UN Women Communications Consultant | Drive Global Equality

Are you a seasoned communications professional who actively champions gender equality and women’s empowerment? Do you excel at strategic planning, coordination, and building robust communication frameworks? If so, UN Women invites you to join our team as a Communications Governance Consultant.

At UN Women, we actively work to realize a vision of equality for all, firmly grounded in the United Nations Charter. First and foremost, we strive to eliminate discrimination against women and girls. Subsequently, we work to empower women. Crucially, we aim to achieve true equality between women and men. This, of course, is essential for partnerships and beneficiaries in development, human rights, humanitarian action, and peace and security initiatives.

About the Role: Shaping Global Communications

The Communications and Advocacy Section at UN Women Headquarters in New York positions women’s empowerment and gender equality at the forefront of the international agenda. Concurrently, we establish UN Women’s authority as the global leader in this critical domain. Our core focus, therefore, involves positioning UN Women as a visible thought and action leader in both development and humanitarian contexts. Consequently, we aim to secure global and national political and financial support for our vital issues. Additionally, we work to strengthen the UN Women brand worldwide.

As the UN Women Communications Consultant, you’ll coordinate structured, results-oriented projects. These projects are specifically designed to significantly strengthen the planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting, and evaluation of our global communication and advocacy initiatives. Furthermore, you’ll reinforce the section’s capacity to deliver on the UN Women Strategic Plan mandate. You’ll achieve this by driving strategic transformation. This involves developing governance frameworks, organizational policies, communications systems, and workstreams, all of which enhance coherence, efficiency, and institutional visibility.

Under the direct supervision of the Global Lead on Communications & Advocacy, your responsibilities will include:

Coordinating Field and HQ Efforts: You’ll facilitate cross-regional coordination, consequently strengthening UN Women’s communications network.
Strengthening Communications PME: You’ll enhance communications planning, monitoring, and evaluation (PME) in alignment with the Strategic Plan 2026-2029.
Contributing to Corporate Processes: You’ll provide essential inputs for corporate processes related to communications and advocacy. This includes, for instance, internal audits, evaluations, Strategic Notes, and Project Documents.

Key Responsibilities and Scope of Work: As a UN Women Communications Consultant

You’ll play a crucial role as a UN Women Communications Consultant, coordinating several key areas:

1. Strategic Communications and Advocacy Governance for UN Women

You’ll establish, update, and implement a robust governance framework. This involves:

Designing the Framework: Collaborating closely with Communications leadership at HQ, you’ll design and operationalize an organization-wide communications governance framework. This framework, above all, will ensure a coherent, integrated, and coordinated approach for UN Women’s communications.
Leading Structural Development: Furthermore, you’ll co-lead the development of a proposal to establish a dedicated Division of Communications and Advocacy by 2026. Significantly, this aligns its structure, roles, and investments with the 2026–2029 Strategic Plan. For example, you’ll collaborate with external vendors and internal stakeholders on a comprehensive capacity mapping and assessment of UN Women’s communications resources. This aims to improve efficiency, resourcing, and institutional impact.
Providing Oversight: Moreover, you’ll provide critical oversight and inputs for corporate planning instruments. This includes Strategic Notes, Project Documents, and Work Plans, along with accompanying corporate guidance documents for UN Women’s communications.
Supporting Evaluations: In addition, you’ll contribute to independent evaluations that focus on communication and advocacy. This may also include specific programs, regions, or country offices. To do this effectively, you’ll actively liaise with the Evaluation Office, external evaluators, and other evaluation stakeholders.

2. HQ Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation, Learning, and Reporting for Communications

You’ll lead key initiatives related to HQ Communications’ strategic processes. Specifically, your tasks include:

Leading Strategic Planning: You’ll lead HQ Communications’ development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the Strategic Plan (SP) 2026-2029. This, notably, includes the Division of Communications and Advocacy Strategic Note 2026-2029, and the Biannual Work Plan (BWP) 2026-2027, including ensuing M&E frameworks. You’ll achieve this by working with focal points to manage narrative inputs, baselines, milestones, targets, and data collection mechanisms. Throughout, you’ll rigorously apply rights and results-based management (RBM) standards and approaches in all UN Women communications efforts.
Organizing Review Meetings: Working closely with the Chief and Deputy Chief, you’ll organize and expand regular planning, review, and reporting meetings for the section. Furthermore, you’ll compile comprehensive reports, consequently highlighting processes, proceedings, resolutions, strategies, bottlenecks, lessons learned, and recommendations.
Managing Data and Systems: Moreover, you’ll contribute to regular data collection processes. Also, you’ll diligently update planning, monitoring, and reporting tools/systems (e.g., Results Monitoring System (RMS), TeamMate Audit Tracking) modules. You’ll ensure alignment with corporate guidance and the updated Global Communication Strategy (GCS) for UN Women.
Ensuring Quality Reporting: In addition, you’ll provide technical guidance to the section and specific teams. For instance, you’ll prepare for the annual results reporting for the Headquarters Annual Report (HQAR), the Executive Director’s Annual Report (EDAR), and the Strategic Plan (SP) indicator compendium. Furthermore, you’ll perform quality assurance, validation, and analysis on data generated using corporate ERP systems, producing customized reports on key findings pertaining to communication and advocacy within the organization.
Producing Campaign Reports: Finally, you’ll produce high-quality inter-sectional reports to assess the outcomes of key communications and advocacy campaigns and initiatives. This includes International Women’s Day (IWD), 16 Days of Activism, and the UN General Assembly.

3. Strengthening UN Women’s Communication Network

You’ll be instrumental in fostering a cohesive global communication network. Your efforts will involve:

Enhancing Collaboration: Collaborating effectively with all Regional Communications Chiefs/advisors, you’ll ensure a stronger global communications and advocacy network. This undeniably includes joint work around global campaigns for UN Women’s communications.
Improving Information Flow: You’ll conduct monthly global and regional communications calls. Additionally, you’ll develop streamlined communication mechanisms such as global distribution lists and a monthly Global Communications Planner. This will, in turn, strengthen cohesion and information flow within the global communications network.
Driving Compliance: Ultimately, you’ll drive the continuous improvement and development of, as well as compliance with, communications and advocacy policies, procedures, and guidance. Consequently, this will enable a coordinated and unified global communications function for UN Women.

Qualifications and Competencies for this UN Women Communications Consultant Role

Education: You’ll need a Master’s degree (or equivalent) in communications, planning, international relations, or a related field. Alternatively, a first-level university degree combined with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted.
Experience: You’ll need a minimum of seven years of relevant experience in communications at the international level, with a strong 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.
Languages: Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official UN language (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, or Spanish) is highly desirable.

We are seeking candidates who embody our core values of Integrity, Professionalism, and Respect for Diversity. Furthermore, you should possess core competencies such as Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues, Accountability, Creative Problem Solving, Effective Communication, Inclusive Collaboration, Stakeholder Engagement, and Leading by Example.

At UN Women, we commit to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. We recruit, employ, train, compensate, and promote regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. We make all employment decisions based on qualifications, competence, integrity, and organizational need.

Ready to make a tangible impact on gender equality worldwide as a UN Women Communications Consultant? Apply now and help us drive our mission forward!

Apply now: https://estm.fa.em2.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/CX_1001/job/26656