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.

Established in December 2012, the UN Women Country Office for Jordan works in close collaboration with the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the UN Country Team, Civil Society and international partners to advance the women’s national agenda, promote women’s empowerment and gender equality. Supporting the achievement of its strategic and programmatic objectives, the UN Women Country Representative and other senior members of the management engage on a regular basis in events, advocacy initiatives and representation activities which require goal-oriented communication and outreach to disseminate key messages and advocacy priorities to targeted audiences, as well as to increase awareness of UN Women’s work and mandate.

In this regard the UN Women Country Office for Jordan seeks to hire a senior Speechwriter (international consultant) to write and tailor clear, well-argued, well researched draft speeches, statements, messages and background notes for the UN Women Jordan Representative and other senior members of the management team. S/he will have excellent writing and communication skills, including internal communications.

The Speechwriter will liaise with departments and individuals within UN Women, and will undertake research on a range of relevant topics as needed to inform the communications product and will solicit inputs from across the organization as needed.

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.

Established in December 2012, the UN Women Country Office for Jordan works in close collaboration with the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the UN Country Team, Civil Society and international partners to advance the women’s national agenda, promote women’s empowerment and gender equality. Supporting the achievement of its strategic and programmatic objectives, the UN Women Country Representative and other senior members of the management engage on a regular basis in events, advocacy initiatives and representation activities which require goal-oriented communication and outreach to disseminate key messages and advocacy priorities to targeted audiences, as well as to increase awareness of UN Women’s work and mandate.

In this regard the UN Women Country Office for Jordan seeks to hire a senior Speechwriter (international consultant) to write and tailor clear, well-argued, well researched draft speeches, statements, messages and background notes for the UN Women Jordan Representative and other senior members of the management team. S/he will have excellent writing and communication skills, including internal communications.

The Speechwriter will liaise with departments and individuals within UN Women, and will undertake research on a range of relevant topics as needed to inform the communications product and will solicit inputs from across the organization as needed.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the UN Women Country Representative and the direct supervision of the Partnerships and Advocacy Analysts, the Speechwriter will be required to interpret politically sensitive, programmatic priorities and complex material into clear, contextually-relevant language that is accessible to targeted audiences and accurately reflects the position of UN Women. The consultant will perform the following tasks:

Task 1: Prepare, edit, review and finalize speeches, statements, messages and background notes for the UN Women Country Representative:

• Draft powerful speeches, statements and messages for the UN Women Country Representative, researching audience expectations, event agenda and topics, and tailor each communications product for audience appeal and impact;
• When inputs from office personnel are required, make a first quality assessment of input received from and revise the substance, length and syntax, as necessary.
• Develop core messages and talking points, ensuring materials are completed on time and with the adequate standards of quality.
• Research and draft background notes to assist and inform the Country Representative’s external engagements.

Task 2: Research, collate and validate information to be used for all speeches, statements, messages and background notes:

• Analyzing complex information, including statistics, financial information and other numerical, qualitative and quantitative data, to extract key messages for integration into communications products;
• Carry out research to provide relevant facts and figures, especially on -but not limited to- gender equality and women’s empowerment;
• Identify the latest news, and reports and studies by other national and international organizations on relevant topics and retrieve relevant ideas, facts and figures.

Task 3: Support effective and timely internal communication:

• Draft and review the content of internal and external messages to convey important developments, brief on the outcomes of events and other relevant initiatives;
• Develop succinct and impact-oriented internal updates on the work of UN Women in Jordan.

Duration of the assignment

The total duration of the contract assignment (home-based) is estimated at maximum 60 working days (retainer basis) within a twelve-month period, between 1 February and 31 December 2020.

Expected Deliverables

The consultant is expected to deliver the following results:

• Quality and timely drafts of speeches, statements, messages and background notes
• Quality research which results in strong content for the communications products;
• Quality drafts of internal updates.

Inputs

• The consultant is expected to work remotely using her/his own computer, but may access the UN Women share driver to access relevant material;
• UN Women will provide the Consultant with background materials and other relevant information pertaining to local developments, events, advocacy initiatives, as well as other material as needed.

Performance evaluation:

Contractor’s performance will be evaluated based on: timeliness, responsibility, initiative, communication, accuracy, and quality of the products delivered.

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

UN Women Values and competencies link : https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• Master’s degree in in journalism, communications, social science, international relations or development-related field.

Experience and skills

• At least 7 years of high-level experience in writing English-language speeches and other communications products, at least three years of which should be for senior executives, government leaders or leaders in other fields
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex and technical information into accessible language for audience appeal and impact;
• Knowledge of the Arab region’s social-cultural, economic and political context is an asset. 
• Demonstrated track record of performing under pressure and adhering to strict deadlines while maintaining a sophisticated understanding of organizational and external contexts;
• Prior experience of working in research, policy analysis, multilateral cooperation and promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment is strongly desired.

Language and other skills

• Excellent command of English both written and oral
• Computer literacy and ability to effectively use office technology equipment, IT tools, ability to use Internet and email.

Submission of application

Interested candidates are requested to submit electronic application not later than 10 January 2020 COB.

Submission package

• CV
• UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from P11 form;
• A cover letter with a brief presentation of your consultancy explaining your suitability for the work and link to portfolio of work;
• Three samples of speeches written in English with a brief description of the context of the event where they were delivered and impact/reaction (if any).
• Financial proposal.
• The above-mentioned documents should be merged in a standalone file including all of them, since the online application submission does only permit to upload one file per application. Incomplete submission can be a ground for disqualification.

Please note that only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Evaluation

Applications will be evaluated based on the Cumulative analysis.

• Technical Qualification (100 points) weight; [70%]
• Financial Proposal (100 points) weight; [30%]

A two-stage procedure is utilised in evaluating the proposals, with evaluation of the technical proposal being completed prior to any price proposal being compared. Only the price proposal of the candidates who passed the minimum technical score of 70% of the obtainable score of 100 points in the technical qualification evaluation will be evaluated.

Technical qualification evaluation criteria:

The total number of points allocated for the technical qualification component is 100. The technical qualification of the individual is evaluated based on following technical qualification evaluation criteria:       

Only the candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% of total points will be considered as technically-qualified candidate.

Financial/Price Proposal evaluation:

• Only the financial proposal of candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% score in the technical evaluation will be considered and evaluated.
• The total number of points allocated for the price component is 100.
• The maximum number of points will be allotted to the lowest price proposal that is opened/ evaluated and compared among those technical qualified candidates who have attained a minimum of 70% score in the technical evaluation. All other price proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price.