Current Opportunities at UN Women

• The PSP team is seeking an Advocacy Consultant working under the direction of the Private Sector Partnerships Advisor. The Advocacy Consultant will be responsible for coordinating planning and implementing external communications and advocacy activities, including campaigns for movement mobilization and visibility for key events in the lead-up to the 10th anniversary of HeForShe in 2024 such as the annual HeForShe Summit event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the United Nations Climate Change Conference and the World Economic Forum, amongst others. The Advocacy Consultant will also contribute to the visibility of the PSP Section’s work and will collaborate closely with the UN Women Communications teams in HQ and field offices.
• In addition, the Advocacy Consultant will develop strategic partnerships including with influencers, social media platforms, PR, creative, and digital agencies to expand the reach and influence of HeForShe and the initiative’s partners (organizations) and advocates (individuals). The Consultant will also conceptualize and lead the work on launching relevant social media campaigns to a global audience. The Consultant will provide support to UN Women field offices to contextualize and localize global campaigns in their contexts of operations.

The position is home-based with a mission travel to New York in Q4 2023.
Duties And Responsibilities
Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work
Design and lead implementation of Strategic Advocacy

• Establish and steward partnerships with influencers to promote HeForShe advocacy objectives.
• Develop and nurture strategic advocacy approach to ensure male engagement can be a vehicle for transforming corporate and social norms for the achievement of gender equality.
• Develop and provide advocacy guidance to private sector and governments on transforming patriarchal masculinities.
• Develop and implement a multi-platform approach to reach target audience and galvanize their action in support of organizational priorities.

Advocacy and communications Planning, Development and Execution

• Conceptualize, design and execute annual advocacy and communications plan for the HeForShe Initiative.
• Lead and manage HeForShe campaign and advocacy efforts around events such as UNGA, IWD, COP, and WEF in the lead up to the 10th anniversary of HeForShe.
• Prepare strategic advocacy briefs, talking points and production plans for HeForShe Initiative, including key messages, assets, press releases and timelines, write drafts, obtain clearances, finalize texts, and edit and coordinate design approval as well as distribution.
• Contribute to developing advocacy approach tailored for private sector partnerships in PSP at UN Women.
• Develop advocacy initiatives and campaigns to change social norms.
• Produce and oversee the production of high-impact digital media content across formats and/or platforms (e.g., infographic, GIFs, video, etc.), that effectively informs and engages global external audiences.

Organizational Alignment and Coordination

• Report on regular basis to HeForShe Head to ensure coordinated output and editorial consistency.
• Lead in aligning PSP communication and advocacy work to corporate communications and advocacy strategy, both at mission and operational level (HeForShe, WEPs, UA, IG, etc.).
• Provide strategic advocacy and communications support to broader PSP teams as needed.
• Contribute to the development of UN Women’s Communication and Advocacy Strategy to ensure alignment between corporate and HeForShe communications.
• Act as a point of contact for any advocacy and communications initiatives relevant to HeForShe and transforming patriarchal masculinities work across UN Women internal communications, special projects, and external communications and partnerships.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel
This is a home-based consultancy. As part of this assignment, there will be a maximum of 2 trips to New York.
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:

• Excellent writing skills and capacity to translate complex information (e.g. researches, studies, reports, convenings’ discussions etc.) in advocacy messages;
• Excellent knowledge of gender equality, women’s right and masculinities;
• Understanding of work on male allyship for gender equality;
• Exceptional organizational and time management skills;
• Ability to effectively prioritize and balance multiple responsibilities is an asset.

Required Skills and Experience
Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in International Relations, Business marketing, Political Science, Gender Studies 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.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible work experience in external communications, advocacy and campaign management.
• Experience in implementing digital / social media campaigns is required.
• Experience in content production and dissemination for online audiences and use advanced tools for online publishing, including content management systems and social media publishing tools is an asset.
• Experience working in UN system on communications or advocacy is an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of French and/or Spanish is an asset.

go to method of application »

• The consultant will be reporting to Private Sector Partnerships Advisor and work in close consultation with departments and offices across the organization and with the key stakeholders. They will be supported by the Private Sector Partnerships Section, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.

