Central Asian SGBV Alliance Communication Specialist

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.

The Spotlight Initiative is a global initiative of the United Nations which has received generous support from the European Union. Its aim is to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls (hereinafter – EVAWG). The Initiative represents an unprecedented global effort to invest in gender equality and women’s empowerment as a precondition and driver for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Spotlight Initiative Regional Programme for Central Asia and Afghanistan is fostering legal reforms, strengthening capacities of the respective institutions and women’s movements, promoting gender-equitable attitudes, and enhancing systems for collecting data on violence against women and girls. The Spotlight Regional Programme partners with a broad range of actors, including civil society, donors, practitioners, academia, and media, to facilitate the elimination of harmful practices and advocate further gender transformation in the region.

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As the first generation of Spotlight programmes comes close to an end in 2023, opportunities arise to connect a broad base of stakeholders committed to EVAWG as part of the Generation Equality Forum and materialize commitments for the next generation of Spotlight programmes. The Generation Equality Forum’s Action Coalitions reflect the objective to achieve tangible results on gender equality during the UN Decade of Action (2020-2030) to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Action Coalition on gender-based violence (hereinafter – GBV) has drawn over 600 financial, policy, programmatic, and advocacy commitments. The government of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have made important commitments to the GBV Action Coalition.

At the country level, the Generation Equality Action Coalitions have already provided an important space to ensure the sustainability of the interventions from the Spotlight Initiative and create long-term government ownership.

Within the framework of the , a Central Asian Alliance on ending sexual and gender-based violence (hereinafter – SGBV) and harmful practices (hereinafter the Alliance) is due to be established in 2023, with a view to gathering on one open platform both state and non-state parties from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to bring about transformative change in the lives of women and girls in the region. As a participatory endeavour where civil society organizations join forces with state institutions, it aims at addressing gaps in ending SGBV while, at the same time, devising regional cooperation. Overall, the Alliance is meant to foster the implementation of national and international commitments to respond to SGBV, with a particular focus on ongoing member states’ commitments within the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women  (hereinafter- CEDAW), Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) and other human rights treaties and new ones under the Generation Equality Forums’ Action Coalition on GBV.

The objectives of the Alliance include: 1.  Advocate for gender equality and prevention of SGBV in the Central Asian region; 2. Mobilize the Civil Society Movement in the region to address SGBV; 3. Foster inclusive policy dialogue on SGBV; 4. Raise awareness of all concerned stakeholders on their roles in ending SGBV; 5. Strengthen capacities of government, legislative bodies, judiciary, and oversight to step up actions to prevent and address SGBV and HP in the region; 6. Enhance knowledge management, data, and experience sharing between countries and with other regions; 7. Connect regional initiatives to global agendas including the Generation Equality Forum and increase the visibility of achievements from each country in Central Asia.

Hybrid format meetings with the participation of all members possibly held twice a year at a pre-agreed venue and with the option to join online. The Alliance modus operandi is based on commitments made by States and by Civil Society on actions aimed at ending SGBV. An accountability mechanism embedded in the Alliance envisages state parties (including governments as well as members of the judiciary, the Ombudspersons and members of Parliaments) sharing their progress together with the civil society organizations from the region as well as with representatives of state institutions from the other Central Asia countries on a yearly basis.

The Alliance will convene two meetings; one at the beginning of the year, entailing the scope of engagement (commitments and initiatives to be recorded in an action plan), and one at the end of the year, in the format of a forum, where all members will take stock of annual activities and endeavour joint cooperation initiatives; discuss the state of affairs of SGBV in their respective contexts, outlining national efforts, lessons learned/challenges (both state authorities and CSOs); report on the implementation of Annual Regional Action Plan outcomes.

In order to ensure the smooth and coordinated functioning of the Alliance, the establishment of a Secretariat is deemed necessary.

The Alliance Secretariat will function as a coordination and liaison body with the members of the Alliance, relevant UN entities, development, and other partners. It will consist of three (3) permanent staff members (Coordinator, Communications Specialist, and Admin/Finance Associate), supported by auxiliary ad hoc staff (e.g. technical experts, interns, volunteers etc) and will be in charge of supporting and coordinating the implementation of the Alliance annual work plan, achieving tangible results and facilitating all the operations of the Alliance throughout the calendar year.

The Secretariat will carry out functions of coordinating body by supporting communication within the Alliance and its thematic groups by harmonizing relevant efforts, convening meetings, following up conclusions, suggestions, recommendations and supporting programmatically all arrangements for joint activities.

The Secretariat will also be in charge of producing reports on the work of the Alliance, including but not limited to: meetings’ deliberations and decisions, recommendations and proposals put forth during meetings, conclusions adopted. The Secretariat would circulate reports with the respective members and collect and incorporate their feedback.

It will also be tasked with the design and support of the implementation of a communication strategy and will operate digital platforms (website and social media) to ensure high visibility of the Alliance and its results achieved and virtual engagement of the wider audiences.

Finally, the Secretariat will be invested in fundraising functions.

Duties and Responsibilities

The overall task of the Communication Specialist will be to position the Central Asian Alliance on Ending SGBV in the regional and international media agenda as a multi-stakeholder and participatory forum to help prevent and eradicate SGBV and harmful practices (HPs) in the region.

The Communications Specialist will lead the day-to-day communication work of the Secretariat, ensuring overall coordination of messages about the Alliance and all its members, namely national state institutions, civil society, and other partners in the five central Asian countries.  In this regard, s/he will be responsible for developing and implementing a short, mid and long-term communication strategy underscoring the work of the Alliance.

Within the framework of a media strategy for the Alliance, s/he will be instrumental to anchor the work of the Alliance in global initiatives, such as the Gender Equality Forum, and amplify its reach and impact to increase opportunities for cooperation and engagement.

The Communications Specialist will work under the overall supervision of the Alliance Coordinator and in close coordination with UN Women Country Office in Kazakhstan and key stakeholders of the Alliance.

The Communications Specialist will serve as a focal point in the Secretariat for media professionals and other stakeholders for inquiries and interactions throughout the year.

In discharging these functions, the Communications Specialist will engage with partners at the national, sub-regional, regional and global levels to ensure coordination of messages and visibility of the work of the Alliance.

Under the guidance of the Coordinator, the Communications Specialist will work closely with the  the communication teams at the Spotlight Initiative Regional Programe,  UN Women Regional and Country Offices  and UN entities in the region, Ministries of Foreign Affairs of five central Asian countries, National Women Machineries, Members of Parliament, Ombudspersons, Law Enforcement, Civil Society Organisations, private sector, academia, various networks and all other relevant stakeholders and partners of the Alliance.

Specifically, the Communication Specialist will:

• In coordination with UN Women Kazakhstan Office, lead and support the design and implementation of a communication strategy for the Alliance aimed at boosting its visibility at national, regional and international levels and raising public awareness about SGBV and HP and engage target audiences;
• Develop set of key messages on the scope and reach of the Alliance and its links to the 2030 Agenda and the Generation Equality Forum, ensuring alignment with UN Women’s Global Strategic Plan 2022-2025 and the broader mission and work of UN Women;
• Draft feature stories, articles and information packages covering good practices of preventing and addressing SGBV and HPs and Alliance-related cross-border and regional initiatives on ending SGBV and harmful practices (e.g. study visits, bilateral/regional experience exchanges, etc.);
• Under the guidance of the Alliance Coordinator, act as a focal point for inquiries on the Alliance originating from media and general public;  Pitch stories to the media in Central Asia and international media;
• Support the communication side of yearly and ad-hoc meetings of the Alliance by organising interviews on TV channels, producing press releases, media advisories, podcasts and organize its visibility using other information dissemination tools; 
• Upon its development, maintain/update the Alliance digital platforms, including website and relevant social media accounts (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Telegram etc.) to promote dialogue with the public on relevant activities driven or supported by the Alliance and its Members and engage them in relevant actions;  
• Monitor and analyse impact of the coverage of Alliance on traditional and digital platforms;
• Contribute to the formulation of yearly budgets related to communications and advocacy;
• Maintain relationships with key partners in Central Asia to strengthen the overall effectiveness of the Alliance’s public information activities and public engagement;
• Coordinate advocacy and visibility work with national Spotlight Initiative programmes with  all partners involved;
• Liaise with the Spotlight Communication Officer to coordinate advocacy and communications activities and ensure that the communication across the region is aligned with the Spotlight Initiative standards and communication guidelines;

• Support the development of talking points, background notes, briefings, surveys etc.
• Contribute to the collection of gender disaggregated statistical data and its analysis;
• Contribute to the quality assurance of multimedia knowledge products, materials produced during the work of the Alliance;
• Upon the Supervisor’s approval represent the Alliance Secretariat in various relevant occasions;
• Perform any other related tasks as may be required or assigned by the supervisor.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Effective Communication
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Working in teams

Functional Competencies:

• Excellent representational, communication and networking skills 
• Excellent knowledge of women’s rights, Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment
• Excellent knowledge of the Central Asia region and specific dynamics
• Excellent knowledge of SGBV and HPs, their incidence and patterns in the region

• Ability to interact with press offices from governments, international organisations, civil society, diplomatic community, private sector
• Ability to write feature stories, media articles and information packages/newsletters

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Bachelor degree or equivalent in journalism, communication, international relations, public information, business and public administration, social sciences areas, or other relevant fields. Master’s degree is desirable.

Experience

• Experience developing and implementing strategic, multimedia communications campaigns for a diverse audience is required;
• At least 9 years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level in advocacy and communication;
• Experience managing relations with the media is required;

• Proficiency in current office software applications and corporate IT systems;
• Ability to produce visuals, infographics, presentations etc.;
• Skills of photo/video editing are desirable;
• Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors is an asset.

Language:

• Fluency in oral and written English and Russian/ Kazakhs is required.  
• Knowledge of any other language from the region (Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek) is an asset.

Please note that applications without a completed and signed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment. UN Women Personal History form (P-11) can be downloaded from 

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