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 its efforts, UN Women is mandated to lead and coordinate United Nations’ system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming are translated into action. It is also mandated to provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

The year 2020 marked a confluence of anniversaries that come at a crucial and challenging time for multilateralism and women’s human rights. As the global community marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995), (Beijing + 25), 40th anniversary of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), 20 years since the ground-breaking UN Security Council resolution 1325 on Women and Peace and Security, 10 years anniversary of UN Women, and five years of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the moment is right to achieve irreversible and measurable progress towards this universal commitment to all women and girls, everywhere. At this time, equal enjoyment of the human rights of women and girls, in all their diversities, and in particular, those from marginalised communities, is at a greater risk given the additional repercussions of COVID-19. The time for transformative action is now!

The assignment is  developed as part of  Generation Equality programme that focuses on mobilizing governments and civil societies to keep the promises of the Beijing Platform for Action to all of society. As part of Generation Equality Programme, UN Women organised, together with the government of France and Mexico and civil society partners, a Generation Equality Forum (GEF or the Forum in short) in 2020. The Generation Equality Forum was envisaged as a global conversation and mobilization moment for urgent action and accountability for Gender Equality and celebrated the power of activism, feminist solidarity, and youth leadership to achieve transformative change. Overall, the outcomes of the Forum led to the feminist agenda-setting and the launch of a set of Action Coalitions, which are global, innovative, multi-stakeholder initiatives that mobilized governments, civil society, and the private sector to catalyse collective action and spark global conversations among generations and deliver concrete, yet game-changing results to advance equality for women and girls.

UN Women will maintain a critical role driving the Generation Equality Forum’s (GEF) 5-year action journey to the impact area 6 of the UN Women Annual Work Plan: A comprehensive and dynamic set of global norms, policies and standards on gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls is strengthened and implemented.  UN Women India serves as a national convener of GEF in the country, a knowledge hub; an ally of civil society and women’s rights organisations; and amplified the voices from the ground through its advocacy and communications campaigns that underscored feminist priorities of women and girls in the country.

With this context, the Consultant - Communications and Advocacy will work under the guidance and direct supervision of the UN Women Programme Analyst – Intergovernmental Processes, UN Inter-agency Coordination and Women, Peace and Security, to support with the planning and implementation of the Office communications and advocacy strategies to increase the standing and awareness of UN Women’s Generation Equality Campaign with partners, the media and the public. The Consultant will also be responsible for managing partnerships with Generation Equality Allies and for adding new allies to the project. The Generation Equality Allyship programme is a pro-bono informal partnership with celebrities, influencers, media houses, philanthropists, civil society organisations, journalists and more to spread the message of Generation Equality through a mixed-media collaboration. The Consultant will be responsible for facilitating partnerships and drawing connections between various allies.

The Consultant- Communications and Advocacy will maintain a working relationship with the UN Women India CO/the Regional Communications Team/ and the HQ Communications team on Generation Equality. The Assistant works in close collaboration with the UN Women India/Regional Office, Programme and Operations teams, staff of other UN Agencies, UN Women HQs staff (Communications Unit) ensuring successful UN Women communication strategy implementation.

Duties and Responsibilities

The objective of this role is to support UN Women India CO in increasing visibility of Generation Equality Campaign implementation, advocacy efforts and outreach and maintaining partnerships with Generation Equality Allies.

Provide technical support to the planning and design of external communication and outreach/advocacy strategies and plans for Generation Equality:

• Provide inputs for developing a comprehensive communication strategy; ensure gender and intergenerational perspective;
• Integrate communication, advocacy and outreach strategies for generation equality initiatives, as necessary;
• Monitor and analyse traditional and non-conventional media and provide analysis.

Support and manage strategic partnerships with media-focused platforms and channels, influencers etc. for a meaningful engagement under Generation Equality through the Allyship network and beyond:

• Engaging with government, private sector, and civil society organizations to create meaningful content to advance gender equality;
•  Managing partnerships with 18 Generation Equality allies and creating meaningful engagement within the allyship network;
• Adding new allies to the allyship network through online applications and careful due diligence processes.

