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 Country Office in Georgia has been implementing its Strategic Note (2021-2025), under which one of the priority areas is women’s economic empowerment (WEE), with a specific focus on women living in rural areas and on marginalised women with multiple disadvantages. With the financial support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Austrian Development Agency, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, UN Women implements a portfolio of projects aiming to increase economic security and improve access to livelihood and development opportunities for women, particularly the poorest and most excluded.

To achieve this goal, the projects work directly with women entrepreneurs, employers and associations, civil society and the media, and researchers and policy makers. UN Women also plans to conduct communications and advocacy campaigns in support of this work. The National Consultant in cooperation with UN Women staff and partners will be responsible for developing and delivering a creative and effective communications and advocacy strategy to respond to the following objectives:

1. Advocate for the adoption of policy and legislation that supports the economic empowerment of women
2. Engage the private sector as strategic partners in the movement for gender equality
3. Raise awareness and initiate public conversations on issues related to WEE

Duties and Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of the National Consultant are:

• To facilitate the participatory design and lead the drafting of a comprehensive WEE communications and advocacy strategy;
• To contribute to the development of communications outputs, including but not limited to social media and online content, videos, events, and press campaigns;
• To engage with media, civil society and advocacy actors in relation to the tasks outlined above;
• To provide technical support on audience testing and campaign impact assessment;
• To provide review and feedback to UN Women on its WEE communications outputs;
• To participate in UN Women events and visits to project locations;
• To provide monthly reports on assigned tasks;
• To provide other technical support to UN Women as necessary.

In country travel needs will be discussed between UN Women and the Consultant and arranged by UN Women directly.

Deliverables:

Deliverables should be supported by monthly timesheets and progress reports:

• Communications and advocacy strategy and action plan;
• Concepts for multi-media communication actions;
• Relevant communication materials; 
• Analysis of the effectiveness and impact of the communications work proposed to and implemented by UN Women;
• Other tasks performed as necessary.

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/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• MA degree (or equivalent) in communications, journalism, public relations, social sciences, international relations, or a related field;
• A minimum of three (3) years of experience in communications, journalism, public relations or related field at the national or international level, including experience in media relations;
• At least two (2) years of experience in on-line outreach and multimedia;
• Demonstrated familiarity with human rights and gender issues;
• At least two (2) years of professional experience working with civil society or development agencies;
• Familiarity with UN Women and UN system would be an asset;
• Outstanding oral and written communications and editing skills, with proven ability to meet tight deadlines.

Language:

• Fluency in Georgian and good knowledge of English.

Evaluation Procedure:

The candidates will be evaluated in three stages: according to minimum qualification criteria; technical and financial evaluation. The candidates must possess minimum qualification criteria to be eligible for further technical evaluation.

The candidate must possess the following minimum qualification criteria to be eligible for further technical evaluation:

• MA degree (or equivalent) in communications, journalism, public relations, social sciences, international relations, or a related field;
• A minimum of three (3) years of experience in communications, journalism, public relations or related field at the national or international level, including experience in media relations;
• Demonstrated familiarity with human rights and gender issues.

Technical evaluation criteria (including minimum qualifications):

• MA degree (or equivalent) in communications, journalism, public relations, social sciences, international relations, or a related field (max 70 points)
• A minimum of three (3) years of experience in communications, journalism, public relations or related field at the national or international level, including experience in media relations (max 90 points)
• A minimum of two (2) years of experience in on-line outreach and multimedia (max 50 points)
• Demonstrated familiarity with human rights and gender issues (max 70 points)
• A minimum of two (2) years of professional experience working with civil society or development agencies (max 40 points)
• Fluency in Georgian and good knowledge of English (max 30 points)

Maximum total technical score amounts to 350 points. Only candidates who have passed over the minimum qualification criteria and have accumulated at least 245 points out of maximum 350 under technical evaluation will qualify for the next stage i.e. evaluation of their financial proposals.

Evaluation of submitted financial offers will be done based on the following formula: S = Fmin / F * 150

S – score received on financial evaluation;

Fmin – the lowest financial offer out of all the submitted offers qualified over the technical evaluation round;

F – financial offer under consideration.

The winning candidate will be the candidate, who has accumulated the highest aggregated score (technical scoring + financial scoring).

Management arrangements:

The contractor will report to and work under the direct supervision of the WEESC Programme Analyst and in close cooperation with the UN Women Communications Analyst.

Financial arrangements:

The payment will be disbursed on a monthly basis based on the consultant’s request for payment calculated per working day spent for specific activities/deliverables, and upon submission and approval of deliverables and certification by UN Women that the services have been satisfactorily performed.

Application submission package:

• Duly filled in Personal History Form PHF11 that can be downloaded from https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process 
• CV
• Portfolio
• Financial Proposal – daily rate proposal/offer* in GEL

How to Submit the Application:

• Download and complete the UN Women Personal History Form (P11)- https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process   
• Merge your UN Women Personal History Form (P11), CV and Financial Proposal into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded;
• Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement);
• Click 'Apply Now' button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click 'Submit Application’;
• Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents (underlined above);
• You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system.

Notes:

• UN Women retains the right to contact references directly. Due to the large numbers of applications, we receive, we are able to inform only the successful candidates about the outcome or status of the selection process.
• Applications without the financial offer will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.
• The individual consultants should take the mandatory learning security course prior to commencement of assignment– details will follow before the issuance of contract.

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.).