International Consultant on partnership and visibility with fluency in a Nordic language

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 Strategic Partnerships Division (SPD) works to strengthen UN Women’s position as a partner of choice for gender equality and the empowerment of women (GEWE) among governments and inter-governmental actors around the world. The division is doing this by positioning GEWE in the intergovernmental and multilateral fora and engaging with governments and public institutions as policy, programme and resource partners. A key premise for SPD is that engagement with countries should be holistic based on multiple aspects of partnerships, including policy advocacy and resource mobilization.

Under the overall supervision of the Director of the Nordic Liaison Office (NLO) and in close collaboration with the Public Partnerships team, the Partnerships and Visibility Junior Consultant will support the implementation of UN Women’s communications strategy and work to increase UN Women’s visibility in the Nordic countries. This will be done through event planning and social media efforts aimed at engaging UN Women’s partners in dynamic conversation on its mandate and the impact of its work. The Partnerships and Visibility Junior Consultant will provide support to the Nordic Liaison Office on the partner portfolio that includes amongst others, but is not restricted to, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and the Baltic states, as well as other partnerships including with the private sector, civil society, academia, UN Associations and UN Women National Committees in the Nordic region.

Duties and Responsibilities

The junior consultant will lead on local partner visibility efforts, including event management, to strengthen partner recognition with Nordic audiences.

The objective of the consultancy is fourfold:

1. Lead the NLO´s event planning for strategic engagement with local Nordic, civil society and UN partners, including supporting the NLO´s engagement in UN Women’s corporate partner recognition, and support work to ensure visibility for core resources, and contribute to background analysis on impact of core resources
2. Support the work of the NLO in background analysis and research as needed
3. Provide technical support to external relations and partnerships of assigned funding partners portfolio
4. Provide input to partner intelligence.

Scope of Work and Responsibilities

Lead on event planning for strategic engagement with Nordic partners, including support to partner recognition and visibility for core resources.

• Conceptualize and plan public events in UN City to raise awareness of UN Women’s work, including its collaboration with UN and civil society partners, and to provide recognition for financial and political support from Nordic governments
• Draft concept notes, communications materials, draft talking points and HR paperwork as necessary for events organized or supported by UN Women. This should be done in close consultation with external partners and NLO HoO, with inputs from UN Women Communication Division, the Partner Intelligence, Visibility & Analysis Team (PIVA), HQ technical teams and HR as needed
• Support UN and government partners in the planning and organization of events, including knowledge-sharing, providing UN Women inputs and supporting logistical arrangements as necessary
• Support the NLO’s engagement with relevant HQ sections and Country Offices and in close collaboration with the Communications and Visibility Intern for the implementation of the corporate partner recognition week campaign on social media
• Draft messaging and assets tailored to the Nordic audience in question in consultation with the NLO government partnerships team and relevant Country and Regional Offices and request timely feedback on materials from relevant government counterparts
• Support in background analysis to demonstrate the flow of core and non-core resources and the impact of these funds across Strategic Plan impact areas
• Support in the design standard one-pagers for UN Women partners to demonstrate impact of their funding contribution to UN Women.    

 Analytical background support for the Nordic Liaison Office

• Provide background analysis of partners engaged in organized events, in writing background notes for meetings and events
• Provide ad-hoc support to the NLO’s advocacy and communication efforts addressing strategic partners as needed
• Provide logistical support to the NLO as needed.

Provide technical support to the external relations and overall partnership of assigned funding partner portfolio:

• Support in partnership management and advocacy
• Provide background analysis in support of resource mobilization activities
• Provide input to the advocacy for gender equality and women’s empowerment and UN Women normative, coordination, and operational work globally.

Provide input to partner intelligence:

• Support the gathering of data to provide real-time intelligence on partner policies and priorities and act as a central repository of this information, for support of the dissemination to offices globally, to promote partner engagement
• Provide input to briefs, reports, statistics, revenue projections and requirements for high-level meetings.

Deliverables:

Lead on event planning for strategic engagement with Nordic partners, including support to partner recognition and visibility for core resources.

1. Timely planning and organization, support to and/or participation by UN Women in the following events:
   • International Women’s Day 2024
   • Gender Diversity Roundtable 2024
   • The People’s Meeting at the Danish Island of Bornholm
   • Ad-hoc high school visits to UN City
2. Concept notes, talking points and communications materials are well-researched, prepared and distributed in a timely manner to event participants
3. Preparation of SOPs/Checklist for event planning at the NLO in UN City
4. Successful and timely delivery of input to partner recognition for the five Nordic countries
5. Visibility for core two-pagers finalised for all Nordic partners
6. Support to the NLO on background analysis of partners engaged in organized events, in writing background notes for meetings and events.

Analytical background support for the Nordic Liaison Office, and technical support to the external relations and overall partnership of assigned funding partner portfolio, including input to partner intelligence:

1. Timely and relevant background data and analysis provided in support of the effective planning and management of partner relations
2. Background analysis in support of resource mobilization activities provided
3. Input to strengthen advocacy for GEWE provided, with a particular focus on data of relevance to a national audience in the Nordic countries
4. Data gathered, analysed and used to update intelligence on partner policies and priorities
5. Strategic and relevant input to briefs, reports, statistics, revenue projections and requirements for high-level meetings provided.

Competencies

• Proven ability to design and implement relevant and targeted initiatives
• Ability to develop and maintain strong partnerships with a variety of stakeholders and develop inter-institutional coordination and communication mechanisms
• Demonstrated coordination and organizational skills
• Demonstrated analytical skills
• Strong IT skills, including databases, extranet and office software packages
• Strong knowledge of gender equality and women’s rights issues
• Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct
• Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work
• Demonstrate cultural sensitivity and able to work in a multi-national environment 
• Support the Organization’s corporate goal 
• Comply with UN WOMEN rules, regulations and code of conduct 
• integrity 
• Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multiethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds
• Build effective client relationships and partnerships 
• Interact with all levels of staff in the organization 
• Excellent interpersonal skills 
• Build and share knowledge 
• Make valuable practice contributions 
• Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication
• Excellent oral and written skills 
• Listen actively and respond effectively 
• Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others. 

Required Skills and Experience

• Master’s Degree in Political Science, International Development, Gender Studies or a related field
• Demonstrated experience working with and advocating on gender issues
• Experience in planning and organizing complex events, such as multi-stakeholder events on gender-related issues
• Demonstrated experience in supporting high-level events such as political negotiations, high-level meetings or related initiatives, preferably with Nordic governments
• Demonstrated experience in supporting engagement with the Nordic governments
• Demonstrated experience in political analysis, and excellent drafting skills
• Experience working with the UN an advantage
• Fluency in the English language required
• Fluency in a Nordic language required.