Communication and Visibility Consultant, External International Consultant (part-time), Home Based

Background/Context

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 Europe and Central Regional Office covers 12 countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo*, North Macedonia, Serbia, Republic of Moldova Tajikistan, Türkiye, and Ukraine). UN Women ECARO works on analysis, research, and knowledge management that provides the evidence base to UN Women country and regional office on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Furthermore, UN Women Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECARO) develops and manages regional level programmes and provides policy and technical support to regional and country offices on ending violence against women (EVAW) and women’s economic empowerment (WEE).

The EU-funded UNDP and UN Women regional -programme “EU4 Gender Equality – Women’s Economic Empowerment and Ending Violence Against Women in the Western Balkans” aims at addressing women’s barriers to entrepreneurship and active safe participation in the green and digital economy and creating enabling environment for increased economic opportunities as well as to advocate and provide technical assistance for the introduction of specific gender-sensitive normative and regulatory frameworks and services for victims and survivors of violence against women including technology-facilitated violence. To this end, UN Women will undertake research to produce non-available comparable recommendations for improving the women’s entrepreneurship ecosystem in the IPA beneficiaries, mentor women entrepreneurs to accelerate their ‘ access to markets and finance and build disadvantaged women’s digital skills. UN Women will also build the capacity of key stakeholders in the referral system, including government, policymakers, law enforcement officials, the judiciary, the health sector, and civil society organizations, to provide quality, coordinated offline and digital services for survivors of violence, including online and technology-facilitated violence is strengthened; while it will partner with women’s rights organizations, service provider, media and tech companies to develop regulatory frameworks, tools and initiatives to prevent and respond to violence against women.

Effective communication and visibility are crucial for raising awareness, fostering understanding, and mobilizing support for women’s empowerment and gender equality. For the new JP EU4GE in Western Balkans, these efforts are essential to ensure that the programme’s objectives and impacts are widely recognized and supported by key stakeholders and the broader community.

To achieve these goals, UN Women is looking for the services of an international consultant to implement the communications and visibility activities related to UN Women’s component of the programme, and to raise awareness on the issues of women’s economic empowerment, gender equality, and the prevention of violence against women, including technology-facilitated violence in the 6 Western Balkans IPA beneficiaries.

The purpose of the consultancy is to implement the communications and visibility plan of the programme ‘EU4 Gender Equality – Women’s Economic Empowerment and Ending Violence Against Women in the Western Balkans’; provide high-quality technical assistance in communications and advocacy to support the overall objectives of the programme; develop and coordinate programme communications and advocacy materials; and support the implementation of the programme’s advocacy and prevention activities.

The consultant will work under the supervision of the Regional Programme Manager based in Belgrade, and in close collaboration with the UN Women team. The consultant will be supported by the Programme Management Unit, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.

The consultant will be required to report on a monthly basis on activities and results achieved, with reports to be submitted in a specified format by the agreed deadlines. Payments will also be made on a monthly basis, contingent upon the submission and approval of these reports.

Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work

1. Implement Communications and Visibility Activities

• Develop and execute annual communication and visibility action plans for the programme, ensuring alignment with the overall Programme Communications and Visibility Plan.
• Liaise with the JP team in participating countries to ensure visibility and highlight the expected results of the programme’s advocacy and prevention initiatives.
• Support the development and dissemination of key messages, communications products, and deliverables related to the programme.
• Assist in the creation of tools and templates to support communication efforts.
• Build and maintain information networks; oversee the maintenance of publicly accessible information materials on the programme; plan and develop outreach activities.

2. Media Outreach and Engagement

• Coordinate media outreach efforts, including arranging media contacts, press briefings, and interviews.
• Provide talking points and other materials as needed; respond to media inquiries promptly and effectively.
• Develop close collaboration with regional media by providing stories and news releases, using both web-based and traditional media to generate and maintain public interest in economic empowerment of women and ending discrimination and violence against women.

3. Support Programme Events and Activities

• Assist the Programme Management Unit in organizing conferences, events, and workshops to support the delivery of programme-related communications and visibility actions.
• Support programme’s implementing partners in addressing communications needs and implementing communications and advocacy-related activities.

4. Compliance with Branding Guidelines

• Ensure that all communications products adhere to and comply with UN Women branding guidelines and other relevant policies.
• Align all materials with the EU Communication and Visibility tools and the EU-UN joint visibility guidelines.

5. Regular Coordination with UNDP

• Coordinate regularly with UNDP on the overall implementation of the JP Communication and Visibility Strategy and Plan.
• Ensure joint message consistency across all partner organizations and countries in line with project objectives.
• Enhance collaboration and information flow among project partners.

6. Monitoring and Reporting

• Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of communication activities.
• Measure regularly the impact of the communication and visibility plan to ensure effectiveness and alignment with programme objectives.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy with the expectation that the consultant will be available to work in the CET time zone. If any travel is required during the contract duration, these will be covered by UN Women in line with UN Women Travel Policy.

III. 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/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

• Ability to communicate sensitively, effectively and creatively across different constituencies.
• Good knowledge of web-based knowledge management systems.
• Good understanding of production, graphic design and photography standards.
• Good knowledge of social media platforms and experience in social media outreach.
• Good knowledge of regional media landscape.
• Good communication, presentation, networking and advocacy skills.
• Ability to be strategic and analytical.
• Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats.
• Ability to manage data, documents, correspondence and reports information and workflow, identify and adjust discrepancies, identify, and resolve operational problems.
• Good knowledge of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

IV. Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in communications, public relations, media communications, journalism/or relevant field is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• Additional training and certification in communication and related areas is a strong advantage.

Experience:

• A minimum of 5 years’ experience in communications at the national or international level, including experience in media relations.
• Experience in the use of social media, multi-media and digital platforms required.
• Experience required in editing and copywriting skills, including articles, reports, social media content, press releases preferred.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) required.
• Experience in video and photo editing and design software is an asset.
• Previous experience with gender issues, with UN Women and UN system is required.
• Previous experience with EC funded projects is required.
• Experience in the region (at a large) is an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of any other UN official is an asset.

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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