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. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, the UN Women is mandated to lead and coordinate United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It is also mandated to provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN-Women Sudan’s Strategic Note (SN) 2018-2021 was approved in 2017. The overall development objective of the Country Programme (2018-2021) has been “to consolidate efforts that contribute to gender equality and women’s empowerment in Sudan. Key strategies for the implementation of the programme include capacity building, advocacy, gender mainstreaming, evidence, information and data collection and the use of media to highlight and inform the general population of Sudan. The SN outlines the overall strategy and plan of action for the UN-Women Sudan Country office for the years 2014-16 and includes a Development Results Framework (DRF) and an Organizational Effectiveness and Efficiency Framework (OEEF) with expected results and targets/ indicators/ baselines.  The SN 2018-2021 covers three impact areas, namely: 1) Women, especially the poorest and most excluded, are economically empowered and benefit from development; 2) Women and girls live a life free from violence; 3) Peace and security and humanitarian action are shaped by women’s leadership and participation.

It is to support the establishment of a sound Monitoring and Evaluation framework that UN Women in Sudan has decided to hire a Monitoring Evaluation Associate.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision and overall guidance of the Country Representative, in permanent consultation with the Programme and Operations teams, the Communications Associate will work to support implementation of UN Women Communication Strategy in Sudan:

Summary of Key Functions:

• Support effective implementation of communications strategy;
• Technical support in organizing public events; managing  and supporting effective media relations and information dissemination;
• Support development of publication and communication materials;
• Facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing.

Support effective implementation of UN Women Sudan communications strategy:

• Support development of communications plans and strategies;
• Support designing and development of communication tools and materials for effective communication and publications;
• Preparation and organization of events e.g. workshops, high level events, conferences, IPs and partners’ meetings;
• On-going liaison, support and facilitation between the UN Women CO and Regional Communication Officers in preparing information-related materials;
• Attend to UN Women's visibility and work in Sudan and the East African Region;
• Compile information/content for UN Women CO and partners through outlets such as the online newsletter, and submission to other appropriate information-sharing tools;
• Ensure that updated documentation and communication on UN Women CO activities and achievements is available and accessible;
• Support in development of content, publishing and dissemination of documents and materials on UN Women in Sudan and East Africa Region;
• Prepare quality materials for presentation, press releases, speeches talking points and concept notes;
• Contribute meaningfully, on behalf of UN Women, to the work of UNCT Communication task forces and thematic groups, as required.

Technical support organizing public events; and manage; and supports effective media relations and information dissemination:

• Provide communications advice and support to the country office as required, including media relations, documentation and reporting of success stories and events, quality control of branding and documentation, and generally improve communications capacity;
• Maintain and develop effective working relationships with media representatives;
• Organize media meetings such as press conferences, press briefings for the CO events;
• Provide and update media kits;
• Support UN Women partners in media relations, ensuring that supported activities receive media attention;
• Provide media relations support (including training), and develop and maintain database of media contacts;
• Enhance media coverage for targeted events and stakeholders, including social media;
• Support the designing and development of a website of UN Women Sudan CO;
• Manage photos’ production and storage of UN Women CO initiatives and event.

• Maintain and update automated database and mailing list of UN Women CO target audiences/IPs/partners;
• Distribute and disseminate advocacy and public information materials.

Support development of publication and communication materials:

• Support development/production of communication and advocacy materials for awareness-raising and communication for and about results, including briefing materials and press releases in coordination with the Programme Specialists and project officers;
• Support management of some CO communication and advocacy activities, such as drafting concept notes, terms of references, supporting design of print and visual media material, planning media engagement, maintenance of regular contact with printers, photographers and other vendors to ensure production and dissemination;
• Assist with the development and management of internal communications systems.

Support effective knowledge building and sharing on communication:

• Ensure that Sudan Country office activities and programmes are publicized in the UN Sudan newsletter;
• Support identification and synthesis of best practices and lessons learned directly linked to UN Women Sudan Country programme goals and activities;
• Contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice including the ones established by UN Women regional and HQ on communications repositories;
• Contribute to provision of trainings to UN Women staff and IPs on communications for development;
• Professional growth through active learning.

Results/Expected Output:

The incumbent is expected to contribute to the creation of effective communications and dissemination of information on UN Women in Sudan, advocate as knowledge provider on gender equality. In particular,  ensure the key results have an impact on the implementation of UN Women communications and advocacy strategies across the main impact areas of UN Women Sudan AWP 2019; which will in turn impact the overall effectiveness of UN Women’s programmes in the Sudan CO. 

Competencies

Core Values/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:

• Demonstrates integrity and fairness by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards, shows commitment to UN Women’s mission, vision, values and strategic goals of UN Women’s and displays cultural, gender, religion, race, and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Ability to establish and maintain strategic partnerships with government institutions, donors, civil society partners and other UN agencies. Has proven expertise in resource mobilization and strong negotiation skills;
• Excellent personal and professional communication and presentation skills abilities;
• Ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor the progress of the projects and activities within the area of responsibility and achieve planned results;
• Strong teamwork spirit and interpersonal skills demonstrated by the ability to gain the assistance and cooperation of others in a team endeavor; ability to build trust through operating with transparency and creating an open, positive and enabling environment; ability to work in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity;
• Sound judgment and decision-making skills, with the ability to make effective timely decisions;
• Results based programme development and management;
• Ability to work under minimal supervision and be proactive and initiative;
• Has the ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor the progress of the projects and activities within the area of responsibility and achieve planned results;
• Sound judgment and decision-making skills, with the ability to make effective timely decisions; Ability to lead effectively, mentoring as well as conflict resolution skills;
• Generate new ideas and approaches for communication and visibility of UN Women.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• University degree or equivalent in social sciences, journalism, media relations, development, gender studies or a related field.

Experience:

• At least 4 years’ experience in development work, communication or advocacy with specific emphasis on gender equality and women’s empowerment, preferably in the context of humanitarian, peace and security, economic empowerment, or EVAW/G;
• Recognized experience in the field of gender and development;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems;
• Demonstrated hands-on experience in development, monitoring the implementation and the evaluation of development projects and capacity building