UN Women is looking for a Humanitarian Communication & Advocacy Specialist (French- or Spanish-speaking)

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.

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.

In this context, the Communications and Advocacy Division at UN Women Headquarters in New York, supports the positioning of women’s empowerment and gender equality as key issues on the international agenda and establishes UN Women’s role as the global authority.

Under the guidance and direct supervision of Deputy Chief of Communication & Advocacy, the Humanitarian Communication & Advocacy Specialist is responsible for leading and implementing the communication and advocacy strategies for humanitarian and Women Peace and Security. The incumbent will be required to travel to humanitarian emergencies at short notice and for extensive periods of time.

The Communication & Advocacy Specialist Humanitarian works in close collaboration with the Humanitarian Team, the Women Peace and Security team and the different teams of the Global Division of Communication & Advocacy, especially the media relations, social media, editorial and multimedia teams to ensure successful implementation of humanitarian communication.

Key Functions and Accountabilities:

Lead Humanitarian Communication & Advocacy for UN Women

• Lead the design and implementation of communication and advocacy strategies for humanitarian and Women Peace and Security, including integration into programme proposals and emergency response plans.
• Ensure communications highlights gender dimensions of crises and amplifies the voices of women and girls by feeding strong messaging into UN women’s global, regional and national communication and advocacy products.
• Monitor humanitarian and Women Peace and Security narratives in international media and position UN Women as a thought leader in this space.
• Support the regional and country offices with the production of key advocacy and strategic communication materials, including gender alert publications and key messages on humanitarian emergencies.
• Represent UN Women in the inter-agency crisis cells and advocate for a gender angle in system-wide messaging.

Manage media relations focused on humanitarian crises

• Build and maintain strong relationships with international, regional, and national media covering humanitarian and Women, Peace and Security agenda.
• Support spokespeople in high-visibility media interview situations, organize media briefings and provide media background.
• Prepare press releases, op-eds, media advisories, and statements on emergencies, ensuring timeliness and accuracy.
• Organize press conferences, media briefings, and field visits for journalists.
• Develop media talking points for key humanitarian and Women, Peace and Security situations.

Coordinate on-the-ground humanitarian communication and advocacy

• Lead communication and advocacy from the field during humanitarian emergencies, including working directly with the media and coordinating the production of multimedia assets, including photography and videography.
• Directly support country and regional offices on the ground during humanitarian emergencies.

Capacity Building and Coordination for humanitarian contexts

• Provide technical guidance to regional and country office communication staff on humanitarian communication and advocacy.
• Facilitate training sessions and workshops on humanitarian communication.
• Coordinate content and Women Peace and Security across the communication and advocacy division.
• Document and share lessons learned and best practices across the global network.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation.

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 knowledge of rapidly evolving humanitarian contexts and high awareness of politically sensitive situations.
• Proven ability to translate complex humanitarian and human rights issues into content for general target audiences.
• Expert knowledge of designing and implementing communication and advocacy strategies.
• In-depth understanding of global media markets.
• Excellent writing, editing, and oral communication skills.
• Ability to work under pressure, meet tight deadlines and constantly adapt to rapidly changing situations.
• Strategic thinking and ability to advise senior management in effective communications in sensitive contexts.

Recruitment Qualifications:

Education and Certification:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in communications, journalism, public relations, international relations, or related field.
• A first-level degree with additional relevant experience may be considered.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in communication, public information, journalism, or media relations, at least 3 years with a strong focus on humanitarian crises.
• Proven experience in developing and implementing communication and advocacy strategies in humanitarian contexts.
• Experience in working with international media is required.
• Familiarity with UN system coordination, humanitarian response frameworks or experience in working directly within a humanitarian emergency required.
• Experience in drafting compelling media products, such as media advisories, statements, talking points or press releases on humanitarian issues required.
• Demonstrated experience in leading on-the-ground communications throughout major emergencies is required.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of French or Spanish considered is strongly desirable.
• Knowledge of another UN language (Russian, Chinese or Arabic) is desirable.

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.

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