International Communications Consultant

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. Placing women's rights at the centre of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

The UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) was established in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2014. The UN Women ECARO acts as a thought and action leader on gender equality and women’s empowerment in the region and supports UN Women field offices in Europe and Central Asia region with the same goal. Communications initiatives that provide and use information with a clearly defined objective are pivotal in this regard. In order to communicate convincingly, UN Women ECARO aims to show the results and impact of its work, as well as the work of field offices, on communities’ and women’s lives.

In order to enhance awareness of UN Women’s mandate and increase visibility of successful UN Women initiatives in the region, communications work of the ECARO is channeled through traditional media, through active social media channels in the region and the ECARO website. ECARO also develops communications and advocacy materials, such as brochures, briefs, leaflets etc., in order to present the work of UN Women in the region in a clear, concise and innovative manner.   

UN Women ECARO has successfully positioned itself as an authority and key advocate for women’s empowerment, women’s rights and gender equality in the region. The successful positioning of women’s empowerment and gender equality as a prerequisite to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals provides a unique opportunity to further advance UN Women’s mandate and ECARO will continue its advocacy in this regard. The 25th year review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Beijing+25) and the ECARO campaign to accompany and multiply the effectiveness of the review process will provide an opportunity to strengthen the conversation on the importance of gender equality and women’s empowerment and engage large audiences on the gender equality agenda. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Oversee and maintain UN Women’s regional online outreach in Europe and Central Asia

• Support the regional office and field offices with providing visibility for successful initiatives, programmatic results, events, campaigns etc. on UN Women’s regional and global multi-media platforms
• Support the development, finalization, and dissemination of a quarterly regional Newsletter
• Oversee regional office website technically and editorially and coordinate web presence of field offices in the region and in line with the corporate web policy
• Oversee and manage regional social media accounts in line with corporate social media policy and provide inputs to corporate social media accounts.

Provide advice and support to UN Women special events and campaigns

• Implement communications components of UN Women and/or UN campaigns, e.g.  16 Days of Activism, launch of flagship global/regional reports, intergovernmental events etc.
• Conceptualize and organize inputs to special events with a view to reaching wider audiences; to that end, conceive concepts and develop and compile relevant materials. 

Produce information materials for public outreach

• Draft publications, brochures, fact sheets, stories from the field to inform media and general public on the work of UN Women in the region, and its global mandate.
• Identify effective channels for dissemination of all information products to relevant target audiences and coordinate distribution.
• Draft speeches and talking points for public outreach of the Regional Director (or delegated colleague) in close cooperation with the relevant programme staff. 

Support the management of UN Women media/press relations

• Identify opportunities for press conferences when necessary and organize interviews with senior managers
• Draft press releases and media kits and review and provide feedback into the ones received from field offices
• Provide clear, consistent and timely responses to media inquiries
• Support field offices when necessary with media and press relations

Implement the Beijing+25 communications activities

• Implement the communications activities and actions outlined under the regional Beijing+25 Concept Note
• Oversee the development and maintenance of the dedicated webpage to Beijing+25; develop inspirational stories of women and girls, men and boys across the region that contribute to the fulfillment of the Beijing commitments as well as visualized data and statistics, in the format of interactive designs or infographics, that showcase the current situation regarding gender equality and women’s empowerment in the region
• Oversee and lead a region-wide social media campaign on UN Women’s English and Russian regional social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Odnoklassniki (and possibly VKontakte) and YouTube, disseminating creative and catchy digital assets, including photo and video assets, animations, infographics, photos stories etc.
• Conceptualize and organize the communications events and initiatives underlined in the regional Beijing+25 Concept Note in close consultation with the Beijing+25 team at ECA RO
• Maintain regular consultation with HQ Communications Section to ensure consistency with the corporate Beijing+25 campaign. 

Expected Deliverables ?

Competencies

Core values

• Integrity - Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.
• Professionalism - Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.
• Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity - Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies

• Ethics and Values - Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.
• Organizational Awareness - Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.
• Development and Innovation - Take charge of self-development and take initiative.
• Work in teams - Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
• Communicating and Information Sharing - Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.
• Self-management and Emotional Intelligence - Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others.
• Conflict Management - Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.
• Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing - Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.

Functional Competencies

• In-depth knowledge of gender equality and women's rights issues and familiarity with UN Women;
• Proven experience in Communications and Advocacy;
• Excellent communications skills. Communicates sensitively, effectively and creatively across different constituencies;
• Demonstrates very good understanding of and experience in communications and outreach/advocacy;
• Proven networking skills, and ability to generate interest in UN Women’s mandate;
• Strong initiative-taker;
• Very effective at multi-tasking;
• Focuses on impact and results for client;
• Interacts effectively with all levels of the organization, including senior management;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Identifies opportunities and builds strong relationships with client and external actors;

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree or equivalent in communications, journalism, public relations, social sciences, international relations, or a relevant field.

A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

A minimum of 5 years of experience in working in the field of communications, advocacy and/or public relations

Experience in working in gender equality and women's empowerment is a strong asset

Experience within the UN system is an asset.

Outstanding oral and written communications and editorial skills, with proven ability to produce communications products and content for online platforms and social media

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English required (written and oral)

Application Process 

The application should include:

-Personal History Form (P-11 form) - including past experience in similar assignments; can be downloaded

at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment, a signed copy should be submitted;

- Financial Proposal:  Specify a monthly amount (daily rate, personnel costs, travel expenses to join in

duty station living allowance, etc. should be included in the Offer) for the tasks specified in this

Terms of Reference and considering 20 days for every month expected as working days;

- A list of examples of previous work relevant to the Terms of Reference, such as Communications

Strategies developed, campaigns implemented, multi-media productions, web stories, brochures etc.  

- Candidates should have the ability to quickly produce degree certificates and medical certification

of good health should they be short-listed in consideration of the consultancy post.

VI. Payment Schedule

Consultant will be paid upon submission and the acceptance of the deliverables on a monthly basis. 

VII. Evaluation process

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of qualifications and financial proposal. Contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as:

1. Responsive/compliant/acceptable, and
2. Having received the highest score out of below defined technical and financial criteria.

Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the technical evaluation would be considered for financial evaluation.