UN WOMEN Jobs - 80981- National Consultant

National Consultant

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

17-Sep-2018

Application Deadline :

15-Sep-18 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

21 days with in a period of one month

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

21 days with in a period of one month

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

Media can play a critical role in advancing the discourse on women’s rights and in efforts to uphold the same. Advancement in information technology has facilitated communication at all levels and through various means. Such communication has a proven impact on public policy, private attitudes and behavior, especially on the young generation. Women and the Media is one of the 12 critical areas of the Beijing Platform for Action where the media has been noted as being an influential power to challenge and change people’s perception, behaviour, and impact on policy dialogue. The Action plan also underlined the need to address the lack of gender sensitivity in the media which is evidenced by the failure to eliminate gender-based stereotypes in media organisations, continued projection of negative and degrading images of women in media communications: electronic, print, visual and audio. It called for an action to intensify the media’s role in balancing unequal gender relations and promoting gender equality. In a similar manner, the recently adopted Ethiopian Women Change and Transformation Strategy (2017) and the Ethiopian Women Development and Change Package (2017) identified similar responsibility by the media making it one of the responsible organs to be a partner in ensuring the participation and benefit of women in the country.

To harness the capacity of the media to promote positive portrayal of women the United Nations entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (UN Women) developed a project in collaboration with Ethiopian Broadcasting Authority (EBA) under the title ‘Enhancing the Role of Media in Promoting Gender Equality and Women in Leadership’. The project noted that despite their proven abilities as leaders and agents of change, and their right to participate equally in democratic governance, women are underrepresented, in leadership and decision-making positions whether it is in elected or appointed positions within government or in the civil service, private sector and academia. Enhancing the capacity of media personnel i.e. both print and broadcast media on gender responsive reporting, enhance their

gender knowledge and equip them with the skills necessary to ensure that they proactively seek stories and promote positive portrayal of women leaders was one of the strategies adopted by the program.

Accordingly, Ethiopian Broadcasting Authority (EBA) in collaboration with UN Women organized capacity building trainings for media personnel where it was noted that editorial policies of media institutions from which participants were drawn from had a significant gap in providing direction on how to address gender issues and maintain gender sensitivity. It was also found out that there is lack of any guidance to ensure gender responsiveness of the media both within the institution and in its media productions. Apart from outcomes of capacity building trainings similar gap in guidance to the media was voiced during consultative forums held with media personnel around 16 days of activism against gender-based violence.

Based on the evidence gathered from the above-mentioned forums and in order to fill the gap on available media guide on gender responsive reporting, UN Women and EBA developed a comprehensive set of a gender responsive media guideline with an accompanying checklist. Currently a draft guideline, both Amharic and English version is developed. To ensure comprehensiveness and flow of the guideline in addition to its quality, UN Women is seeking a consultant who would review, edit, consolidate and proofread the English Version of the Guideline so that it is ready for Amharic proof-reading and validation.

Duties and Responsibilities

Conduct a comprehensive review of the guideline sections with a view to ensure the following: flow, clarity and continuity of the guideline
Once the Guideline has been copy-edited and laid out, the editor will perform one or more rounds of proofreading, checking spelling, as well as acronyms and other abbreviations, style consistency. etc.
The editor should consult the United Nations Editorial Manual and UN Women’s Gender inclusive language guideline (both documents will be provided by UN Women)

Competencies

Compliance with UN Core Values

Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards.
Commitment to UN Women’s mission, vision, values and strategic goals.
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability.
Treats all people fairly without favoritism.
Fulfils all obligations to gender sensitivity and zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

Advanced degree or equivalent in Gender and Media, Journalism, Language or another relevant field.

Experience and skills

At least 5 years of relevant work experience as an English Writer/Editor;
Strong writing and communication skills in addition to editing, copy editing, proofreading and page composition skills.
Experience with organizing, interpreting and presenting information in meaningful written form for varied audiences.
Technical knowledge specific to this field will be considered a strong asset.
Ability to meet deadlines.

Languasge

Excellent English language writing and editing skill required.