UN Women: Communications Specialist and LAC Portfolio Officer

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. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. The UN Trust Fund in Support of Actions to Eliminate Violence against Women (“UN Trust Fund”) was established through UN General Assembly Resolution 50/166 with UN Women as its Administrator on behalf of the UN system. The UN Trust Fund is a leading global multi-lateral mechanism supporting national efforts to end one of the most widespread human rights violations in the world. The UN Trust Fund focuses on implementation of laws, policies and action plans to address violence against women at country and local levels, while maintaining flexibility in terms of responsiveness to a wide range of forms of violence, national and emerging priorities and needs, and diverse approaches. By 2011, the UN Trust Fund had supported 339 programmes in 127 countries and territories with over US$ 78 million. Guided by its Vision 2010-2015, the UN Trust Fund plays a key role in positioning the issue of ending violence against women high on global political, social and funding agendas. Raising awareness of its mandate in the global movement to end violence against women, building its visibility and supporting dissemination of its achievements are key components of the UN Trust Fund’s Communications Strategy.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the UN Trust Fund Chief and in close collaboration with UN Women colleagues in the field and UN Women Communications Section in Headquarters, the Communications Specialist and LAC Portfolio Officer will be responsible for coordinating UN Trust Fund’s corporate communications, global advocacy and branding. S/he will be responsible for increasing UN Trust Fund’s capacity to communicate effectively at global level and strengthening its position as key player in the field of ending violence against women among key partners and external audiences, broadening its base of support. The Specialist is also responsible for the management of the UN Trust Fund Latin America and the Caribbean portfolio of active grants, including full substantive, financial, and administrative support in accordance with UN Trust Fund and UN Women procedures.   Communications functions: Lead implementation of the UN Trust Fund’s Communications Strategy, including media, corporate branding, advocacy-related messaging and outreach, in close coordination with UN Trust Fund Chief. Advise the UN Trust Fund Chief on communications and media strategies to enhance the strategic positioning of UN Trust Fund with donors, partners' constituencies and other stakeholders in the area of ending violence against women, and increase its branding awareness and visibility. Identify key opportunities and develop initiatives for coordination between the UN Trust Fund and its grantees for global advocacy on ending violence against women. Develop informational materials on UN Trust Fund grantees’ results, achievements and promising/good practices on ending violence against women for dissemination to donors, government representatives, UN agencies, civil society organizations and other stakeholders. Lead conceptual design and logistical preparations for UN Trust Fund’ key annual and fundraising events. Support increase of UN Trust Fund’s outreach and relationship building among targeted media outlets. Prepare a range of communication documents (press releases, articles, video scripts, etc.) including regular production of human interest stories ("Stories from the Field") that give a "human face" to the work of the UN Trust Fund and its grantees, and support  its dissemination through social media and on-line platforms (e.g. UN Women Facebook and Twitter, SAY NO-UNiTE). Provide support to UN Trust Fund Knowledge Management Specialist in the development of annual reports and other knowledge products and ensure wide dissemination. Maintain the UN Trust Fund website with written and multimedia content that is clear, concise, vivid, and conveys key messages to target audiences, and keep UN Trust Fund’s presence on other platforms (SAY NO-UNiTE, UNiTE Campaign, UN Foundation, etc.) relevant and up-to-date. Maintain the UN Trust Fund photo database, including logical filing and accurate metadata and contribute to UN Women’s Digital Assets Management System (DAMS) as needed. Liaise with the UN Trust Fund focal points in UN Women offices, as well as with UN Trust Fund grantees, to obtain up to date content on grantees’ programmes, news, human interest stories, interviews, videos, photos, audio, etc. Coordinate efforts with UNiTE Campaign to ensure sustained progress towards UN SG’s fundraising goals for the UN Trust Fund and work closely with the Say No/UNiTE to maximize interaction with their listserv and website audience. Grant-Management of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Regional Portfolio, with a Focus on Monitoring and Reporting: Manage grantee reporting system for the LAC region, including via regular process monitoring based on grantee progress reports by liaising with and guiding UN Trust Fund focal points in the field in report review and provision of feedback to grantees; Maintain centralized regional portfolio matrix of active grants, and provide quarterly portfolio updates to the UN Trust Fund Chief. Oversee monitoring and evaluation of active grantees, including project management, supporting implementation, and monitoring and evaluation plans in collaboration with the UN Trust Fund’s M&E Specialist. Coordinate and monitor the regional portfolio of active UN Trust Fund grants in LAC, including through monitoring missions, conducted together with UN Women focal points. Support and organize knowledge sharing and capacity development events for grantees, including annual regional capacity development workshop on evidence-based monitoring and evaluation, in liaison with Regional Centers and Country Offices (COs). Prepare application feedback letters and summaries of all new grantees for the LAC region and systematically update these summaries based on progress reports and monitoring missions. Support the Fund’s Report Writer through direct engagement with grant recipients to gather knowledge products, media, etc. and ensure communications accurately reflect grant programmes; Keep systematic track of noteworthy grantee achievements and communicate to colleagues for possible visibility, such as special features on the website. Extract critical lessons learned and good practices from monitoring reports and identifying potential areas for further research, communication strategies and/or resource mobilization campaigns. Provide administrative support to SROs and grantees to ensure adherence to UN WOMEN policies, administrative and financial procedures. Provide support to UN Trust Fund team on policy and operational issues through providing feedback and information from the field.

Competencies

CORE VALUES / GUIDING PRINCIPLES:    Integrity: Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct. Professionalism: Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work. Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity: Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity. CORE COMPETENCIES:   Ethics and Values: Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity Organizational Awareness: Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment Development and Innovation: Take charge of self-development and take initiative Work in teams: Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds. Communicating and Information Sharing: Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication Self-management and Emotional Intelligence: Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others Conflict Management: Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution. Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing: Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making: Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Masters degree or above in International Development, Social Sciences or other relevant field. Experience: Five years of relevant work experience in international development, gender equality or women’s empowerment issues. Experience in the United Nations, a governmental, other multilateral or civil society organization focused on international development and/or philanthropy highly desirable. Language: Fluency in English and Spanish required. Technological Skills: Proficiency in MS Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint and electronic media applications. 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. 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.

Click here for important information for US Permanent Residents ('Green Card' holders).

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.