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International Communications and Visibility Consultant

home-based

  • Organization: UNWOMEN - United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
  • Location: home-based
  • Grade: Consultancy - International Consultant - Internationally recruited Contractors Agreement
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Communication and Public Information
    • Women's Empowerment and Gender Mainstreaming
  • Closing Date: Closed

Background

1. Organizational 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 maintains a large presence throughout Europe and Central Asia region, covering 12 countries, with programme presence in Kosovo, Serbia, Tajikistan and North Macedonia; and country offices in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkey and Ukraine. The adoption of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention), and the fact that countries have to harmonize national legislation with the EU’s acquis as part of the accession process, has created an opportunity to step up UN Women’s Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECA RO) capacity to bring a regional perspective to human rights-based programming in relation to national, regional and international agreements, and the European Union (EU) normative frameworks for accession countries related to gender equality discrimination, and in particular, on ending violence against women in Western Balkans and Turkey.

"Implementing norms, changing minds" is a UN Women regional programme, which aims to support a reduction in discrimination and violence against women and girls in the Western Balkans - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia – and Turkey, anchored in the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Istanbul Convention, and also in alignment with European Union accession standards.  The programme is funded by the European Commission under IPA II. The programme supports the development of an enabling legislative and policy environment on eliminating violence against women and all forms of discrimination; promotes favorable social norms and attitudes to prevent gender discrimination and violence against women; and pursues empowering women and girls (including those from disadvantaged groups) who have experienced discrimination or violence to advocate for and use available, accessible, and quality services. The programme channels its interventions through and to women’s organizations, with an emphasis on those working with women from disadvantaged groups.

Addressing gender-based discrimination, and violence against women as one of its most pervasive forms, requires a comprehensive, coordinated, and sustained effort in different areas, including legislation, service provision, awareness-raising, and attitudinal and behavioral change. Gender-related discrimination and violence against women is a complex phenomenon that needs to be understood within the wider social context and within the social and cultural norms that permeate it. Community attitudes and responses regarding violence against women reflect these norms and play an important role in shaping the social climate in which discrimination and violence occur. Comprehending attitudes toward gender equality and violence against women is key to better understanding its root causes and, therefore, developing more effective intervention measures to eliminate it.

Within this context, the UN Women ECA Regional EVAW programme is seeking the services of an international consultant to implement the communications and visibility plan of the programme, and to raise awareness on the issue of violence against women and girls as well as its prevalence in the Western Balkans and Turkey.  The consultant will work under the supervision of the EVAW Programme Specialist/ Regional Programme Manager and in close collaboration with the UN Women Europe and Central Asia Regional Communications and Advocacy Specialist, and the programme field-based Technical Project Analysts.

 

2. Purpose of Assignment

 

The purpose of the consultancy is to implement the communications and visibility plan of the programme ”Implementing Norms, Changing Minds“; provide high quality, technical assistance in communications and advocacy to support the overall objectives of the programme; to develop and coordinate programme communications and advocacy materials to advocate for gender equality and ending violence against women in the public domain; and to support the implementation of the programme advocacy, prevention and behavioral change related activities.

Duties and Responsibilities

3. Scope of work and responsibilities

 

1. Implement all communications-related activities specified in the Programme Communications and Visibility Plan, including:

  • Develop a 1-year communication and visibility action plan for the programme, aligned with the Programme Communications and Visibility Plan:
  • Liaise with the Programme team in the participating countries to ensure the programme visibility and expected results of the programme’s advocacy and prevention initiatives and tools;
  • Support development and dissemination of the programme’s key messages, communications products and deliverables;
  • Support the development of tools and templates;
  • Build information networks; plan and oversee maintenance of publicly accessible information materials on the programme; plan and develop outreach activities;
  • Assist the Programme team in holding regional level conferences, events, and workshops to assist in the delivery of programme-related communications and visibility actions
  • Take the lead in organizing media outreach at regional level; arrange media contacts, press briefings, and interviews; provide talking points and other materials as needed; respond to media inquiries quickly and effectively;
  • Develop close collaboration with the regional media through the provision of stories and news releases, using both web-based and traditional media when appropriate to generate and maintain public interest in ending discrimination and violence against women as well as women’s issues, particularly related to Istanbul Convention;
  • Support programme’s implementing partners to address communications needs and implement communications and advocacy related activities;

 

2. Support the implementation of the Gender Action Lab (GenderLab) and raising awareness activities to identify the most effective actions leading to sustainable behavioral change, as an innovative tool to assess current advocate strategies, identify successful ones, and replicate them accordingly. The communications component of the Gender Lab will play an instrumental role in exploring the potential contribution of social marketing tools (e.g. audience segmentation, objective setting, message and program development, channel and tool selection, etc.) and methodologies (i.e. combining communication approaches, behavior change theories, and formative research in a methodology that incorporates interpersonal communication, community mobilization, mass media, and policy advocacy) to the design of effective interventions addressing gender stereotypes at country level.

 

3. Ensure that all products adhere and comply with UN Women branding guidelines and other relevant policies and are in line with the EU Communication and Visibility tools and the EU-UN joint visibility guidelines.

