Communications & Media Specialist

Contract

This is a SB-5 contract. This kind of contract is known as Service Board / Service Contract. It is normally only for nationals. More about SB-5 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.

The Fiji Multi Country Office (MCO) covers 14 Pacific countries, with field offices/presence in 6 countries, and five ‘focus countries’ (Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Samoa). Each field presence is led by a national Country Programme Coordinator. UN Women, in partnership with Pacific Islands Governments, regional organizations, CSOs, donors and UN agencies, focuses on delivering within four interlinked programme areas:

• Ending Violence against Women and Girls (EVAWG);
• Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE);
• Gender and Protection in Humanitarian Action; and
• Governance and Participation in Public Life (GPPL).

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the UN Women Representative, and in close collaboration with communication officers in programme teams, the Communications and Media Specialist in the Multi Country Office (MCO) provides strategic communications advice and manages and facilitates the implementation of the corporate communications strategy and other UN Women media, social media and communications guidelines and protocols. The Specialist manages the coordination of communications and advocacy activity with a view to influencing the development agenda, to promoting public and media outreach, and to mobilizing political and financial support for UN Women.

The Communications and Media Specialist supervises and leads the MCO communications activities, in particular supporting programme staff when it comes to raising the profile of activities and the understanding of the issues they cover. The Communications and Media Specialist ensures the successful implementation of the MCO communication strategy by working in close collaboration with the MCO Programme and Operations teams, UN Women’s communications staff at the Regional Office for Asia Pacific and global HQ, staff of other UN Agencies, as well as with stakeholders and external communications counterparts i.e. government officials, international and local media, subject matter experts, multi-lateral and bi-lateral donors and civil society.

A communications strategy tightly linked to programme priorities helps position the UN Women MCO as a thought leader in the area of gender equality and empowerment of women, in ways that boost demand for various service lines and increase overall business partnership opportunities.

Reporting to the Representative, UN Women Fiji MCO, the Communications Specialist will collaborate closely with the Headquarters, Regional, Multi-Country Office and Country Offices’ (RO/MCO/CO) colleagues to ensure communications strategies, media relations and organizational outreach efforts are aligned with corporate communications policies and initiatives. The Communications Specialist also collaborates with RO/MCO and CO colleagues to support outreach campaigns, resource mobilization and donor relations initiatives; The Communication Specialist mobilizes support in conjunction with intergovernmental processes and support the activities and special events organized for UN Women.

Duties and Responsibilities

Ensures planning and design of internal and external strategies for communications and outreach focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Planning and elaboration of communications needs assessments for MCO, in particular, for MCO programmes and projects across the region including close cooperation with, and support for, programme-specific communications staff members;
• Ensure the message and activities are consistent with MCO Communications Strategy;
• Elaboration of the MCO Communications Strategy based on the corporate strategic objectives of UN Women and the Fiji MCO;
• Constructive and timely advice on inclusion of communications components in programme formulations to integrate advocacy and communication strategies into all aspects of UN Women’s development programme.

Ensures development and dissemination of publications and advocacy materials in accordance with UN Women guidelines focusing on the achievement of the following results:

• Provide coordinated assistance for all MCO publication activities across the region including close cooperation with, and support for, programme-specific communications staff members.
• Provide support and advice for content management, norms for publishing, liaison with designers, liaison with printers and other suppliers to oversee production and, subsequently, supervision of publications’ dissemination.
• Identification and development of storylines for publications and substantive articles contributing to debates on key development issues.

Supervises the design and maintenance of the UN Women website, intranet, MCO web-based knowledge management systems focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Supervise and assist with updates and ongoing maintenance of the office webpages on the UN Women Asia and the Pacific website based on corporate requirements in cooperation with the Regional Office (RO) of Asia-Pacific;
• Supervision and preparation of the content for the website ensuring consistency of the materials;
• Support the management and maintenance of the UN Women in the Pacific social media presence and other online channels, including identifying and posting material where required, in coordination with communication officers in programme teams.

Supports business development in close collaboration with, and support for, programme-specific communications staff members, through focusing on achievement of the following results:

Launches and Campaigns

• Create and promote campaigns to local and regional media that position UN Women and influences the development agenda based on current programmes and new initiatives;
• Project manage the development, promotion and dissemination of corporate advocacy materials for launching flagship initiatives and publications;
• Create, promote and maintain public information campaigns on UN Women activities, progress on SDGs (especially SDG 5), Beijing Platform for Action, etc. in association with other staff from within the Programme / Operations Unit across the region.

Outreach and Media Activity

• Promote activities to position UN Women as a leader within the gender equality and development spaces;
• Increase coverage and understanding of the UN Women’s work in the Pacific region through development and maintenance of media contacts and providing newsworthy information to national public and donors;
• Format, package and submit documentation about programme initiatives for donor review in close collaboration with programme staff;
• Develop and maintain close contacts with communications counterparts in government, multilateral and bilateral donors, civil society and private sector for implementation of the communications strategy, organization of roundtable discussions, press conferences, briefing sessions, interviews, launches, etc.;
• Provide communications advice and support, where required, this will include supporting programme staff in their relationships with above-mentioned organizations;
• Forge the “one UN” image through active participation in the UN Communications Partnership Group, publicizing the significance of local UN reform efforts, joint programmes, and common services.
• Support the organization and implementation of joint UN information campaigns (16 days Activism, UN Day, World AIDS Day, etc.), taking the lead where appropriate;
• Ensure access for journalists to subject matter experts;
• Coordinate regular newsletter to donors, donor reports, civic education and community awareness where appropriate to support programme work;
• Measure outreach effectiveness through regular monitoring of media coverage, adapting strategies where appropriate and sharing results with staff, donors and key partners.

Public Information

• Effective responses to inquiries for public information materials;
• Innovative and creative solutions to sensitive or corporately strategic public communications issues;
• Advocacy and promotion of UN Women mandate, mission and purpose.

Ensures facilitation of knowledge building and management focusing on achievement of the following results:

• Identify and synthesize best practices and lessons learned directly linked to programme country goals and activities;
• Monitor practices, and project-specific news and developments in order to ensure guidance to the office that reflects the best and most current available information;
• Provide advice, support and inputs to UN Women communications corporate documents;
• Submit contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice including corporate communications repositories;
• Organize or provide communications training, consultancy and advice to UN Women staff.

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

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities:

N/A.

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

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:

• https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values

Functional Competencies:

• Ability to communicate sensitively, effectively and creatively across different constituencies
• Strong knowledge of managing web-based knowledge management systems
• Strong understanding of production, graphic design and photography standards
• Strong knowledge of social media platforms and experience in social media outreach
• Strong oral and written communication and editing skills
• Strong communication, networking and advocacy skills
• Ability to provide advice and be strategic and analytical
• Good knowledge of local country media landscape
• Knowledge of gender and human rights issues is desirable

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in communications, public relations, journalism, publishing 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.
• A [project/programme management] certification would be an added advantage.

Experience:

• At least 5 years (Masters Degree) or 7 years (Bachelors Degree) of progressively responsible work experience in public relations, communications or advocacy, including media relations.
• Previous experience with a multilateral or international organization is helpful but not mandatory.
• Experience in leading and coaching staff in international settings is required.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required.
• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Fluency in Fijian / Hindi is desirable, but not mandatory.
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

Additional Information:

UN Women Statement on Diversity 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).