Communication Consultant

Contract

This is a National Consultant contract. More about National Consultant contracts.

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.

In Kenya, the UN Women Country Programme contributes to the Third Medium Term Plan of Kenya’s Vision 2030 and President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big 4 Agenda. It is aligned to the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) of 2018-2022. UN Women’s Strategic Note 2019-2022 envisions a state where gender relations empower women and men to make informed decisions, have equal access to and use of quality services, and control resources and assets in a secure, accountable and inclusive nation. The Strategic Note has prioritized the following four impact areas: 1) Women leadership in decision making, 2) Women’s Economic Empowerment, 3) Ending Violence against Women and Girls, and 4) and Women, Peace, and Security. In addition, UN Women is also mandated to coordinate and promote the UN system’s work in advancing gender equality, and in all deliberations and agreements linked to the 2030 Agenda.

Reporting to the Deputy Country Director, the Communications Consultant supports the formulation and implementation of the communications and advocacy strategy to increase the standing and awareness of UN Women with partners, the media, and the public. The Communications Consultant promotes a client-oriented approach in UN Women.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide coordination support in the development and implementation of a coherent Kenya Country Office (KCO) communications and advocacy strategy

• Provide support to advocacy efforts and campaigns by organizing roundtable discussions, press conferences, online events, and other publicity events, and preparing briefing materials and press releases;
• Provide guidance and support to the program and other KCO staff on UN Women corporate communications guidelines and printing norms;
• Provide inputs to Programme in order to integrate advocacy and communication strategies into program formulation, as necessary;
• Identification of storylines for publications and drafting of substantive articles contributing to debates on key gender and development issues;

Provide coordination support to the development of KCO advocacy materials

• Identify KCO stories, and develop/review content for the www.genderinkenya.org website and KCO corporate social media accounts;
• Identify storylines and achievements from KCOs work, for online and printed publications;
• Prepare press releases, articles, key messages, and other advocacy material;
• Oversee the translation, adaptation, or rewriting of information received for the local context;
• Manage the publication of materials for final approval including but not limited to designing
• Maintain library/ database of reference materials and photos and digital assets, as necessary;
• Coordination and management of Country Office publication activities, such as content management, corporate communications guidelines and norms for publishing, design, etc;

Provide substantive support to KCO social media presence

• Update website and social media channels, ensure consistency in branding;
• Research, compile and produce reports on web statistics on a regular basis and electronic surveys;
• Maintain files, databases, and systems relevant to the KCO’s digital presence, as necessary.

Documentation

• Support, where necessary, field documentation with key informant interviews, photography, and videography

Support KCO media relations

• Serve as a focal point on UN Women activities open to the media, as necessary;
• Establish and maintain relationships with press in the country; maintain and update database of the relevant press, as necessary;
• Respond to requests for information and arrange interviews;

Facilitate knowledge management and sharing

• Contribute to the identification of best practices and lessons learned;
• Conduct training and workshops on communication practices;
• Provide/ exchange information with the Regional Office and Headquarters

Other

• Perform other tasks as assigned by supervisor
• Provide support on special web/digital/media projects undertaken by the KCO
• Train KCO staff and partners
• Participate in inter-agency communication platforms and joint UN events

Key Performance Indicators

• Timely organization of discussions, conferences, briefings, information campaigns, and other events
• Timely provision of substantive inputs as requested
• Timely delivery of developed communication and advocacy materials in high quality
• Number of communication products developed as assisted in the development

Deliverables

• Monthly social media content schedule
• Monthly social media/digital report
• Support the planning and execution of the commemoration of at least 4 key calendar and program-related events
• including particular: IWD (8 March), CSW65 (15 – 25 March) with summary reports.
• Coordination and planning 2 of audio/visual projects: Women Count Phase 1; COVID-19 Response
• Quarterly Newsletters;
• Knowledge products profiling KCO program results.
• Bi-weekly media monitoring report;

Competencies

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

Functional Competencies

• Ability to establish, build and sustain effective relationships with clients
• Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats, using appropriate IT functionality
• Excellent event planning skills
• Excellent knowledge of social media and communications strategy and methods
• Ability to identify relevant events and stories and communicate them to a mass audience
• Strong multimedia skills
• Knowledge of gender equality and women’s empowerment in Kenya

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• Master’s Degree in Communications, Public Relations or Journalism or 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 6 years of progressively responsible experience in providing support to the formulation and implementation of internal and external communications and advocacy strategies and related plans;
• Experience in local and national media management;
• Experience in coordinating communications support for physical and virtual events;
• Experience in the use of Microsoft Office (Powerpoint, Word, Excel) as well as web-based management systems including WordPress and Mailchimp;
• Experience in graphic design for digital and print platforms such as Adobe and/ Canva;
• Experience in the use of social media and digital communications

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required
• Working knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset.