The African Union defines gender equality as “the absence of discrimination based on a person’s sex (or gender) in opportunities, the allocation of resources or benefits, or in access to services” (AU, Gender Policy, 2008, pp.28).  This does not mean that women and men share the same biology, rather, the assumption is that they have equal value as human beings and should be given equal rights and opportunities. 

This right does not translate to equal participation in politics and decision-making. Women in Nigeria currently make up only 4.47% of legislators in the National Assembly and 4.43% of the State Houses of Assembly, with 14 state houses having zero representation. Women’s representation in Nigeria has steadily dropped since 2007 and risks declining further without robust action to stop the trend. Women’s representation in both elective and appointive positions in Nigeria is the least in the sub-region.

Nearly 1 in 4 of the people in Sub-Saharan Africa live in Nigeria; growing at more than 7% per annum, yet women are under-represented in the bodies that make decisions affecting their lives. Even when they gain representation, the influence of elected women is sometimes limited, due to the centralization of party control in male-dominated party leadership and gendered norms and procedures in political institutions.

To advance women’s political participation in Nigeria, there is an urgent need to promote the social justice and benefits of women’s leadership and political participation. The more people are aware of an issue the more they are likely to act. It is also important that some of the gender role misconceptions and myths surrounding women’s political participation are addressed as we journey towards 2023.

The consultant will:

• Conduct a nationwide social media campaign to promote women’s political participation in the 2023 General Elections
• Develop evidence-based key messages on women’s leadership and political participation
• Develop engaging and compelling social media assets including infographics, animations, and short videos
• Engage celebrities and social media influencers to participate in the social media campaign
• Plan and organise quizzes and virtual conferences on Instagram Live Chats and Twitter Spaces
• Grow the followership on UN Women’s official social media platforms by 100%
• Draft monthly reports that consist of periodic analytics of reach and impressions.
• Carry out any other related assignment as required

Key Deliverables

• Develop at least 5 evidence-based compelling key messages on women’s leadership and political participation every week for dissemination
• Develop at least 2 multimedia products for social media every month: this includes infographics, animations, and short videos
• Engage at least 5 high-profile celebrities and social media influencers to share campaign assets at least once a week
• Engage at least 10 high-profile celebrities and social media influencers to appear in at least one short video for the campaign
• Organise at least one or two social media chats or conferences on at least one of the following platforms:  Instagram Live Chats and Twitter Spaces; with high-profile experts participating
• Increase followership on UN Women’s official social media platform by 100% by the end of the campaign
• Garner at least 500,000 reach and 1 million impressions for each social media
• Garner at least 1 million reach and 3 million impressions every month on each platform
• Submit monthly reports of the campaign, including periodic analytics of reach and impressions.

Core Values

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

Core Competencies and Guiding Principles

• Demonstrates a commitment to UN Women’s mission and vision.
• Able to work effectively within a team.
• Displays cultural and gender sensitivity and adaptability.
• Able to multi-task and juggle competing demands.
• Can assess and prioritize work needs quickly.
• Able to relate to external partners, including other international organizations and agencies, NGOs, grassroots community groups, etc. 

Functional Competencies

• Strong relationship with celebrities and social media influencers at the national and regional level
• Sound expertise in gender equality and women’s empowerment, including on women’s peace and security and women’s political participation 
• Demonstrated leadership and personal examples of promoting knowledge management and a professional learning environment.
• Outstanding networking, teambuilding, organizational and communication skills. 
• Capacity to work with diverse partners including governments, donors, partners and civil society. 
• Ability to work effectively and harmoniously with people from varied cultures and professional backgrounds.
• Results-based management skills. 
• Ability to produce well-written documents demonstrating excellent interpersonal communication skills.

Reporting / Supervision

• The consultant will report to the National Communications Officer
• UN Women will lead on identification of beneficiaries and states to cover

Education:

• University degree in Communication, Journalism, Public Relations, or related field

 Experience:

• At least 5 years of equivalent professional work experience in social media marketing,
• Demonstrated experience in developing and managing dissemination of social media assets, i.e., infographics, animations and short videos
• Demonstrated social media messaging and reach result analytics skills
• Experience in the usage of social media add-on applications, e.g., Hootsuite
• Ability to think and work logically and work precisely with attention to detail
• Ability to write clearly and concisely
• Initiative, sound judgment and demonstrated ability to work harmoniously with staff members
• Excellent written and spoken English language skills
• Knowledge of UN Women/UNDP rules and procedures is an advantage

Language:

• Fluency in oral and written English is required. 
• Working knowledge of any other UN languages is an asset.