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.

UN Women maintains a large presence throughout Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region, covering 12 countries, with programme presence in Kosovo, Serbia, Tajikistan and North Macedonia; and country offices in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkey and Ukraine.

UN Women Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (the “ECARO”) has positioned GRB as one of the priority areas in which the ECARO has unique technical expertise grounded in the combined technical skills that has been cultivated with respect to budgetary processes including GRB and the overarching expertise and credibility the Office has with respect to GEWE. Furthermore, this work is in line with global Strategic Plan 2018–2021 under Outcome 2: Women lead, participate in and benefit equally from governance systems.

Over the past years, through the technical and financial support UN Women different initiatives have been carried out in Western Balkans’ countries with the goal of strengthening democratic governance and advance women’s rights aiming at mainstreaming gender in policy planning and budgeting. As result, gender responsive budgeting has increasingly been recognized as important tool for advancing de facto gender equality, support the SDGs, the 2030 Agenda and other global goals as well as contribute to the achievements of the commitments of the Western Balkans under the Gender Action Plan in the EU External Relations 2016-2020.

In order to deepen the work previously done, initiate new initiatives and ensure sustainability of the interventions on GRB, UN Women initiated a regional programme with participation of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia and North Macedonia “Transformative Financing for Gender Equality towards more Transparent, Inclusive and Accountable Governance in the Western Balkans” (2020-2024). The main programme approach will be transformative financing as an enabler factor for policy and financing actions to accelerate implementation of existing national and international commitments on gender equality and women’s empowerment in the in Western Balkans.

The programme is structured around two outcomes:

• By 2024, national and local governments apply gender responsive budgeting to integrate gender equality principles in public financing processes
• By 2024 public oversight bodies  CSOs, women including the disadvantaged, demand transparency and accountability of public policies and budgets to gender equality processes

The programme includes activities focused on enhancing the institutionalization of GRB at central level and local level.

Furthermore, 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 drawn to the appeal of visual and interactive presentations. UN Women ECA Regional Office (ECA RO) communications unit intends to expand and strengthen its digital communications and its presence on social media with the aim of improving its standing and awareness with partners and digital audiences by telling impactful stories and conducting strong advocacy using new digital formats.

In this context, UN Women ECARO will be hiring a National Communications Consultant to support the work on enhancing its digital communications strategies and strengthening its presence on various social media platforms. The consultant will support all regional communications and visibility related activities including Regional GRB Project. The consultant’s role will involve creating compelling content, engaging with audiences, and implementing effective social media campaigns to amplify UN Women’s initiatives, achievements, and advocacy efforts on gender equality and women’s empowerment in the Europe and Central Asia region. Additionally, the consultant will work closely with the regional communications team to ensure cohesive and impactful storytelling and messaging across all digital channels.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision and guidance of both Regional GRB Project Manager and Regional Communications Specialist (OiC), the consultant will:

• Substantively support the management of regional social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram):
  • Write engaging, audience-friendly social media posts, ensure regular updates on social media and support with production of other content for social media
  • Coordinate the design of high-quality visual content for social media
  • Come up with creative and innovative ideas to maintain and drive communication and engagement with fans and followers
  • Keep up to date with new social media tools, best practices and how other organizations and companies are using them in order to identify new campaigning opportunities
  • Analyze social media analytics together with the communications team to support the expansion of UN Women’s reach over social media in the region
• Contribute to the visibility of events, campaigns and key activities planned by ECA RO, and the Regional GRB Project (drafting articles and press releases, contributing to podcasts, photos, etc.);
• Support the development of communications assets such as brochures, flyers, infographics, fact-sheets, multi-media assets etc. for the Regional GRB Project;
• Support the organization and preparation of meetings, events and webinars planned by the ECA RO and Regional GRB project;
• Advise in terms of message formulation and identification of effective communication channels for reaching the target groups, specifically for the Regional GRB project;
• Provide advice on communication and outreach strategies into GRB programme implementation;
• Provide advice and guidance to and coordinate with Country Offices and Programme Presences working on GRB in the region for a harmonious implementation of communication and outreach plans and a unified web and social media presence.   
• Prepare drafts of texts about project activities, achievements and best practices for the GRB project website.
• Provide support in preparing short video clips containing statements from project beneficiaries, experts, stakeholders, partners, and board members, dedicated to important topics and events, and help in distribution of such video materials through media, social media and other channels.
• Ensure that all communication activities are implemented in line with UN Women Regional Communications Strategy, the Regional Communications Action Plan and donor guidelines on communication and visibility.
• Seek and follow-up on opportunities to enhance visibility of GRB programme results; Provide contributions to donor reporting in terms developing simple designs for project outputs.
• Any additional communication tasks defined by the supervisors.

Deliverables

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy. No travel requirements are envisioned under this assignment. In case of an unforeseeable travel, the travel arrangements will be handled by UN Women as per the UN Women rules and regulations.

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: 

• In-depth knowledge of gender equality and women’s rights issues and familiarity with UN Women;
• Proven experience in Communications and Advocacy;
• Excellent communications skills. Communicates sensitively, effectively and creatively across different constituencies;
• Demonstrates very good understanding of and experience in communications and outreach/advocacy;
• Proven networking skills, and ability to generate interest in UN Women’s mandate;
• Strong initiative-taker;
• Ability to provide advice and be strategic and analytical
• Very effective at multi-tasking;
• Focuses on impact and results for client;
• Interacts effectively with all levels of the organization, including senior management;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Identifies opportunities and builds strong relationships with client and external actors

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree in communication, journalism, graphic design, humanities or other relevant subjects.
• Bachelor’s degree may be accepted in lieu of a masters with additional +2 years’ experience in one of the following disciplines: communications, public relations, journalism, or other relevant subjects.

Experience:

• A minimum of 2 years of experience in working in the field of communications, advocacy and/or public relations.
• Experience in working in gender equality and women’s empowerment is required.
• Experience in the area of gender-responsive budgeting is desirable.
• Proving experience in developing and implementing communications plans for large events.
• Experience within the UN system, especially with UN Women from the region, is an asset.
• Outstanding oral and written communications and editorial skills, with proven ability to produce communications products and content for online platforms and social media.

Languages:

• Fluency in English and Turkish is required.

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from: Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page)
• Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns, or other materials.