Media and Development Communication Practitioner

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in the Philippines is committed to promoting gender equality, human rights, and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). As part of the UNFPA’s Country Programme (CP) for 2025, a key initiative is to challenge and transform discriminatory social and gender norms through multi-stakeholder engagement, including the media.

Media plays a crucial role in shaping societal perceptions and influencing behaviors. Traditional and social media, with their vast reach and influence, are powerful tools for promoting positive gender norms, human rights, and SRHR. By engaging media organizations at the national level, UNFPA aims to foster a pool of media champions capable of promoting positive, gender-transformative messages. In addition, the guidelines shall strive to eliminate gender bias, and ensure utmost sensitivity in reporting cases of gender-based violence. This effort aligns with the Country Programme’s output indicator focused on media promoting respect for human rights and positive social change. 

To achieve this, UNFPA is seeking for a Media and Development Communication Practitioner who will be responsible for developing communication guidelines and capacitating national-level media organizations to effectively promote positive gender and social norms. This initiative will contribute to the overarching goal of eliminating discriminatory social and gender biases in media, and transform the Philippine media landscape as a platform that actively advocates positive gender and social norms, informing social behaviour change. 

Develop a Comprehensive Situational Analysis

Conduct consultations with national media organizations, gender experts, and UNFPA staff to gather input and conduct situational analysis on current media practices, challenges and barriers to promoting positive gender norms, and opportunities in reporting on gender issues and SRHR and for capacity-building.

Identify and engage key media organizations (both traditional and digital) that can be engaged in the project and collaborate with them throughout the consultancy.

Identify and support media champions who can serve as advocates for gender-transformative communication.

Development of Communication Guidelines:

• Engage media organizations and journalists in discussions to promote responsible and ethical media practices.
• Develop comprehensive communication guidelines that promote positive gender and social norms, focusing on gender equality, SRHR, and human rights. These guidelines should be practical and adaptable to different types of media platforms (print, broadcast, digital, and social media).
• Develop and deliver training materials that will enhance media professionals’ understanding of gender-sensitive reporting, social norms, and SRHR issues.
• Ensure the guidelines align with UNFPA’s goals and the Philippines’ national priorities for gender equality and SRHR.

Capacity-Building of Media Organizations:

• Design and implement a capacity-building program for media organizations. This will include training workshops, seminars, and ongoing mentoring to strengthen their ability to incorporate gender-sensitive, inclusive, and transformative content into their practice.
• Work with media partners to ensure they have the necessary tools, resources, and skills to produce and distribute content that challenges negative gender stereotypes and promotes human rights.

Monitor and Evaluate Progress:

• Document lessons learned and share recommendations for future media initiatives.
• Provide technical support to the UNFPA CO on how to possibly monitor and evaluate the progress of the media organizations involved in the program. This includes developing strategies and mechanisms to track the implementation of communication guidelines and assess the impact of capacity-building efforts.
• Design a monitoring and evaluation tool to assist the team in tracking progress and outcomes.

Report Writing and Documentation:

• Prepare regular progress reports, including activity reports for the capacity-building activities.
• Submit a final report outlining key achievements, challenges, and recommendations for future media engagement.

Education and Experience:

• A degree in Development Communication, Media Studies, Gender Studies, Social Sciences, or a related field.
• At least 5 years of experience in media and communication, gender advocacy, and capacity-building within media organizations.
• Strong understanding of gender equality, SRHR, and human rights issues, particularly in the context of media.
• Proven ability to develop communication strategies and guidelines, particularly related to gender and social norms.
• Experience in delivering training programs, workshops, and mentoring for media professionals.
• Familiarity with the media landscape in the Philippines and experience working with national media organizations.
• Strong analytical, writing, and communication skills.

Source: https://www.unfpa.org/jobs/national-consultancy-media-and-development-communication-practitioner