Communications Assistant, Cox’s Bazar (Local Post for Bangladesh Nationals and Applicants with Valid Work Permit)

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. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. UN Women provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. 

UN Women in Bangladesh supports the government to implement commitments to international normative standards on gender equality and women’s human rights. The UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2022-2026 was launched in 2021 and the corresponding UN Women Bangladesh Strategic Note (2022-2026), defining UN Women’s strategic engagement in Bangladesh, was finalized in 2021. The country strategy focuses on strengthening the national structures and mechanisms for gender mainstreaming in policies, plans and budgets; supporting efforts to prevent and eliminate violence against women; promoting women’s access to decent and safe work; promoting policies and government investment in women’s empowerment and resilience building in the context of climate change, humanitarian crisis as well as other threats to peace and security. UN Women works with a range of stakeholders in Bangladesh including the government, civil society and women’s organisations, youth, UN agencies and donors, to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. 

The Sub-Office in Cox’s Bazar was established in January 2018 for UN Women’s Rohingya response in Cox’s Bazar district. UN Women has developed a response programme in partnership with the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs to meet the specific needs of the most vulnerable and marginalized Rohingya refugee women and girls, and the women and girls in the host communities affected by the refugee influx in Cox’s Bazar. The objective of UN Women’s engagement is to ensure protection, as well as equal and safe access to and benefit from the humanitarian and development assistance for the most vulnerable, and marginalized Rohingya and host community women and girls. The programme promotes women’s participation and leadership in the camps and host community, and women’s active role in maintaining peace and social cohesion. It also supports women’s livelihoods and education, addressing gender-based violence, and social cohesion building between the two communities.  The objective of the programme is to ensure protection, empowerment, as well as equitable and safe access to and benefit from humanitarian assistance, information, livelihoods and learning opportunities, for the most vulnerable and marginalized Rohingya women while assisting them to live with dignity. Further, UN Women chairs the Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group for the Rohingya Refugee Response to promote gender-responsive humanitarian action across the humanitarian coordination system and humanitarian agencies in Cox’s Bazar.

Reporting to the Head of Sub Office, the Communications Assistant supports the formulation and implementation of the communications and advocacy strategies to increase the standing and awareness of UN Women with partners, the media and the public. The Communications Assistant promotes a client-oriented approach in UN Women.

The Communications Assistant works in close collaboration with the Programme, Operations and technical teams in the Sub-Office, the Country Office Communications Analyst and the Regional communications team, communications staff of humanitarian actors in Cox’s Bazar, Government officials, media, multilateral and bilateral donors and civil society.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Provide administrative support in the development of a coherent Cox’s Bazar communications and advocacy strategy:

• Provide background information for the development of the Cox’s Bazar’s communication strategy;
• Provide logistical support to advocacy efforts and campaigns by organizing roundtable discussions, press conferences, and other publicity events and providing inputs to briefing materials and press releases, as necessary.

2. Provide administrative support to the development of Cox’s Bazar’s advocacy materials:

• Gather identifying storylines and achievements within the Cox’s Bazar;
• Draft press releases, articles, key messages and other advocacy materials;
• Review translations, contact with printers and other suppliers to ensure production;
• Maintain library/ database of reference materials and photos;
• Follow guidelines from CO/RO/HQ.

3. Provide support in the management of the Cox’s Bazar’s social media presence and website:

• Gather information for the development of content for the Cox’s Bazar’s website hosted at the Regional Office and social media channels;
• Update the website and social media channels, as required;
• Maintain files, databases, and systems relevant to the Cox’s Bazar’s digital presence.

4. Provide media relations support to the Cox’s Bazar sub office:

• Maintain and update database of relevant press in country;
• Respond to request for information, as delegated;
• Gather and compile inputs for talking points.

5. Facilitate knowledge management and sharing:

• Contribute to the identification of best practices and lessons learned;
• Organize trainings and workshops on communication practices;
• Provide/ exchange information with HQ and RO, Cox’s Bazar, and COs.

6. Provide support in partnerships and maintaining relations with donors:

• Maintain relationships with partners and alliances to enhance visibility;
• Liaise with advocacy partners and undertake outreach to civil society organizations, local government, and other groups to ensure that newsworthy information reaches the public and donors, as delegated.

7. Other:

• Provide support on special web/digital/media projects undertaken by the Cox’s Bazar.

8. The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

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/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

• Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats, using appropriate IT functionality;
• Knowledge of social media and communication strategies and methods;
• Good event planning skills;
• Ability to identify relevant events and stories and communicate them to a mass audience;
• Good multimedia skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Completion of secondary education is required.
• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Public Relations or Journalism is an asset.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in providing support to the formulation and implementation of internal and external communications and advocacy strategies and related plans is required.
• Experience in the use of social media and digital communication is required.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required.
• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English and Bangla is required.

UN Women Statement on 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 on the basis of 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 therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Application:

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.