Coordinate and contribute to the development and dissemination of advocacy materials under Generation Equality Campaign:

• Contribute to positioning the Generation Equality Campaign in traditional and social media channels;
• Contribute to draft and pitch op-eds, and other written, digital, and broadcast commentaries related to the Campaign;
• Support as needed in the management of media opportunities such as press conferences and media interviews;
• Produce and curate content that reflects communications priorities and key messages for the Generation Equality Campaign;
• Support with disseminating advocacy materials under Generation Equality initiatives, and related campaigns;
• Review translations, contact with printers and other suppliers to ensure production;
• Follow guidelines from HQ and RO.

Assist the Generation Equality Campaign public mobilisation and engagement and digital platform:

• Managerial support to lead the communications strategy for Generation Equality and leading discussions with the communications and media company;
• Support the coordination and management of the work of the media company to ensure compliance with agreed deliverables in consistency with the agreed Generation Equality Campaign messaging, branding and the overall Generation Equality communications strategy;
• Provide technical support for Generation Equality Campaign’s public mobilisation and engagement by drafting content and facilitating communications between different parties involved, including at discussion and other relevant tools.

Provide administrative support to communications and advocacy outreach activities:

• Provide logistical support to communications and advocacy efforts and campaigns, e.g. by supporting the organisation of roundtable discussions, press conferences, and other publicity events and providing inputs to briefing materials and press releases, as necessary.

Other:

• Perform other tasks as assigned by supervisor;
• Provide support on special web/digital/media projects undertaken by the UN Women India CO.

Deliverables:

• Communications and Outreach strategy for Generation Equality;
• Managing and adding to the Generation Equality Allyship network;
• Terms of References, briefing notes, advocacy notes on Generation Equality;
• Effectively support in the development and review of content for media and outreach, including audio-visual material, Human Impact stories, social media posts, media articles, press releases and advocacy material on Generation Equality;
• Monthly Reports on implementation of the communications activities. This report shall also tackle issues faced during implementation of the assignment and recommend follow-up actions.

Competencies

Core Values / Guiding Principles:

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 organisation 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.

Organisational Awareness:

• Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

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 behaviour 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:

• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
• Focuses on impact and result for the partners and responds positively to feedback.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Communications, Media Relations, Journalism or any other related field. Bachelor’s degree with 2 additional years of work experience will be accepted.

Experience:

• At least 4 years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level in public relations, communications or advocacy;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages, good knowledge and experience in handling of web-based management systems;
• Experience in managing communications partnerships;
• Experience in the planning, organization and implementation of high-level meetings/ events;
• Knowledge of gender and human rights issues desirable;
• Experience working in gender equality and women’s rights at the international level is an asset;
• Experience working in developing countries within the UN system, Agencies, Funds or Programs is an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of Hindi is an asset.
• Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset.

Application:

Interested applicants should apply to this announcement through UNDP jobs site: jobs.undp.org

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

• All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/about-us/jobs
• Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment, please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment;
• Applications received after the close date will not be accepted;
• Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Evaluation and Selection Criteria

Criteria for shortlisting of CVs will be based on the following assessment:

• Required Degree and Qualification (5 points);
• Minimum Experience relevant to the assignment (5 points);
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages, good knowledge and experience in handling of web-based management systems (5 points);
• Experience in the planning, organization and implementation of high-level meetings/ events (5 points).

The evaluation process for selection of the candidate will be based on the following assessment:

• Interview – 70 Points
• Written Test  - 30 Points

Please Note:

• For an assignment requiring travel, consultants of 65 years or more require full medical examination and statement of fitness to work to engage in the consultancy.
• Due to large number of potential applicants, only competitively selected candidates will be contacted for remaining steps of the service procurement process.

Note:

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.