Background

UN Women (the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of 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.

In Turkey, in line with its global Strategic Plan 2022-2025 and Country Strategic Note (2019-2022), and the overall UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, UN Women works towards three overarching goals: 1) Women lead, participate in, and benefit equally from governance systems; 2) All women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence; 3) Women and girls contribute to and have greater influence in building sustainable peace and resilience and benefit equally from the prevention of natural disasters and conflicts and humanitarian action.

Towards these goals, UN Women implements programmes and projects that aim to advance gender equality, improve women’s access to opportunities, rights and services in political, social and economic life and combat gender stereotypes, discrimination and violence, as required by international and national legal and policy commitments. UN Women collaborates with numerous partners – central and local level government authorities, civil society organizations, including women’s organizations and platforms, academia, private sector companies, other UN agencies. It commits itself to the Leaving No One Behind principle, by supporting targeted actions to remove the obstacles that marginalized and vulnerable groups of women face in accessing their rights and to promote them as agents of change.

In Turkey, despite progress made in the past decades, the participation of women in politics and in decision-making in economic and business life, remains low and below global and regional averages. In the previous years, UN Women implemented the project “Gender Equality in Political Leadership and Participation in Turkey” which worked with the Turkish Grand National Assembly, local administrations, civil society organizations (CSOs) and women leaders to advance gender-responsive policies and legislation and women’s participation in decision-making processes. UN Women has also increased its partnership base and its engagement with different stakeholders, such as the private sector, media and male champions, in order to achieve larger-scale impact and results.

Building on the achievements and lessons learnt over the previous years, in 2021, UN Women will start implementing the project “Advancing gender equality and women’s leadership in political and business life” with funding from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The project has an overall objective to advance women’s leadership and participation in decision-making in Turkey by focusing on key stakeholders and actors in the fields of politics and private sector. Two sub-objectives of the project are:

  1. Provide support for increasing women’s leadership in political decision-making, establishing a cadre of interested, diverse and capable women to run for political office at local level, increasing solidarity and gender equality awareness among women from different political affiliations and with women from outside government, advancing the national and policy legal framework, strengthening gender-sensitive governance at the local level.
  2. Promote women’s leadership and influence in the private sector, strengthen the engagement of men political and corporate leaders in advancing gender equality, work with media current and future professional and media outlets to advance non-stereotypical portrayal of women in media as political and business leaders and to practice gender-sensitive practices internally and externally.

Reporting to the Programme Specialist, the Communications Associate supports the formulation and implementation of the communications and advocacy strategies to increase the standing and awareness of UN Women with partners, the media and the public. The Communications Associate promotes a client-oriented approach in UN Women.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Provide support in the development and implementation of a coherent project communications and advocacy strategy

  • Provide inputs and background information for the development of the project communication strategy;
  • Provide support to advocacy efforts, campaigns and events by organizing roundtable discussions, press conferences, and other publicity events and providing inputs to briefing materials and press releases;
  • Provide support to track and monitor print and social media and report relevant information to senior staff to inform strategy development.

2. Provide coordination support to the development of project’s advocacy materials

  • Identify storylines and achievements within the project for online and print publications;
  • Draft press releases, articles, key messages and other advocacy materials;
  • Coordinate the translation, adaptation, or rewriting of information received for the local context; disseminate materials to appropriate stakeholders;
  • Coordinate the publication of materials for final approval; maintain relationships with printers/ publishers;
  • Maintain library/ database of reference materials, photos, and digital assets;
  • Follow guidelines from RO/HQ.

3. Provide support in the management of the CO’s social media presence and website

  • Identify stories, and provide input to the development of content for the CO website hosted at the Regional Office and social media channels both in the field of women’s leadership in politics and business life and other fields CO implements actions;
  • Update the website and social media channels, ensure consistency in branding;
  • Research, compile and produce reports on web statistics on a regular basis and electronic surveys, as required;
  • Maintain files, databases, and systems relevant to the CO’s digital presence.

4. Provide media relations support to the CO head of office

  • Maintain and update database of relevant press in country;
  • Respond to request for information and arrange interviews, as delegated;
  • Keep up-to-date with the recent national and global developments in the field of gender equality with a specific focus on women in politics and decision making;
  • Provide substantive inputs to talking points.

5. Facilitate knowledge management and sharing

  • Contribute to the identification of best practices and lessons learned;
  • Support in organizing trainings and workshops on communication practices;

6. Other

  • Perform other tasks as assigned by supervisor;
  • Provide support on special web/digital/media projects undertaken by the CO.

Key Performance Indicators

  • Timely inputs to communication and advocacy materials
  • Timely organization of discussions, conferences, briefings and other events
  • Timely provision of relevant background information
  • Accurately edited and well written contents
  • Timely delivery of high quality communication and advocacy materials
  • Webpages are regularly maintained, updated and relevant

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

Functional Competencies

  • Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats, using appropriate IT functionality
  • Strong event planning skills
  • Strong knowledge of social media and communication strategies and methods
  • Ability to identify relevant events and stories and communicate them to a mass audience
  • Strong multimedia skills

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf (unwomen.org)

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.)  

 

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:                               
  • Completion of secondary education required;
  • Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Public Relations or Journalism is an asset.
Experience:
  • At least 6 years of progressively responsible experience in providing support to the formulation and implementation of internal and external communications and advocacy strategies and related plans;
  • Experience in development of advocacy and communications materials and/or campaigns in the field of women’s empowerment and gender equality is a strong asset;
  • Experience in the use of social media and digital communications is a strong asset;
  • Experience in similar EUD and UN projects is an asset;
  • Experience in working with political actors and civil society organizations is an asset. 
Language Requirements:
  • Fluency in English and Turkish is required.

The application package for the UN Women Communications Associate (SB3) position should consist of:

How to Submit the Application:

  • Download and complete the UN Women Personal History Form (P11) -https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc
  • Merge your UN Women Personal History Form (P11), CV and Motivation Letter 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 number 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 completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and may not be considered for further assessment.