Duties And Responsibilities
Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work
Overall Objectives:

• To conduct a comprehensive review of the first decade of work of the HeForShe Initiative and identify key strengths and areas for improvement to inform the next stage of the initiative’s development.
• The findings will inform the strategic direction of the HeForShe Initiative.
• These findings will form part of the 10th-anniversary report in September 2024.

Output 1: Inception Report delivered by mid-January 2024
Activities (December 2023 - January 2024):

• Develop the Inception Report that will include:
• A description of an inclusive, participatory research methodology that will be adopted.
• Relevant literature review of the research pertinent to work on transforming patriarchal masculinities.
• Via desk review of HeForShe documentation, identify and highlight strengths, weaknesses and success stories of HeForShe Initiative in its first decade of existence.
• A detailed plan and timeline for the delivery of this knowledge product.

Output 2. Define and rollout the data collection tools and methods (e.g., survey, focus group discussions, individual interviews)
Activities (January - March 2024)

• Leverage the HeForShe Alliance group participants as a closed focus group and potential vehicle to reach other focus group participants within their institutions;
• Based on the agreed inception plan, produce data collection tools by mid-January 2024;
• Conduct data collection outreach and ensure suitable sample size, institutional representation (e.g. UN Women COs, Alliance members, Member States, Academia, NGOs etc.) and geographic representation (e.g. countries with strong HeForShe implementation experience);
• Ensure representation of young men voices and their perceptions of the HeForSHe solidarity movement.

Output 3: First draft report with preliminary findings and list of recommendations
Activities (April 2024)

• Following preliminary review of findings, draft knowledge product for UN Women and partner feedback.
• Consult internally within PSP team and other relevant internal and external stakeholders on the first draft, ensuring ownership over the direction and contents of the plan through group discussions and/or one-on-one meetings
• At least 3 Presentations to be prepared by the consultant for the consultation meetings, with the support of the PSP team as needed
• All consultation meetings to be documented and recorded with the support of the PSP team and feedback to be collected in writing to inform the second draft
• Use the feedback to produce a second draft of the PSES for submission by mid-May 2024 for senior management review
• Further written comments to be collected on the second draft and additional consultation meetings as needed
• A final draft to be delivered, reflecting on any further feedback and consultations by end of May 2024

Output 4: Final report submitted by end May 2024
Activities (May 2024)

• Integrate all comments received and submit the final version of the report for publishing.

Deliverable Expected Completion Date

• Inception Report 15th January 2024
• Data Collection tools and methods designed and launched 15th January 2024
• Draft pilot knowledge product submitted to UN Women for feedback 30th April 2024
• Final Report developed based on incorporated feedback, including recommendations 31st May 2024

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

• This is a home-based consultancy, with 1-2 travels required for the public presentations of the final report in May 2024.

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:

• Research principles, experience, competencies and skills
• Technical Credibility in Subject Matter (i.e. masculinities, gender equality, advocacy for change)
• Demonstrated expertise in work on masculinities.

Required Skills and Experience
Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Business Administration, Organizational Strategy, International Relations, Gender, 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 10 years of experience in conducting research and writing strong and impactful analysis international level.
• Proven experience in the area of women’s economic justice and rights, preferably focused on women’s career advancement and equal pay in the private sector space.
• Experience and background in human rights based and gender responsive approaches to programming.
• Proven experience in high level research, data collection, analysis, and communications.
• Proven experience in writing for an international audience and producing clearly written and well-articulated research analysis and knowledge management products.
• Previous experience working in the UN system is an asset

Languages:

• Fluency in English or is required.
• Knowledge of any other UN official language is an asset.