Digital Communications & Social Media Analyst

Background

Afghanistan has emerged as one of the world’s most complex emergencies, and the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. The crisis dynamics in the country are multi-layered. Afghan people are grappling with the devastating effects of conflict, increasing poverty, economic decline and natural disasters, all of which are amplified by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, Afghan women and girls face unique vulnerabilities and require urgent support as gender inequality is interwoven with conflict dynamics and humanitarian needs. While the Taliban has provided assurances on women’s participation in humanitarian work and their right to study, work and marry under Islamic Law,developments on the ground reflect an altogether different reality. Many women have been instructed to stay at home for their own safety, have not been allowed to work outside the home or attend school beyond the sixth grade, have been required to have a male chaperone when leaving the house, and/or have not been allowed into public places. Furthermore, no woman has been appointed to the interim government, which was announced on 7 September 2021. These recent discriminations against women exacerbate pre-existing gender inequalities in a country that ranked 166 out of 167 countries on the Gender Development Index in 2019 and where conservative social norms are deeply rooted.

UN Women has been present in Afghanistan for two decades. The criticality of UN Women’s mandate in Afghanistan during this period is particularly pertinent. It is essential that Afghan women and girls can continue to shape the development of their country, and that their gains are protected. UN Women remains fully committed to supporting Afghan women and girls and to putting them at the center of the global response to the crisis in Afghanistan. UN Women’s programming approach is informed by an assessment of the political, economic and humanitarian situation, risks to and capacities of partner organizations, and needs of Afghan women and girls, and will remain adaptive to respond to emerging priorities in a rapidly shifting context. UN Women is committed to monitoring the situation closely to ensure that approaches evolve in line with a dynamic and volatile context and to ensure close coordination with its partners who are supporting the implementation of UN Women’s Strategic Note in Afghanistan. The do no harm principle will inform all interventions.

UN Women Afghanistan is proposing a focused five step approach to staying and delivering in Afghanistan that includes the following elements:

Operationalizing Programming Priorities
Influencing the System: Coordination Role
Strengthening our Field Presence
Expanding Thought Leadership
Growing our Advocacy and Strategic Partnerships

Objective of the Assignment:

Under the supervision of the Deputy Country Representative, the Digital Communications & Social Media Analyst will have the opportunity to support the strategic development and management of social media channels and use versatile communications skills to leverage the voices of Afghan women and girls in the digital space, enhance the advocacy efforts of UN Women Afghanistan and assist in communication about the country offices programme results and impact. Your responsibilities will include creating multi-media content for our various platforms, draft social media, and advocacy campaigns messages, draft content for the UN Women Afghanistan website page, manage basic design projects, track, and evaluate digital metrics of success, support the Communications and Advocacy Unit when needed.

Duties and Responsibilities

Assist in developing and implementing social media strategies for UN Women Afghanistan digital channels on Twitter, Facebook.
Assist in creating compelling content in multiple media formats with sharp messaging and eye-catching visual style for a variety of global and targeted audiences.
Assist in managing basic design projects including photo selection, photo editing, graphics design, video editing (for social media).
Regularly track and evaluate metrics of success and adapt strategies to grow our audiences and improve outreach results over time.
Assist in drafting digital communications materials such as blogposts, website content.

Deliverables

Timelines

2 sets of social media strategies, including developing content in multiple media formats with sharp messaging and eye-catching visual style, developed for UN Women Afghanistan digital channels, developed.

1 month after signing

the contract

1 overall website update for the UN Women Afghanistan webpage hosted on UN Women Asia Pacific website, including drafting content and curating visuals, developed.

2 months after signing

the contract

1 report assessing the reach of UN Women social media channels and suggested ideas for improvement developed.

3 months after signing

the contract

3 blog posts/website stories developed based on content from Afghanistan for

the UN Women Asia Pacific website developed.

4 months after signing

the contract

2 multimedia products involving photo selection, photo editing, graphics design (for social media) developed.

5 months after signing

the contract

1 multimedia products involving graphics design, video editing (for social media) developed.

6 months after signing

the contract

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

Detail-oriented and highly organized with a minimum of 3 years of hands-on communications experience including supporting the management of content and strategy development for social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook.
Good written and oral communication skills, with demonstrated knowledge of drafting social media content.
Creative/innovative mindset with passion to use for digital technologies and social impact.
Interest in gender equality and/or human rights.
Adept in the use of Microsoft and other software tools like MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, MS Teams, as well as social media tools such as Hootsuite and website creation tools and professional graphic design tools.
Ability to design and execute basic charts and social graphics other visuals.
Ability to work independently with minimal supervision, including proactively identifying problems and working withs, op- team members to develop solutions.
Adaptable to rapidly changing priorities and able to manage multiple projects with varying deadlines.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Graduate university degree in communications, media, international relations, international development, or related field.

Experiance:

A minimum of 2-3 years-experience in the field of digital communications, social media or a related field or equivalent professional experience.
Proven ability to use professional digital platforms for creating compelling
content in multiple media formats with sharp messaging and eye-catching visual style for a variety of global and targeted audiences.
Engagement in digital technologies for social impact projects would be an asset.
Familiarity with the UN system and/or international development would be an asset.
Previous experience on digital communications on gender equality topics would be an asset.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in spoken and written English.
Knowledge of Dari or Pashto would be an asset.