Consultant - Communications & Coordination – Intergovernmental Processes (Open to Indian Nationals Only)

Contract

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Background

UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.

UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality, and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to ensure that the standards are effectively implemented and truly benefit women and girls worldwide. It works globally to make the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals a reality for women and girls and stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on four strategic priorities:

• Women lead, participate in and benefit equally from governance systems
• Women have income security, decent work and economic autonomy
• All women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence
• Women and girls contribute to and have greater influence in building sustainable peace and resilience, and benefit equally from the prevention of natural disasters and conflicts and humanitarian action

UN Women also coordinates and promotes the UN system’s work in advancing gender equality, and in all deliberations and agreements linked to the 2030 Agenda. The entity works to position gender equality as fundamental to the Sustainable Development Goals, and a more inclusive world.

The Intergovernmental Processes team at UN WOMEN India Country Office plays a central role to deliver on UN Women’s normative support functions and strengthens linkages between normative work and operational activities. It contributes to the Entity’s support for the development and strengthening of a comprehensive set of global norms, policies and standards on gender equality and women’s empowerment that is dynamic, responds to new and emerging issues, challenges and opportunities and is applied through action by Governments and other stakeholders at all levels. The team also has special responsibility for the coordination of substantive servicing of intergovernmental and expert bodies as mandated in relevant legislative documents.

The Division focuses on three broad areas of work: (i) engage with and service intergovernmental bodies related to gender equality and women’s empowerment, as well as managing India MCO’s participation in regional and international policy discourse on gender equality; (ii) support and coordinate interagency coordination and its smooth running and follow-up; (iii) plan, organize and support in building partnerships with the private sector and the civil society in the country.

In this context, UN Women will be placing National Consultant - Communications and Coordination at the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) to support the Ministry on intergovernmental processes including the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2030. The person will be placed in MWCD and will directly report to the Joint Secretary, MWCD under the overall supervision of the Deputy Representative, UN WOMEN India Country Office. He/ She will also meet with UN Women once a fortnight and/or when required to discuss work undertaken.

Duties and Responsibilities

Research, Knowledge Management & Documentation:

• Support Ministry’s monitoring of relevant intergovernmental processes (including Beijing Platform for Action, UN General Assembly, Commission on Status of Women) and developments on the sustainable development goals and Agenda 2030;
• Assist in communication documentation and reporting on G20 and other intergovernmental dialogues;
• Participate in meetings with MWCD, align with the communications plan and assist in execution of the same;
• Analysis of documents/references from different departments from a gender perspective;
• Analysis and research of information, preparation of substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation & identification of new opportunities;
• Prepare briefing notes and updates on gender issues;
• Prepare periodic progress reports of the work undertaken by the Ministry;
• Document and disseminate resources for initiatives under the such as case studies and best practices;
• Assist in preparatory work for review meetings with Secretary and Ministers, including, preparation of resource materials, agenda papers, minutes etc;
• Identification of sources of information related to policy-driven issues.

Communications and Coordination:

• Facilitate coordination and manage communication for MWCD in close collaboration with the relevant focal points;
• Support the comms focal point in planning, organizing and documenting for events organized by MWCD;
• Assist in preparation of knowledge resources, communications, presentations and background material for internal and external use, including fact sheets on thematic issues as well as state specific content for websites and social media;
• Coordinate with the communications focal point on press releases, opinion pieces and social media messaging;
• Draft/and or conduct interviews and collect quotes from partners, and/or at workshops and events;
• Coordinate monthly meetings with UN Women and MWCD Joint Secretary. Ensure regular communications between UN Women and MWCD;
• Support the Ministry’s engagement and follow up in bilateral and multilateral forums.

Deliverables:

• Creation of communication material – online and offline media, presentations, and background material for internal and external use;
• Support communications efforts with the organisation of events;
• Produce press, media and advocacy related material, such as press releases, social media messages, factsheets and knowledge materials;
• Assist in planning and execution of MWCD’s communication plan for G20;
• Ideate and create new communications products

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement

Functional Competencies:

• Strong commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of women, with demonstrated experience of researching or working on gender issues;
• Strong research and writing skills, with strong analytical skills and creative thinking;
• Ability to think and work logically and work precisely with attention to detail;
• Initiative, sound judgment and demonstrated ability to work harmoniously with staff members of different national and cultural backgrounds;
• Previous experience (also volunteer experience) from the non-profit sector is an advantage;
• Ability to multi-task and address competing priorities;
• Ability to produce quality deliverables in a timely manner;
• Strong computer skills, including Word, Excel, Power Point, Canva.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master's degree or equivalent in Social Science, Political Sciences, Business Administration, International Relations, Journalism, Communications, Gender Studies, or related field.

Experience:

• Two years of relevant experience at the national or international level in supporting knowledge creation services and hands-on experience in communications and coordination.
• Experience in the use of computers and office software packages and handling of web based management systems.
• Previous work experience with UN agencies are considered an advantage.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English.

Application:

Interested applicants should apply to this announcement through UNDP jobs site: jobs.undp.org

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

• 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, please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment;
• Applications received after the close date will not be accepted;
• Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Evaluation and Selection Criteria

Criteria for shortlisting of CVs will be based on the following assessment:

• Required Degree and Qualification (5 points);
• Minimum Experience relevant to the assignment (10 points);
• Working knowledge and experience of writing on Gender Issues (5 points).

The evaluation process for selection of the candidate will be based on the following assessment:

• Written Sample (20 points)
• Interview (80 points)

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.