications and advocacy strategy:

  • Provide substantive inputs to the development of the Country Office communication strategy; 
  • Provide support to advocacy efforts and campaigns by organizing roundtable discussions, press conferences, and other publicity events, and preparing briefing materials and press releases; 
  • Provide guidance and support to programme and other CO’s staff on UN Women corporate communications guidelines and printing norms;  
  • Track and monitor print and social media and report relevant information to senior staff to inform strategy development; and
  • Provide inputs to Programme in order to integrate advocacy and communication strategies into programme formulation, as necessary. 
  • Participate in the UN interagency communication initiatives and processes including the UNCG meetings and contribute to the efforts of Communicating as One and mainstreaming gender in the ONE UN Rwanda communications.

2. Provide coordination support to the development of CO’s advocacy materials:

  • Support the implementation of UN Women’s corporate campaigns such as HeForShe, Generational Equality and Global Media Compact.
  • Oversee the translation, adaptation, or rewriting of information received for the local context; 
  • Manage the publication of materials for final approval; establish and maintain relationships with printers/publishers;  
  • Maintain library/ database of reference materials and photos and digital assets, as necessary; and
  • Follow guidelines from RO/HQ. 

3. Provide substantive support in the management of the CO’s social media presence and website:

  • Identify stories, and develop/review content for the CO’s website hosted at the RO and social media channels; 
  • Update the website and social media channels, ensure consistency in branding; 
  • Research, compile and produce reports on web statistics on a regular basis and electronic surveys;  
  • Maintain files, databases, and systems relevant to the CO’s digital presence, as necessary; and
  • Provide support on special web/digital/media projects undertaken by the CO/MCO. 
  • Support the preparation and visibility of key global, regional, and national events, including international commemorations such as the International Women’s Day/month, 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence and the International Day of the Girl.

4. Provide media relations support to the CO head of office:

  • Serve as a focal point on UN Women activities open to the press, as necessary;  
  • Establish and maintain relationships with press in country; maintain and update database of relevant press, as necessary; 
  • Respond to request for information and arrange interviews; and
  • Draft talking points. 
  • Support day-to-day communications requests, ensuring alignment with UN Women branding, messaging, and visibility guidelines. 
  • Support media monitoring of UN Women’s work, including tracking media clippings from partners and contributing inputs to HQ quarterly media reporting assessments.

5. Facilitate knowledge management and sharing:

  • Draft and edit communication products including press releases, op-eds, blog posts, and human-interest stories for external dissemination and reporting purposes.
  • Support documentation of Country Office activities through high-quality photos, videos, and testimonials.
  • Contribute to the identification of best practices and lessons learned; 
  • Conduct trainings and workshops on communication practices; 
  • Provide/ exchange information with HQ and RO, MCO, and COs. 

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

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:

  • Ability to establish, build and sustain effective relationships with clients 
  • Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats, using appropriate IT functionality 
  • Excellent event planning skills 
  • Excellent knowledge of social media and communications strategy and methods  
  • Ability to identify relevant events and stories and communicate them to a mass audience 
  • Strong multimedia skills 
  • Knowledge of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Minimum Qualifications

Education and Certification:

  • Completion of secondary education is required.  
  • Bachelor’s degree in communications, public relations or journalism is desirable.  

Experience

  • At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in providing support to the formulation and implementation of internal and external communications and advocacy strategies and related plans is required.
  • Experience in the use of social media and digital communications is required.  
  • Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required.
  • Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.

Languages

  • Fluency in English is required.
  • Fluency in Kiryarwanda is required.
  • Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

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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