Competencies

4. Competencies

 

Core values:

  • Respect for Diversity
  • Integrity
  • Professionalism

 

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 Core Values and Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637  

 

 

Functional Competencies:

  • In-depth knowledge of gender equality and women's rights issues
  • Demonstrated ability to produce well written articles and human-interest stories
  • Ability to work under pressure and within limited time frames
  • Communicative, results-driven, ability to work in teams
  • Proven networking skills, and ability to mobilize support on behalf of UN Women
  • Excellent negotiating skills
  • Knowledge and understanding of UN system
  • Excellent IT skills, including databases, extranet and office software packages
  • Strong risk-management skill
  • Familiarity with UN Women
  • Very effective at multi-tasking
  • Strong analytical and interpersonal skills
  • Focuses on impact and results for client
  • Identifies opportunities and builds strong relationships with client and external actors
  • Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude

 

Required Skills and Experience

5. Required Skills and Experience

 

Education:

  • Postgraduate qualifications from a recognized university with a background in either communications, journalism or public relations.
  • 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:

  • 5 years of experience in developing, planning and implementing communications, visibility and advocacy initiatives is required.
  • 2 years of experience working with UN Women and/or other UN agency is required.
  • Previous experience on gender equality and ending violence against women is an asset
  • Previous experience working on an European Union funded initiative is an asset.
  • Experience in communications for development and behaviour change initiative is an asset

 

Language Requirements:

  • Fluency in English required (written and oral)
  • Knowledge of other UN working languages is highly desirable

 

6. Deliverables

 

The consultant will be required to support and produce the following deliverables in a period of 12 months. The schedule and/or nature of the deliverables may be modified by the hiring manager, in agreement with the consultant.

 

MONTHS 1-2-3

  • 1-year workplan including deliverables, responsible parties, timeframes and key milestones to implement the Communication and Visibility Action Plan in the donor agreement
  • Brief report of visibility support provided to all programme participating countries activities and deliverables
  • At least 6 stories published in the programme quarterly e-newsletter and on the programme website and disseminated on social media.
  • Review of programme publications if any
  • Update of programme corner website
  • Action plan to support the Gender Lab, identifying initiatives and experiences on behavior change in the programme implementation countries
  • Substantive inputs into UN Women and donor reporting

 

MONTHS 4-5-6

  • Brief report on the implementation of the GenderLab activities, indicating progress and next steps
  • At least 6 stories published in the programme quarterly e-newsletter and on the programme website and disseminated on social media
  • Review of programme publications if any from a communications and visibility perspective
  • Update of programme corner website
  • Brief report of visibility support provided to all programme participating countries activities and deliverables
  • Brief report of communication-related activities conducted as per the deliverables of the work plan.
  • Substantive inputs into UN Women and donor reporting

 

MONTHS 7-8-9

  • Mid-term review of annual workplan including deliverables, responsible parties, timeframes and key milestones to implement the Communication and Visibility Action Plan in the donor agreement
  • At least 6 stories published in the programme quarterly e-newsletter and on the programme website and disseminated on social media
  • Brief report of visibility support provided to all programme participating countries activities and deliverables
  • Review of programme publications if any from a communications and visibility perspective
  • Update of programme corner website
  • Brief report of communication-related activities conducted as per the deliverables of the work plan.
  • Brief report on the implementation of the GenderLab activities
  • Regional Communications Plan for 16 Days of Activism
  • Inputs into UN Women and donor reporting

 

MONTHS 10-11-12

  • Brief report of visibility support provided to all programme participating countries activities and deliverables
  • At least 6 stories published in the programme quarterly e-newsletter and on the programme website and disseminated on social media
  • Review of programme publications if any from a communications and visibility perspective
  • Update of programme corner website
  • Development of regional level activities communications products
  • Summary report of activities conducted for 16 Days of Activism
  • Inputs into UN Women and donor reporting

 

7. Impact of Results

The key results have an impact on creation of effective communications and dissemination of programme activities and outcomes, effective implementation of programme communications and advocacy initiatives, as well as enhancing the visibility of UN Women’s contribution to ending discrimination and violence against women in the geographical area covered by the programme.

 

8. Location of Activities and Duration of Assignment:

  • The consultant is expected to work remotely, utilizing his/her own office space, computer, internet, telephone, and other equipment, as needed, to undertake the assignment.
  • The consultant will be engaged to work an average of 20 days per month up to a total of 240 working days within the period of 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 (12 months).

 

9. Application procedure

The following documents should be submitted as part of the application:

  • Cover letter to include a brief overview about which of your previous experiences makes you the most suitable candidate for the advertised position.
  • Financial Proposal Specifying a total lump sum amount for the tasks specified in this Terms of Reference. The financial proposal shall include a breakdown of this lump sum amount by indicating the daily rate with an anticipated 240 working days, and other possible costs, if any.
  • P11 (and CV) including past experience in similar assignments; can be downloaded at http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment, a signed copy should be submitted with the application.
  • At least two sample of previous work completed similar to this assignment (for example, briefs communications strategy documents or featured stories).

 

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.

 

Payment schedule

The consultant will be paid in quarterly instalments (as per the daily rate in the financial offer from the consultant) based on the review and approval of deliverables submitted by Month 3, Month 6, Month 9 and Month 12 (end of assignment) as listed in the section of Deliverables above.

 

Evaluation of applicants

Candidates will be evaluated using a cumulative analysis method taking into consideration the combination of the applicants’ qualifications and financial proposal. Contract will be awarded to the individual consultant whose offer receives 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.

 

Criteria Total points Max. Points
Technical Evaluation (70%) 70  
Relevant education   10
5 years of experience in developing, planning and implementing communications, visibility and advocacy initiatives is required.   20
2 years of experience working with UN Women and/or other UN agency is required.   10
Previous experience on gender equality and ending violence against women is an asset   10
Experience in communications for development and behaviour change   10
Previous working on an European Union funded initiative is an asset.   10
Financial Evaluation (30%) 30  
TOTAL 100  

 

Financial Evaluation (30%) – max. 30 points:

The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal is allocated to the lowest price proposal. All other price proposals receive points in inverse proportion. A suggested formula is as follows:

p = 30 (µ/z)

Using the following values:

p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated

µ = price of the lowest priced proposal

z = price of the proposal being evaluated

This vacancy is now closed.
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