UN Women - Communications Governance Consultant (Home based assignment)

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 Communications and Advocacy 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 in this context. The Communications and Advocacy team’s key focus is to position UN Women as a visible thought and action leader in both development and humanitarian settings, to secure global and national political and financial support for its issues and to build the UN Women brand.

The purpose of this consultancy is to coordinate structured results oriented projects designed to strengthen the overall planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting and evaluation of global communication and advocacy initiatives, including reinforcing the section’s capacity to deliver on the UN Women Strategic Plan mandate, and drive strategic transformation through the development of governance frameworks, organizational policies, communications systems, and workstreams to enhance coherence, efficiency and institutional visibility.

Under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Global Lead on Communications & Advocacy, the Communications Governance Consultant’s roles and responsibilities include field and HQ coordination to enable cross-regional coordination and strengthen UN Women’s communications network; strengthening communications planning, monitoring, and evaluation (PME) in line with the Strategic Plan 2026-2029; as well as providing inputs to inform corporate processes pertaining to communications and advocacy, such as internal audits and evaluations, Strategic Notes and Project Documents.

Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work

1. Coordination of the establishment, update, and implementation of a Strategic Communications and Advocacy Governance Framework within the contract period:

• Collaborate with Communications leadership at HQ to design and operationalize an organization-wide communications governance framework that enforces a coherent, integrated and coordinated approach to communications; consolidates fragmented resources; and streamlines accountability for communications across the organization.

• Co-lead the development and socialization of a proposal to establish a dedicated Division of Communications and Advocacy by 2026, aligning structure, roles, and investments with the 2026–2029 Strategic Plan. Collaborate with external vendors and internal stakeholders on a comprehensive capacity mapping and assessment of UN Women’s communications resources to improve efficiency, resourcing and institutional impact.

• Provide oversight and inputs on behalf of Communications and Advocacy to corporate planning instruments including Strategic Notes, Project Documents and Work Plans, as well as accompanying corporate guidance documents.

• Contribute to independent evaluations focusing on communication and advocacy, and/or specific programmes, regions, or country offices in liaison with the Evaluation Office, external evaluators, and other evaluation stakeholders.

2. Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning and Reporting at HQ:

• Lead HQ Communications’ development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Strategic Plan (SP) 2026-2029, Division of Communications and Advocacy Strategic Note 2026-2029, Biannual Work Plan (BWP) 2026-2027 and ensuing M&E frameworks, by working with focal points to manage narrative inputs as well as baselines, milestones, targets and data collection mechanisms and by applying rights and results-based management (RBM) standards and approaches.

• Working closely with the Chief and Deputy Chief, organize and expand regular planning, review, and reporting meetings of the section and compile reports highlighting process, proceedings, resolutions, strategies, bottlenecks, lessons learnt, and recommendations.

• Contribute to regular data collection processes, and update planning, monitoring, and reporting tools/systems (e.g. Results Monitoring System (RMS), TeamMate Audit Tracking) modules in line with corporate guidance, and in alignment with the updated Global Communication Strategy (GCS).

• Provide technical guidance to section and specific teams in preparation for the annual results reporting for the Headquarters Annual Report (HQAR), the Executive Director’s Annual Report (EDAR) and Strategic Plan (SP) indicator compendium. Perform quality assurance, validation, and analysis on data generated using corporate ERP systems and produce customized reports on key findings pertaining to communication and advocacy in the organization.

• Produce high quality inter-sectional reports to assess the outcome of key communications and advocacy campaigns and initiatives, including IWD; 16 Days of Activism, UN General Assembly etc.

3. Strengthen UNW’s communication network, including at CO/RO/HQ and Natcom level:

• Collaborate with all Regional Communications Chiefs/ advisors to ensure that the global communications and advocacy network is strengthened, including on joint work around global campaigns.

• Conduct monthly global and regional communications calls and develop streamlined communication mechanisms such as the global distribution lists and monthly Global Communications Planner to strengthen the cohesion and information flow within the global communications network.

• Drive the continuous improvement and development of, as well as compliance with, communications and advocacy policies, procedures and guidance to enable a coordinated and unified global communications function.

4. The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy.

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

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 Values and Competencies Framework:

Functional Competencies:

• Demonstrated in-depth understanding of strategic planning, monitoring, evaluation, and research.
• Ability to analyze complex research and survey data.
• Ability to manage communication projects.
• Ability to plan, organize, and implement training.
• Ability to express clearly and concisely ideas and concepts in written and oral form.
• Proven ability to network and manage relationships with partners.
• Knowledge of current theories and practices in communication and advocacy, planning, monitoring, and measurement.

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in communications, planning, international relations, 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:

• A minimum of seven years of relevant experience in communications at the international level, with a focus on strategic planning;
• Specific experience with planning and project management for communication and advocacy initiatives is highly desirable. Professional training and/or certification in project management, preferably with a focus on communication and advocacy or media production, is an asset;
• Experience in developing and implementing clear strategies, with specific, measurable and time bound objectives and performance indicators.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of another official UN language (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish) is highly desirable.

Statements :

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.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.