Background
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| The UN Women Liaison Office to the African Union (AU) and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) engages with the AU and its various organs, the United Nations systems particularly ECA, regional CSOs, and international NGOs, as well as the diplomatic community and in particular, delegations to the African Union in the adoption, implementation, and monitoring of commitments on gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) at the regional level, and in accordance with its mandate.
The Liaison Office aims at providing technical assistance to the African Union Commission (AUC) through the Women, Gender and Youth Directorate (WGYD) to effectively mainstream gender issues in AU and its programs and policy processes guided by the MOU and the UN Women and AUC joint strategy on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE). UN Women Liaison Office (LO) also collaborates with relevant departments of the AUC for gender responsive development and implementation of regional initiatives.
In addition, the LO continues to establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with relevant UN agencies, INGOs and CSOs to implement catalytic initiatives in supporting the continental GEWE agenda. The Liaison Office (LO) is guided by a Strategic Note (2022-2025) which defines its key development results and management/operational results. The Strategic Note (SN) is aligned with the global UN Women Strategic Plan (2022-2025), the AU GEWE Strategy (2018-2028), Agenda 2063 and other key GEWE frameworks of Africa as well as global normative frameworks. The office implements regional initiatives including the Spotlight Initiative Africa Regional Program (SIARP), African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) and African Girls Can Code Initiative (AGCCI).
Communications and visibility are central to the Liaison’s office mandate at the national, regional, and international levels requiring the Office to ensure the consistent flow of credible information on the different initiatives and coordinate advocacy campaigns and engagement platforms on continental GEWE issues. To this end, UN Women Liaison office is seeking to engage the services of a qualified “Communication and Advocacy Consultant” to lead and support the communication and visibility efforts of the LO.
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Duties and Responsibilities
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Under the direct supervision of the Liaison Specialist and overall guidance of the Special Representative, the consultant will be responsible for leading and supporting the design, planning and implementation of the communication and visibility initiatives of the Liaison Office.
- Develop comprehensive communication and visibility action Plan for the Liaison Office
- Coordinate the implementation of visibility, communications, and outreach activities with partners.
- Support and work closely with Communications and Advocacy Team from UN Women regional offices and HQ to manage, evaluate, and implement high impact communications’ products (e.g. web, electronic, etc.).
- Coordinate the implementation of visibility, communications, and outreach activities with partners
- Ensure wide dissemination and visibility of programme achievements.
- Monitor and evaluate communication and visibility campaigns.
- Track progress against established work plans and outputs.
- Write and/or disseminate press releases, policy briefs, pamphlets, talking points, speeches, editorials, branded materials, and other written communications materials.
- Provide communications and advocacy support to joint regional campaigns, launching initiatives, and publications.
- Develop and support management of relationships with members of the media.
- Design and maintain a digital presence, including robust social media footprint for the liaison Office Initiative.
- Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with various stakeholders and actors engaged in communication and advocacy work.
The consultant is expected to deliver the following results:
- Comprehensive and detailed communication and visibility action plan of the UN Women Liaison Office to the AU and ECA
- Advocacy messaging for key UN Women LO initiatives developed and disseminated.
- Robust and consistent digital presence and social media footprint of LO including for key flagship programs such as SIARP and AWLN.
- A tracking tool to monitor progress against established communication and visibility work plans and outputs of the office developed and implemented.
- Quarterly newsletters on the continental GEWE partnerships and initiatives developed and disseminated.
- Well-articulated and designed press releases, policy briefs, pamphlets, talking points, speeches, editorials, branded materials, and other written communications materials developed and disseminated/shared.
- Coordinated communications and advocacy support to joint campaigns and initiatives, and publications including the Positive Masculinity Conference, the Maputo Protocol 20th celebrations, the AWLN 4th Intergenerational Conference etc.
- A data base of continental and regional media houses developed and strong relationships with the media houses forged.
- A comprehensive media scan on GEWE initiatives and news consolidated and shared with UN Women Offices in Africa and HQ.
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Competencies
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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/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf
FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:
- Sharing knowledge and experience.
- Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside UN Women.
- Demonstrates excellent written and oral communication skills. Communicates sensitively, effectively, and creatively across different constituencies.
- Demonstrates very good understanding of and experience in communications and outreach/advocacy.
- Focuses on results for the client and responds positively to feedback.
- Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.
- Proven networking skills and ability to generate interest in UN Women’s mandate.
- Identifies opportunities and builds strong partnerships with clients and partners.
- Multidisciplinary skills and the ability to communicate effectively.
- Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
- Sensitivity to regional political, gender and cultural balance.
- A high standard of professionalism.
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Required Skills and Experience
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Education:
- An advanced university degree in Communications and Technology, Mass Media, Journalism or a related Social Science in a recognized university.
Experience and competencies:
- At least 5 years of relevant work experience in the development and implementation of communication Strategies.
- Experience in developing communications and advocacy strategy documents with clear implementation plan and key milestones.
- Experience working in communications and advocacy with Institutional bodies and UN system is an asset.
- Extensive and demonstrated experience in developing strategies and community of practices, virtual platforms.
- Experience in using technology as a medium for communication.
- Experience working on communications and advocacy with intergovernmental institutions including UN system and AU is an asset.
- Ability to take initiative, multitask, work independently and proactively.
- Strong reading/writing and analytical skills
Language Requirements:
- English (Mandatory), Level – Fluent
- Working knowledge of the French language is an asset.
Application:
| 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.)
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