UN WOMEN Jobs - 68894- Communication Specialist Consultant

Communication Specialist Consultant

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Abuja, NIGERIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Nov-2016

Application Deadline :

21-Oct-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

02 Months and 15 days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

02 Months and 15 days

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

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.

Nigeria is signatory to a variety of international and regional women’s rights conventions, treaties and declarations, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Women in Africa, 2003, Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action, 1995, Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa, 2004. To align to its international commitments, the country adopted a Gender policy in 2007 reviewed in 2014 with the aim to dismantle barriers that limit women’s access to and control over resources in order to enable them break out of the poverty cycle and become more active economic agents. The review places at the centre of the policy the protection of the girl child, elimination of violence against women and girls, conflict resolution and peace building, rights of women with disabilities amongst others.

Over the years, violent conflicts have persisted in the various parts of Northern Nigeria, including, Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Benue, Gombe, Kaduna, Plateau Bauchi and Kano States. Though some substantial progress has been made in the fight against insurgencies, the security situation, especially in the North East Region remained volatile. In the annual planning of the 2015 humanitarian response, humanitarian actors observed, a 30% rise in the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) during the second half of 2015, reaching 2.3 million displaced persons in August 2016,?approximately 53% of which are women. Male inclusion in the gender mainstreaming process has increasingly been documented as vital to the success of mainstreaming efforts. It is well understood that the achievement of gender equality is not possible without the active involvement and support of men.

In response to the crisis, UN Women Nigeria is currently implementing a project aimed at Mainstreaming Gender into Humanitarian Response in Nigeria, with financial support from the Government of Japan. Under the implementation of this project UN Women wants to give more visibility to the violations of women’s rights and build a channel of solidarity of men to address VAW during conflicts situation. The global initiative ‘HeForShe’ is a solidarity movement for gender equality developed by UN Women to engage men and boys as advocates and agents of change in the effort to achieve gender equality. HeForShe emphasizes the importance of outreach to strategic groups, in particular men, young people, the media, the private sector, celebrities and other influential spokespersons. The campaign’s central message is that gender inequality is not only a women’s issue but a human rights issue, the resolution of which will benefit both women and men socially, politically and economically. HeForShe was launched at the Global level in September 2014 at a special event held at the United Nations Headquarters.

Across Africa, several countries have launched the HeForShe campaign and platform of action, with high profile personalities leading the advocacy on the national and international stage such as the Presidents of Rwanda, Kenya, Sierra Leone and Cabo Verde. As such, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, a HeForShe Impact Initiative Champion was one the first African leaders to personally engage in the HeForShe Campaign in his country and on the continental stage, placing an emphasis on the critical involvement by African leaders in engaging men and boys to take action in combatting gender inequality and violence against women and girls.? Rwanda took further action under the HeforShe campaign by rolling out an initiative to end gender-based violence, through the building of “One Stop Centers” all over the country to provide medical, legal, and psychological support to victims, part of what they call a “zero tolerance policy” towards sexual violence.

As part of the communications advocacy and visibility objectives of the “Emergency assistance to internally displaced women and girls and survivors of the Boko Haram terrorism attacks in Nigeria”, the Government of Nigeria and UN Women seek to seize the opportunity of the 16 Days Activism on Violence Against Women to launch the HeForShe global initiative in Nigeria. The objective is to invite the critical engagement of high level public figures, and male leaders from the highest levels of government, corporations, universities, sports, media and entertainment, to call for action for the involvement of men and boys nation-wide in fighting gender based violence and gender inequality.

Duties and Responsibilities

?Goal:

The overall goal of the action is to use the HeForShe initiative and campaign platform to mobilize a visible force for gender equality in Nigeria especially on the rights of women and girls in humanitarian settings.

Objectives:

To launch the HeForShe platform with high level, accessible and public advocacy on the engagement of men and boys,
Greater public awareness and support (especially from men in decision making) for internally displaced women and girl survivors of insurgency

Key Actions:

Hosting of a series of high profile events including the official launching ceremony of the HeForShe in Nigeria under the patronage of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;
Mobilize and disseminate voices of high public decision makers, opinion leaders and celebrities’ profiles, heads of government and delegations, and development agencies, UN agencies (OCHA, UNHCR, WFP, UNFPA UNICEF, FAO, and UNDP);
To mobilize and disseminate the voices of IDPs women/ Girls and survivors of the Boko Haram terrorism attacks in Nigeria;
To mobilize and disseminate voices of male champions and leaders’ information on their actions from the private sector (corporations), academia sports, and entertainment industry;To mobilize and target key med
ia and new media around key actions on ending GBV, promoting women’s economic empowerment, women’s participation, especially in humanitarian contexts;

Impact of result:

To develop and produce advocacy and communications material documenting the Launch;
To present data collected by the project in a user manner;
A digital campaign for HeForShe in Nigeria is launched via social media to announce the launch;
Key messages, real time information and news are disseminated through the duration of the HeForShe campaign;
500 invitations are sent to key stakeholders and a minimum of 250 guests are in attendance under the patronage of the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at the official launch event of the HeForShe;
Develop infographics to disseminate information and data on the status of women and girl IDPs in Gombe, Adamawa and Bauchi states;
At least 30 media houses/practitioners are partners of the HeForShe launch in Nigeria and are convened for a press conference;
An interview with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is conducted and aired on national TV challenging leaders to “take action right now” to create a gender equal world;
A video documentary with voices of IDPs women/girls survivors is produced;
Short videos with voices and key messages for call to action by high profile male personalities is produced;
A youtube channel is created featuring dialogues and talking series on HeForShe, including possible a talk forum;
HeForShe signage is produced and distributed at each event (hats and T-shirts, Banners, bracelets and other promotional materials;
User friendly data are produced on an agreed periodicity.?

Competencies

Core values and 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 organization 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.

Organizational Awareness:

Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Development and Innovation:

Take charge of self-development and take initiative.

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 behavior 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.

Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making:

Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making.

Functional Competencies:

Excellent communication skills. Communicates sensitively, effectively and creatively across different constituencies;
Demonstrates very good understanding of and experience in communications and outreach;
Proven networking skills, and ability to generate interest in UN Women’s mandate;
Strong initiative-taker;
Very effective at multi-tasking;
Focuses on impact and results;
Interacts effectively with all levels of the organization;
Technical expertise;
Ability to handle a large volume of work under time constraints;
Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Identifies opportunities and builds strong relationships with clients and partners;
Demonstrates exceptional ability to remain calm, in control and good humored even under pressure and tight deadlines.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

Advanced university degree (Masters or higher level) in a discipline such as: Gender, International Development, Economics, Political Science, or other relevant studies.

Experience:

Minimum 5 years of experience in the communications field;
Traceable record of work on similar global campaigns is mandatory;
Proficiency in using social media, electronic networks and software for communication purposes (i.e. Websites, electronics bulletin, etc.);
Good experience with new media;
Practical experience working with the organizations/ private sector/communities in supporting development related projects/activities at a regional or global level is essential;
Familiarity with gender issues. Familiarity with UN Women and UN system is an asset;
Significant experience in the African region is an added advantage.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English is required.