UN WOMEN: COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA SPECIALIST

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women will work 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 will lead and coordinate United Nations System efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. The Inter-Governmental Support and Strategic Partnership Bureau is responsible for proactively driving the strategic positioning of UN WOMEN so that the size, sources and predictability of its resources help the organization achieve its strategic goals. A service center to UN WOMEN HQ Sections and Field Offices, the Bureau’s Division of Strategic Partnerships, Advocacy, Civil Society, Communications, and Resource Mobilization is organized into three functional clusters: Resource Mobilization, Civil Society, Communications and Advocacy. Given the scope and interrelationships of Division’s functional responsibilities, the work of the Bureau is highly synergistic, involving constant and direct interaction and information-sharing among team members, to provide high-quality advice, services and support to UN WOMEN. Under the supervision of the Chief, Communications and Advocacy, and in collaboration with Division colleagues, the Communications and Media Specialist is responsible for developing strategic communications and media initiatives and managing media/press coverage for UN WOMEN. As the head of UN WOMEN's media services, the incumbent guides media outreach and drives media coverage, including building collaborations and effective media alliances to promote UN WOMEN and its strategic areas. The Communications and Media Specialist oversees the production of a range of communications materialsfor UN Women, including for the UN Women website, and for online and offline audiences. S/he is responsible for timely, accurate and high-quality informational materials, such as press releases & media advisories, news briefs, fact sheets, stories from the field etc. for media outreach, the UN Women website, and inclusion in informational kits for further public outreach. The incumbent supervises three staff: the Spanish Communications and Media Specialist; the French Communications and Media Analyst and the Web Editor. The Communications and Media Specialist supports the Chief, Communications and Advocacy, serves as the Deputy of the Communications and Advocacy Section, collaborating closely with the Section’s colleagues to ensure communications strategies, media relations and organizational outreach efforts are aligned with corporate communications policies and initiatives. The incumbent also collaborates with Division colleagues to support outreach campaigns, resource mobilization and donor relations initiatives; s/he mobilizes support in conjunction with intergovernmental processes, and support the activities and special events organized for UN WOMEN's Goodwill Ambassadors

Duties and Responsibilities

Key Functions: Leads media outreach for UN Women Builds communications partnerships and media alliances Supervises the production of editorial content and provides quality assurance thereof Serves as the Deputy of the Communications & Advocacy Section Leads media outreach for UN Women, focusing on achieving the following results: Provides strategic guidance and supervises media activities and media coverage for the Executive Director and other senior managers as required, including during official missions; Advises and provides high-quality substantive support to HQ Sections and Field Offices on generating media coverage of programmatic and thematic priorities of the organization and stories, including: activities to illustrate UN Women’s work; programmatic priorities, impact and results; international conferences and events; the roll-out of global advocacy campaigns; and the launch of flagship and other corporate publications. Guides and supports regional communications officers in ensuring consistent corporate messaging; Supervises the work of the two Media Specialists, including in the organization of press conferences, drafting of statements and talking points; media monitoring and archiving of coverage; etc. Provides supervision and strategic guidance on media relations with a wide network of contacts with the media, in the UN and internationally, including corporate contacts of individuals, groups, organizations and media outlets; Builds and maintains contacts with counterparts in the UN system to maximize outreach on issues and make efficient use of resources, including UNTV. Builds communications partnerships and media alliances, focusing on achieving the following results: Identifies and develops new communications partnerships and media alliances to enhance the visibility and cement UN Women as a thought-leader; manages and nurtures existing partnerships; Identifies innovative opportunities and new communications tools and platforms which can serve to highlight the work of UN Women; Guides and collaborates closely with regio0nal communications officers to advance regional and national communications partnerships. Supervises the production of editorial content and provides quality assurance thereof for media outreach, UN Women website and diverse audiences, focusing on achieving the following results: Oversees the production of a range of communications materials for UN Women, including for the UN Women website, and for online and offline audiences; Ensures production of timely, accurate and high-quality informational materials, such as press releases & media advisories, news briefs, fact sheets, stories from the field; audio and video stories, etc., for the media, donors, UN Women website, and inclusion in informational kits for further public outreach, e.g through the UN Women corporate annual report or UN Women’s web portals and advocacy platforms; Supervises the work of the Web Editor and other UN Women media staff who are responsible for providing communications oriented content for the organization, written and audio-visual; Explores newer methodologies for transmitting work of the organization to external audiences, including audio-visual communications. Serves as the Deputy of the Communications and Advocacy Section, focusing on achieving the following results: Supports the Chief, Advocacy and Communications in her duties, especially in providing supervision, when needed, for Section colleagues; Collaborates closely and guides the colleagues of the Advocacy and Communications Section, and communications officers in the field to ensure communications strategies, media relations and organizational outreach efforts are aligned with corporate communications policies and initiatives, including support to global advocacy campaigns and to the launching of UN WOMEN flagship publications; Strengthens quality assurance in all communications related work and activities for the organization; Supports Division colleagues for outreach campaigns, helps drive resource mobilization and donor relations initiatives, mobilize support in conjunction with intergovernmental processes, etc. Provides communications and media support for all activities and events related to the advocacy efforts undertaken by UN Women Goodwill Ambassador(s). Impact of Results: The key results have an impact on the Organization’s media relations and outreach capacities and consequently the image of UN Women. It is essential to ensure appropriate international/ national press coverage of UN Women programmes, initiatives and events.

Competencies

Core Values and Guiding Principles: Integrity: Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct. Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity: Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity. Core Competencies: Ethics and Values: Promoting Ethics and Integrity / Creating Organizational Precedents Organizational Awareness: Building support and political acumen. Planning and organizing: Proven ability to plan strategic direction and ability to organize and service intergovernmental bodies and international technical meetings Developing and Empowering People / coaching and mentoring: Building staff competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation Working in Teams: Proven record of building and managing teams and creating an enabling and collaborative work environment, including the ability to effectively lead, supervise, mentor, develop and evaluate staff. Communicating Information and Ideas: Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication Self-management and Emotional intelligence: Creating an emotionally intelligent organization Conflict Management / Negotiating and Resolving Disagreements: Leveraging conflict in the interests of the organization & setting standards. Ability to interact and negotiate with high-level government officials are required Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning: Sharing knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning. Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making: Fair and transparent decision-making; calculated risk-taking Commitment to continuous learning: Willingness to keep abreast of new developments in the field of gender equality thematic areas Leadership - Proven track record of excellent management and technical leadership skills and ability to delegate appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority. Functional Competencies: Demonstrates excellent understand of and experience in communications, media relations and outreach at the international level; Demonstrated ability to build and nurture strong relations with the media (national and international); Proven ability to develop and implement effective communications and media strategies; Proven ability to position issues effectively, both orally and in writing; Demonstrates excellent editorial skills; Communicates sensitively, effectively and creatively across different constituencies; Proven networking skills, and ability to generate interest in UN Women; Good IT skills, including databases and office software packages; Familiarity with UN Women and UN system; Familiarity with gender issues.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Masters degree in communications, journalism, public relations, social sciences, international relations, or a related field. Experience: A minimum of 7 years relevant experience (post-Masters) in communications at the national or international level, including in-depth experience in communications efforts, media outreach and media partnerships. Language Requirements: Fluency in English (written and oral). Knowledge of a second UN language a plus. Note: In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment. All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment 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.

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UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.