Communication Specialist- UN Women Vacancy, NY, America! 2024

Communication specialist

May 31, 2024

7 minutes read

UN Women- Communication Specialist, NY, America!

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, is dedicated to 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. This pivotal role will support the work of the UN Women’s Ending Violence against Women (EVAW) Section and the Global Communications & Advocacy team, specifically within the context of the ACT to end violence against women programme.

The Role of EVAW Section

The EVAW Section at UN Women adopts a comprehensive approach to ending violence against women. This approach encompasses legislation and policies, prevention strategies, survivor services, research and data collection, the creation of safe public spaces, and the strengthening of women’s rights movements. The Generation Equality Action Coalition on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) has mobilized governments, CSOs, international organizations, philanthropies, and the private sector to achieve transformational progress in eliminating GBV through four key actions:

Creating enabling policy, legal, and resource environments.
Scaling up evidence-driven prevention programming.
Expanding comprehensive, accessible, and quality services for survivors.
Empowering autonomous girl-led and women’s rights organizations.

In this context, UN Women has partnered with the EU and the UN Trust Fund to implement a new programme to strengthen women’s rights movements called ACT (Advocacy, Coalition Building, and Transformative Feminist Action to end violence against women and girls), funded by the European Union.

Strategic Partnerships Division (SPD)

The SPD strengthens UN Women’s position as a partner of choice for gender equality and the empowerment of women (GEWE) among governments and private sector actors globally. The Division positions GEWE in intergovernmental and multilateral fora and engages with governments and private sector entities as policy, programme, and resource partners.

Communications and Advocacy Section

The Communications and Advocacy Section at UN Women Headquarters in New York supports the positioning of women’s empowerment and gender equality as key issues on the international agenda, establishing UN Women’s role as the global authority in this context. The team’s primary focus is to position UN Women as a thought and action leader in both development and humanitarian settings, securing global support for its issues and building the UN Women brand.

Job Overview

Under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Deputy Chief of Communications & Advocacy and the Policy and Programme Management Specialist for Ending Violence Against Women, the Communication Specialist is responsible for developing and implementing the ACT communications strategy. This includes collaborating with the global communication and advocacy team, the ACT programme team, and regional office communications specialists.

Key Responsibilities

Developing and Implementing Strategic Communication and Outreach/Advocacy Strategies and Plans

Finalize and Implement ACT Communications Strategy: Ensure robust, strategic communications, ongoing visibility, and amplification of results.
Communications Planning and Delivery: Ensure the ACT voice is positioned and maintained throughout the programme with both internal and external audiences.
Manage Day-to-Day Communications: Coordinate with the ACT global programme team, HQ, and regional communication teams.
Define Communications Monitoring and Evaluation: Work with the communications team and ACT programme team to align with the expected results of the ACT programme. Monitor and report on communication and advocacy activities’ results.

Development and Dissemination of Communication Materials

Develop Compelling Narratives: Work with the ACT programme team, global and regional communication team, and project partners to create engaging stories on the ACT programme results and key advocacy priorities.
Impact Stories and Testimonials: Develop compelling stories from the ground, including testimonials and impact narratives, to demonstrate progress and the importance of sustained efforts in ending violence against women and girls.
Innovative Communication Materials: Collaborate with the global communication team and external vendors to develop impactful communication materials for a variety of channels and stakeholders.

Managing Campaigns Development

Design Global and Regional Campaigns: Collaborate with the EVAW and communication teams to amplify efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG) and other advocacy priorities under the ACT initiative.
Ensure Brand Consistency: Provide stakeholders, partners, and networks with brand guidance, using ACT visual identity guidelines and templates.
Disseminate Best Practices: Identify, synthesize, and disseminate best practices and lessons learned through ACT, informing future programming on Ending Violence Against Women (EVAW).
Regional Context Adaptation: Work closely with regional communication specialists to co-create and adapt advocacy campaigns and messages to regional contexts.

