Background

The African Women’s Leaders Network (AWLN) was established in 2017 with the intent to create a fora for existing and emerging women leaders across the continent to share their experiences and to create partnerships across the continent in order to work towards established African and international goals, namely: the Africa Agenda 2036 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Zimbabwe is signatory to these frameworks and has ratified several women’s rights instruments such as the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) (1979) and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995). Moreover, the Zimbabwean Constitution (2013), notably Section 17 spells out the equality between the sexes and women’s right to full participation in all spheres of Zimbabwean society. In addition to Section 17, Section 80 maintains women’s right to equal opportunity in political, economic and social activities. Despite these measures in place, women are underrepresented in leadership and decision-making positions.

 

UN Women Zimbabwe has been supporting the establishment of the AWLN Zimbabwe Chapter which was launched in February 2020. AWLN is an “action-oriented initiative that seeks to enhance the leadership of African women in bringing transformative changes focusing on peace, security and development in the continent.” The aim of the National Chapter of the AWLN in Zimbabwe is to create a network of a diverse group of women who can work together to hold leaders accountable to commitments for gender equality and support each other in their work on women, peace and security and women in governance.

 

Following the successful launch of the AWLN Zimbabwe Chapter under the theme ‘Peace and Social Cohesion for Zimbabwe’s Sustainable Development’ and inception activities, the Chapter will prioritize the acceleration of women leader’s capacity development and participation in the COVID-19 response and recovery process in line with the theme and vision of the Chapter through dialogues with key stakeholders on gender-sensitive response and recovery measures.

Media in its various forms (print, informal media, social media and electronic media) are powerful tools to amplify messages of gender equality, women’s empowerment and leadership. Leveraging the different types of media to communicate with different stakeholders is critical during the pandemic as traditional ways of campaigning and communicating with large groups has become disrupted. To this end, the following objectives will strengthen the ability of the Network to effectively champion women’s leadership and gender-sensitive response and recovery measures by rolling out a national AWLN campaign on recovering better together through women’s leadership and gender-sensitive governance:

 

Objectives

  1. To develop a campaign and advocacy strategy on women’s leadership and gender-sensitive response and recovery measures
  2. To develop advocacy materials and campaign tools for different types of media
  3. To conduct a capacity development training on media, campaigning, lobbying and advocacy

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the UN Women Programme Specialist on Women’s Political Participation and Leadership the consultant will undertake the following tasks and responsibilities:

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.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

 

Functional/Technical Competencies:

  • Understanding of gender equality and human rights;
  • Expertise in developing campaigns, advocacy tools and effective lobbying;
  • Knowledge of the role of social media in advocacy;
  • Results oriented, exhibiting high levels of enthusiasm, tact, diplomacy and integrity; and able to work with minimal supervision;
  • Excellent communication (spoken, written and presentation) skills/fluency in English, including the ability to draft/edit communications and to articulate ideas in a clear, concise manner.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • At least a Master’s degree in Journalism or any other related discipline.

 

Experience:

  • At least 5 years of relevant professional experience working in journalism;
  • Strong understanding of the relationship between traditional media, social media and political influence;
  • Understanding of gender equality and women’s empowerment issues;
  • Experience and expertise in developing campaigns, advocacy tools and effective lobbying with a particular focus on gender equality and women’s rights;
  • Experience of working on gender equality and women’s empowerment issues is an asset.

 

Language:

  • Excellent written and verbal command of English;
  • Knowledge of a local language is an asset