Coordination and Communication Associate

UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.

UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality, and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to ensure that the standards are effectively implemented and truly benefit women and girls worldwide.

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.

Japan has become one of UN Women’s top donors and has strengthened its focus on gender equality over the past few years. Recognizing the importance of Japan in development assistance, a UN Women Japan Liaison Office (JLO) was established in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo in 2015. UN Women presence in Japan provides a strategic entry point and an opportunity to liaise with stakeholders from the Government of Japan, local governments, private sector, media, academic and civil society. It is also an opportunity to work closely with other UN entities based in Tokyo. The work of the UN Women JLO is shaped to contribute to UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2026-2029.

Supervision, induction and duty of care of UN Volunteers

UN Volunteers should be provided equal duty of care as extended to all host entity personnel. Host entity support to the UN Volunteer includes, but is not limited to:
• Introductory briefings about the organisation and office-related context including security, emergency procedures, good cultural practice and orientation to the local environment;
• Support with arrival administration including setting-up of bank accounts, residence permit applications and completion of other official processes as required by the host government or host entity;
• Structured guidance, mentoring and coaching by a supervisor including a clear workplan and performance appraisal;
• Access to office space, equipment, IT support and any other systems and tools required to complete the objectives of the assignment including a host entity email address;
• Access to shared host entity corporate knowledge, training and learning;
• Inclusion of the volunteer in emergency procedures such as evacuations;
• Leave management;
• DSA for official travel, when applicable ;
• All changes in the Description of Assignment occurring between recruitment and arrival or during the assignment need to be formalized with the United Nations Volunteer Programme.

Under the direct supervision of the Partnership Specialist of UN Women Japan Liaison Office (JLO), the Coordination and Communication Associate will:

• Coordinate the translation of UN Women highlights 2025-26 including coordination with the translation company, printing company and other vendors and internal stakeholders.
• Coordinate youth engagement initiatives resulting from UN Women’s partnership with private sector actors.
• Serve as communication focal point for the private sector members of the Unstereotype Japan chapter until the onboarding of the Communication specialist.
• Support the coordination, research, and onboarding of private sector companies to join UN Women’s advocacy initiatives such as the Unstereotype Alliance.
• Support the translation and compilation of knowledge products on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) in Japanese.
• Provide inputs and support to organizing the executive mission(s).
• Support developing briefing materials, presentations, advocacy materials, press releases and coordinate its dissemination through effective channels.
• Support JLO’s web/online presence.
• Support the migration of the website to the new template.
• Assist the Director in communication and advocacy activities.
• Any other related tasks as may be required by the office or assigned by the supervisor.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities:

• Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day);
• Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country;
• Provide annual and end-of-assignment self-reports on UN Volunteer actions, results and opportunities.
• Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.;
• Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers;
• Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.