Communications Consultant (Retainer)

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 Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division develops and implements UN Women’s programme of work across its normative, coordination, and operational triple mandate and provides policy advice and guidance and technical support to intergovernmental processes, UN system, and UN Women regional and country offices, among other partners and stakeholders. The Division is organized in thematic sections, which undertake policy research; analyze data on country, regional and global trends; and propose evidence-based options for global policy, norms and standards as well as for UN Women’s policy advocacy and global programme strategies, including flagship programme initiatives. With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UN Women is supporting the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) towards achieving gender equality and women's economic empowerment by 2030 to benefit all women and girls.

Economic empowerment is one of the priority areas of UN Women. UN Women works with governments, UN agencies, civil society organizations, regional economic commissions, academic and research institutions, and multilateral partners (World Bank, to promote women’s economic empowerment and increase their access to economic opportunities, especially for those who are most vulnerable and excluded.  In 2024, UN Women has launched its new Women’s Economic Empowerment Strategy, which articulates UN Women’s vision for enabling women’s economic agency, autonomy and well-being. Anchored in UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2022–2025 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, its objective is to provide a framework that galvanizes internal and external stakeholders to work together at the local, the national and international level. The strategy highlights three key priority areas, or Gender Equality Accelerators (GEAs), where UN Women can play a critical role:

(i)  Women in the world of Work

(ii) Transforming care systems, and

(iii) Gender-responsive climate action.

The GEA on Transforming the care economy is hosted in the Care and Macroeconomic team within the Economic Empowerment section. To implement the GEA, the TransformCare initiative was created, aimed at transforming the undervaluing and gendered division of care and improve the lives of women and girls across 30 countries and six regions. The programme complements existing successful UN Women programmes such as the 3R programme to recognize, reduce and redistribute women’s unpaid care and domestic workloads and overall time poverty, the UN Women-ILO Joint Programme “Promoting Decent employment for women through inclusive growth policies and investments in the care economy”, and the new UN Joint Programme on Unpaid Care, Disability, and Gender Transformative Approach. The Initiative also benefits from the support provided by Sida to UN Women’s Economic Empowerment Strategy through the expansion of the Strategic Partnership Framework (SPFIII).

Effective communication plays a critical role in driving cultural and societal change towards transformative care systems. In this context, UN Women seeks to hire a communications consultant to develop and implement visibility and communications strategies for global, regional, and national care projects, programmes and initiatives.  The Communications Consultant will contribute to enhancing UN Women's visibility, engagement, and impact in the field of care work through the development of strategic communications content and outreach.

Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work

The overall purpose of this consultancy is to support UN Women in producing communications and materials in the field of care work, a priority area for the implementation of UN Women’s Economic Empowerment Strategy for Women and its GEA “Transforming care systems” as well as in UN Women Action agenda for Beijing + 30 process.

Under the supervision of the Policy Advisor, Macroeconomics and Global Lead on Care, and working closely with the Macroeconomics and Care Team in the Economic Empowerment Section at UN Women, the consultant will be expected to perform the following tasks:

• Develop communication materials to disseminate UN Women’s work on care worldwide reflecting its impact, results and lessons learned and providing visibility to stakeholders and partners.
• In collaboration with communications teams from Regional and Country Offices, contribute to the development of articles and impact stories that demonstrate the impact and results achieved in various countries and regions in the field of care work.
• Contribute to the creation and enhancement of visibility packages and the development of visual identity for care projects, programmes and initiatives on care.
• Draft and edit communications materials that facilitate communication on UN Women’s vision on Transforming care systems, including articles, blog posts, social media posts and captions, press releases, brochures, flyers, reports, key messages, speeches and talking points.
• Contribute to disseminate the content of care policy documents and knowledge products, preparing executive summaries, key messages, infographics and other communicational materials.
• Develop draft proposals for content for UN Women’s social media channels, ensuring it aligns with the organization’s messaging and priorities.
• Track social media content related to UN Women’s care work outcomes and generate insights.
• Contribute to the development and content creation of a dedicated care work page on UN Women's website, 
• Provide communications support for key events on care, such as conferences, trainings, meetings, and webinars, including drafting event briefs, speeches, and media materials.
• Contribute to the design and implementation of communication and advocacy strategies and campaigns on care aligned with UN Women’s objectives and key priorities.
• Create and manage an image bank focused on care work to support the creation of visual content
• Liaise with designers, video editors, photographers and other communication professionals and service providers as needed 

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This consultancy is expected to start in April 2025 and end by December 2025. The consultancy is home-based, with some travel likely required (TBC). 

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

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 Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

• Strong writing, editing, and proofreading skills, with the ability to adapt messages for different audiences.
• Ability to communicate sensitively, effectively and creatively across different constituencies. 
• Proficiency in social media platforms and digital tools. 
• Strong knowledge of social media and communication strategies and methods.
• Knowledge of production, graphic design and photography standards. 
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills. 
• Capacity to work independently.
• Knowledge of gender equality and women's economic empowerment. 

Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

•    Master’s degree or equivalent in communications, journalism, marketing, public relations, or a related field is required.

•    A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of professional experience in communications in the field of gender equality and women empowerment is required, including specific experience on care work.
• Proven experience in producing content for online platforms and social media.
• Demonstrated experience in preparing communicational products to engage with the media, writing press releases and key messages. 
• Proven experience in taking long form content and/or technical writing and creating concise, instructive copy.
• Experience in planning and managing communications and social change campaigns, including social media analytics to measure the performance and improving approaches as necessary.
• Work experience in communications for international or multilateral organization, including the United Nations is an asset. 
• Experience working in different countries and regions is an asset.
• Experience in applying an intersectional approach to gender equality is an asset. 

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of French, Spanish or Arabic or any other UN official language is an asset.

V. How to Apply

Examples of relevant communications materials focused on gender equality, women's empowerment and/or care work produced by the candidate will be an asset. Please feel free to attach the files (or portfolio) when submitting your application for the vacancy through the system.

Statements :

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.

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.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.