UN WOMEN is looking for a Communications Specialist in Cairo, EGYPT. Find the details below:

Job:  Communication Specialist

Location : Cairo, EGYPT

Application Deadline : 18-Mar-2020 (Midnight New York, USA)

Additional Category : Gender Equality

Type of Contract :TA International

Post Level :P-3

Languages Required : English  

Duration of Initial Contract : One Year

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 Regional Office for the Arab States (ROAS) covers 17 countries in the Arab States region and provides support to UN Women Country Offices in Egypt, the State of Palestine, Jordan, Morocco, Lebanon and conflict cluster Country Offices in Tunisia/Libya and in Iraq / Yemen. UN Women is also engaged as a non-resident agency in the member States of the GCC sub-region. ROAS works with these field offices to support countries to implement their international commitments to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment.

ROAS operations are guided by the Strategic Note 2018 – 2021, which is itself aligned with the global UN Women Strategic Plan and key international frameworks such as Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, the Beijing Platform for Action, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and other international norms and standards. The ROAS Strategic Note is also informed by, and will contribute to, implementation of the UN Women Africa Strategy. 

A significant element of the Strategic Note is an enhanced strategic approach to communications, with the aim of increasing the visibility of ROAS and public awareness of both success stories and the specific gaps and challenges to gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in the region. It is imperative that communications methodologies adopted by ROAS are suited to the regional context and able to attract and support the engagement of diverse stakeholder groups, including youth, civil society, national and regional authorities etc.. ROAS’s communications activities will also support effective advocacy and aim to strengthen and expand partnerships with diverse stakeholders in the region and internationally.

Reporting to the Coordination Specialist, the Communications Specialist will collaborate closely with the Headquarters, Regional, Country Offices and Programme Presences (RO/CO/PP) colleagues to ensure communications strategies, media relations and organizational outreach efforts are aligned with corporate communications policies and initiatives. The Communications Specialist provides daily supervision to the members of the Communications team, including the Communications Assistant, designers and other technical personnel and interns etc. S/he also collaborates with RO and CO/PP colleagues to support outreach campaigns, resource mobilization and donor relations initiatives; s/he mobilizes support in conjunction with intergovernmental processes, and support the activities and special events organized for UN Women. The Communications Specialist provides the immediate supervision for communications team members including the Communications Associate and other members, including interns. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Lead the development and implementation of communication and outreach/advocacy strategies and plans, with a specific focus on media

• Conduct communication needs assessments for the RO, including projects, programmes and corporate change initiatives;
• Design, develop, and implement communication and outreach/advocacy strategies, including media strategies; ensure gender perspective;
• Integrate communication, advocacy and outreach strategies into proposals for project/programmes and other initiatives;
• Monitor and analyze print and social media and prepare reports;
• Launch in-country UN Women/ UN system corporate and local/regional campaigns and special events;
• Provide advice and guidance to and coordinate with CO/ PP and MCOs in the region.

Lead the development and dissemination of advocacy materials in the Arab States region

• Develop and produce communication and advocacy instruments and materials, including briefing materials, press releases, and articles and coordinate its dissemination through effective channels;
• Identify and launch information opportunities, activities, approaches and platforms and partners;
• Provide advice on advocacy materials and coordinate launching flagship initiatives and publications in the region;
• Lead the engagement and supervision of video producers and other communication specialists to produce audio/ visual material on UN Women’s work;
• Develop brochures, factsheets, stories from the field to inform media and general public at the regional level;
• Follow guidelines from and report to HQ.

Manage media relations for the RO

• Lead relationship building with press in country; maintain and update database of relevant press;
• Respond timely and clearly to media inquiries and to a variety of inquiries and information requests; prepare related correspondence; identify topics, background information, news-related development and coverage of interest;
• Organize roundtable discussions, press conferences, and briefing sessions with press;
• Facilitate interviews with senior managers; connect media with UN Women subject experts;
• Finalize talking points.

Build and maintain partnerships and maintain relations with donors

• Identify and develop new communication partnerships and alliances to enhance visibility; manage and nurture existing partnerships;
• Liaise with advocacy partners and undertake outreach to civil society organizations, governments, and other groups to ensure that newsworthy information reaches the public and donors;
• Guide and collaborate closely with communication colleagues in other offices to ensure consistency with corporate policies, messaging and initiatives;
• Submit packages for programme initiatives for donor review.

Oversee the RO web / online presence

• Oversee and maintain (regional) websites, including developing design and content;
• Coordinate COs’ web-presence in the line with corporate web policy;
• Oversee and manage (regional) social media accounts in line with corporate social media policy.

Facilitate knowledge building and sharing

• Identify and synthesize best practices and lessons learned from CO directly linked to programme country goals and activities and ensure exchange of information;
• Provide training and workshops on communication and advocacy as appropriate.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Quality communications strategy and timely implementation which leads to greater exposure and understanding of UN Women’s work;
• Quality and relevant advocacy materials and content or the website and social media channels;
• Regular interactions with mass media, as shown by coverage;
• Regular interactions with donors, as shown in increased funds;
• Regular exchange of information between CO in the region as shown in the coherent and relevant regional public presence.

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/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

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 regional 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 or relevant 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 5 years of professional work experience at national or international level in public relations, communications or advocacy, including in media relations;
• Extensive experience in the use of social media;
• Experience in media relations is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required;
• Knowledge of Arabic and French is an asset.

Application:

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. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

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.