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.
2020 is a pivotal year for gender equality. 25 years ago, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was endorsed by 189 governments at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, and powered by the 21st century women’s movement. It is the most visionary agenda for the human rights of women and girls, everywhere.
On the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, UN Women’s “Generation Equality: Realizing women’s rights for an equal future” campaign demands equal pay, equal sharing of unpaid care and domestic work, an end to sexual harassment and violence against women and girls, health care services that respond to their needs, and their equal participation in political life and in decision-making in all areas of life.
Unit/ Project Background:
Communications is a key component of UN Women’s work in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region and constitutes a vehicle for ensuring visibility for successful UN Women initiatives, results and programmes as well as for raising awareness about key issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment. Effective communications also contribute to mobilizing resources as donors would like to see value for money.
New digital media have brought about dramatic changes in the ways people consume information and interact. Not only have digital communication channels changed how people access and share information, they have also generated new content formats. Audiences are in particular drawn to the appeal of visual and interactive presentation. Thus, UN Women ECA Regional Office (ECA RO) communications unit intends to expand into this area with the aim of telling impactful human-interest stories to large audiences using new digital formats.
Under the direct supervision and guidance of the Communications Analyst, the intern will assist the Communications Section in various digital and social media communications and website activities.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the supervision of the Communications Analyst, the intern will:
- Support the development of communications tools such as brochures, infographics, fact-sheets, multi-media assets etc. including for Generation Equality campaign;
- Support the daily management of regional social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr):
- Writing engaging posts and ensuring regular updates on social media and support with production for social media
- Personal communications with fans and followers
- Keeping up to date on new social media tools, best practice and how other organizations and companies are using them in order to identify new campaigning opportunities,
- Analyzing social media analytics together with the communications team to support the expansion of UN Women’s reach over social media in the region
- Support research on specific themes relating to UN Women mandate;
- Support the organization and preparation of meetings and events planned by the ECA RO;
- Contribute and ensure the visibility of events, key activities, Generation Equality campaign and other communications campaigns planned by ECA RO and field offices. (drafting articles, podcasts, photos, etc.).
- Support with the production of multimedia content
In addition, the intern will support on administrative tasks:
- To support events’ organization: service providers’ selections (communication agency, hotels, printer, etc.) and elaboration of terms of references, drafting selection minutes, contracts, etc.
- To follow the reception of deliverables and the services’ providers’ payment;
- To ensure the shaping of reports and documents;
- To ensure translations and synthesis.
Learning Objectives:
- By the end of the internship the intern should have a good working knowledge of the communications function of UN Women as well as digital and social media;
- The intern should leave with an improved understanding of gender equality and women’s empowerment and how UN Women’s work is changing global perspectives about these areas.
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:
Functional Competencies:
- Good knowledge of online platforms, and social media outlets including online tools;
- Good knowledge of Microsoft tools (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint);
- Excellent writing and research skills;
- Ability to multi-task and address competing priorities;
- Knowledge and understanding of gender and development issues;
- Knowledge on online campaigns and/or marketing strategies;
- Familiarity with Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, In-Design, Canva and other graphic design production tools is an asset.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- University studies in one of the following disciplines: communications, media, public relations, journalism or other relevant subjects is required.
- Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher); Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (minimum Bachelor's level or equivalent); Have graduated with a university degree and, if selected, must commence the internship within a one-year period of graduation, or Be enrolled in a postgraduate professional traineeship program which is part of a degree programme and undertake the internship as part of the program requirements.
Language:
- Excellent communication skills (written and oral) in English are required;
- Working knowledge of another UN language is an advantage.
Renumeration:
Interns who are not in receipt of financial support from other sources such as universities or other institutions will receive a stipend from UN Women to partially subsidize their basic living costs for the duration of the internship.
Application Information:
- Due to the high volume of applications received, we can ONLY contact successful candidates.
- Successful candidate will be required to provide proof of enrollment in a valid health insurance plan at the duty station of the internship, proof of school enrollment or degree, a scanned copy of their passport/national ID and a copy of a valid visa (as applicable).
Note:
In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.