Web Writer Consultant, Communications and Advocacy Section

Contract

This is a International Consultant contract. More about International 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. Placing women's rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world.

In this context, the Communications section 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. This entails developing and promoting high-quality human-interest stories, galvanizing diverse voices, and website content that demonstrates UN Women’s impact on the ground for a vast, global and diverse audience.

2020 is a vital year for UN Women and the women’s rights movement. It marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the 20th Anniversary of the UN Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, the 5th anniversary of the global Sustainable Development Goals, the 40th year anniversary of CEDAW, the 10th anniversary of UN Women’s establishment as the global champion for the empowerment of women and girls and the 75th Year anniversary of the UN. UN Women’s Generation Equality campaign and Generation Equality Forum activations, which marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action, is slated to gain momentum in the later part of 2020 and into 2021 as they were delayed due to COVID-19.

The context of COVID-19 has brought unprecedented challenges and need to position gender equality and UN Women’s leadership on this agenda. In order to meet the increased demand for relevant, relatable and impactful storytelling that increase awareness and support for gender equality, UN Women seeks to recruit a full-time consultant for five months dedicated to writing and editing web stories for UN Women global website.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Web Editor, the Web Writer Consultant will be responsible for writing and editing web stories for the UN Women website.

This includes:

• Writing and editing human-interest stories, following UN Women editorial guidelines, that showcase UN Women’s programmes, advocacy and impact on the ground.
• Writing and editing blog-style contemporary content tailored for UN Women’s Medium Platform.
• Research and pitch story ideas, and support the editorial team in content planning for advocacy campaigns, editorial compilations, international days and conferences.
• Provide editorial support to UN Women field offices, policy and programme colleagues by editing and providing guidance to stories coming from country and regional offices
• Collaborate with the web editorial team to develop contemporary story-telling formats and digital storytelling experiences.

Competencies

Integrity:

Demonstrates consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity:

Demonstrates an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

Ethics and Values:

Demonstrates / Safeguards Ethics and Integrity.

Organizational Awareness:

Demonstrates corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Developing and Empowering People / Coaching and Mentoring:

Self-development, initiative-taking.

Working in Teams:

Team player and facilitates teamwork.

Communicating Information and Ideas:

Facilitates and encourages open communication in the team, communicates effectively.

Self-management and Emotional intelligence:

Creating synergies through self-control. Conflict Management / Negotiates and Resolves Disagreement.

Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning:

Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others.

Required Skills and Experience

• Master’s degree or equivalent in education in communications, journalism or international affairs,
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• 5 + years of experience in writing website and blog content, with a focus on human-interest and digital storytelling
• Fluency in writing and communicating in English, proficiency in French and/or Spanish is a plus
• Ability to effectively organize, prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment is crucial
• Familiarity of gender issues and the United Nations is a plus
• Attention to details and familiar with the latest trends in blog writing and digital journalism
• Excellent communication skills with people in diverse, multi-cultural, multi-racial and international environments

Please apply, with your resume, cover letter and 3 recent writing samples. You can include links to published writing samples in your cover letter.