Building and Maintaining Partnership and Engagement with Stakeholders

Leverage Organizational Resources: Develop and leverage resources through multistakeholder partnerships, including Generation Equality, Spotlight, UN Trust Fund, and ACT civil society networks.
Collaborate with External Partners: Work with advertising agencies and specialist communications experts to reach new audience markets and explore synergies.
Social Mobilization Campaigns: Work with partners to create social mobilization campaigns to shift social norms around violence against women and girls, involving influencers, goodwill ambassadors, and other key figures.

Guide and Collaborate: Work with the UN HQ Social Media Team to draft engaging content for global and regional channels, ensuring optimization for social media and tailoring by platform and target audience.
Visual Assets and Social Media Videos: Coordinate the creation of high-quality visual assets and social media-first videos.
Performance Analysis and Improvement: Analyze content performance and suggest ways to improve it.
Coordinate Content Planning: Support the social media team in planning and coordinating EVAW-related content.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities

The incumbent will supervise external vendors and temporary personnel as required.

Competencies

Core Values

Integrity: Demonstrates ethical standards and high levels of honesty in all actions.
Professionalism: Maintains a high level of professionalism in all interactions and tasks.
Respect for Diversity: Values diverse perspectives and backgrounds.

Core Competencies

Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues: Understands and promotes gender equality.
Accountability: Takes responsibility for actions and decisions.
Creative Problem Solving: Approaches challenges with innovative solutions.
Effective Communication: Communicates clearly and effectively with various stakeholders.
Inclusive Collaboration: Works collaboratively with diverse groups.
Stakeholder Engagement: Engages effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
Leading by Example: Demonstrates leadership through actions and decisions.

Functional Competencies

Stakeholder Engagement and Networking: Demonstrated skills in engaging and networking with diverse audiences.
Global Communication and Advocacy Campaigns: Experience in developing and implementing communication and advocacy campaigns.
Writing and Editing Skills: Strong ability to write and edit various communication materials.
Communication Channels and Platforms: In-depth understanding of different communication channels and platforms.

Education and Certification

Master’s Degree: In communications, media, journalism, public relations, international relations, or a related field is required.
First-Level University Degree: In combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced degree.

Experience

International Experience: A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in communications, public information, journalism, international relations, public administration, or related areas at the international level.
Global and Regional Campaigns: Experience in developing and implementing global and regional communication and advocacy campaigns.
Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships: Experience in creating communication products for diverse platforms within a multi-stakeholder partnership.
Social Media Content: Experience in developing content for global social media channels.
Stakeholder Management: Effective stakeholder management experience at global and regional levels.
Development Issues: Experience working on development issues, especially related to gender equality, is highly desirable.

Language

English: Fluency in English is required.
Spanish or French: Knowledge of these languages is desirable.

Statements

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 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.

Diversity and Inclusion

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 based on 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 undergo rigorous reference and background checks, including verification of academic credentials and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information for background checks.

Keywords

UN Women
Ending Violence Against Women
EVAW
Gender Equality
Empowerment of Women
Communications Specialist
Global Communications
Advocacy Campaigns
Social Media
Strategic Communication
Public Relations
International Relations
Stakeholder Engagement
Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships
Gender-Based Violence
Development Issues
Diversity and Inclusion
Human Rights
Humanitarian Action
Peace and Security
Transformative Feminist Action
ACT Programme
Generation Equality
UN Trust Fund
European Union
Communication Strategy
Impact Narratives
Visual Identity Guidance
Social Mobilization
Behavioral Insights
Evidence-Based Approaches
High-Quality Visual Assets
Public Support
Social Norms
Zero-Tolerance Policy

This job description provides an in-depth look at the role of Communication Specialist at UN Women, emphasizing key responsibilities, qualifications, and the organizational commitment to diversity and inclusion. It highlights the impact of the role in advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women through strategic communication and advocacy.