Communications Consultant for Promotion of Participatory Gender in DRR

Background

UN Women in Kyrgyzstan is a strong advocate for improving the lives of women and girls in the country. Building on the vision of equality enshrined in the UN Charter, we are working to enhance women's leadership; the elimination of violence against women; involving women in all aspects of decision making; economic empowerment of women.

UN Women in Kyrgyzstan prioritizes initiatives and programs in areas fundamental to achieving equality for women and finding ways of progress for both women and men. At the moment, the country office supports programs throughout the country, which are aimed at: expansion of economic rights and opportunities for women; elimination of violence against women; peace, security and gender mainstreaming in humanitarian action.

In 2022 UN Women has signed the partnership agreement with WFP for joint implementation of the project “Promotion of participatory gender- and nutrition sensitive climate change adaptation measures” aiming at implementation of a complex set of objectives: a) to reduce vulnerabilities to climate change, b) increase the adaptive capacity and resilience of rural communities, and c) strengthen and upscale Disaster Risk Management (DRM) activities of vulnerable communities by supporting informed, coherent, gender- and nutritious- sensitive local adaptation, enabling the environment for risk financing and build-back-better mechanisms to climate-proof the food systems and guarantee food security. These activities will be implemented in selected 11 aiyl okmotus (AO) in 8 districts of Batken, Osh and Naryn provinces.

Within this agreement UN Women is seeking a communications consultant, who will work under the direct supervision of the Community development specialist and an overall supervision of National Program Officer. The Communications consultant will be responsible for developing communication plan, including behavioral change campaign, media initiatives and ensured media/press coverage. S/he will oversee the production of a range of communications materials for online and offline audiences. S/he will be responsible for timely, accurate and high-quality informational materials, such as press releases & media advisories, news briefs, fact sheets, stories from the field for media outreach, the UN Women website, and inclusion in informational kits for further public outreach.

Reporting to the Community development specialist and National Programme Officer, the Communications Consultant will support the formulation and implementation of the communications and advocacy plans to increase the standing and awareness of UN Women and its partners, the media and the public within project “Promotion of participatory gender- and nutrition sensitive climate change adaptation measures”.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide support to communications and advocacy outreach activities for the project and UN Women Country office
Work closely with the Design thinking experts to develop and support in the implementation of the behavioral change campaign (BCC), including development and dissemination of messages on gender responsive climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction
Draft press-releases, articles, key messages, and other communication materials
Provide logistical support to communications and advocacy efforts and BCC, e.g. by supporting the organization of roundtable discussions, press-conferences, and other publicity events and providing inputs to briefing materials and press releases, as necessary.
Create communications products publicizing and provide its contribution to changing public perception on the role and contribution of women to gender responsive climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction
Follow UN Women communication guidelines
Provide support to the management of the CO social media presence and website
Gather information for the development of content for the CO website and social media channels;
Update the regional website and social media channels, as required;
Maintain files, databases, and systems relevant to the CO’s digital presence;
Social media support in creating and designing social media content for UN Women’s Instagram page (@unwomenkyrgyzstan) and Facebook page. Creating content plan including catchy texts, infographics, short videos, GIFs, social media cards, etc. in two languages - Kyrgyz and Russian.
Promoting the project’s content in a way that is consistent with the UN Women ’s brand and social media strategy
Managing a budget to be spent on promoting social media posts and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
Keeping track of data and analyzing the performance of social media campaigns

Other:

Manage media requests
Respond to requests for information, as delegated
Gather and compile inputs for talking points
Support regular meetings of regional communications focal points
Provide/ exchange information with HQ and Regional office communication focal points
Perform other tasks as assigned by supervisor
Provide support on special web/digital/media projects undertaken by the CO

Timeframe, payments and deliverables

The payments will be made in KGS on monthly base on submitted and approved timesheet, and after all the deliverables are submitted, accepted and approved by UN Women. The Consultant shall provide a report with all necessary attachments describing the scope of work performed over the period for which the instalment is paid:

Deliverables Target Date

Monthly plan and narrative report on undertaken assignments according to monthly work plan submitted and approved by management by end of each month . Final report By 31th December.

Inputs

• UN Women will provide access to UN Women Office during working hours to print relevant documents or whenever required to work on-site at any point during the assignment

• UN Women will provide logistical support to organize interviews with project beneficiaries, when and if required to develop communication products (stories, interviews)

Duration of Assignment:

The expected duration of the consultant is to be 5 months starting from 20 July till 20 December 2022

Competencies

Core Values:

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.

Respect for 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:

• Bachelor degree in communications, public relations, journalism, or relevant fields 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.

• At least 3 years of professional work experience at national or international level in media, communications, or advocacy, including in media relations; previous experience in development organizations

Experience and knowledge:

• Editing and copywriting skills, including articles, reports and press releases; Content writing experience for media platforms.

• Knowledge of social media and communication strategies and methods. Social media management, website management.

• Good event planning skills

• Ability to identify relevant events and stories and communicate them to a mass audience

• Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats, using appropriate IT functionality

• Great time-management skills

• Media literacy – capability to apply diverse media channels (social media, press media, informal channels) and to conduct cross-media analysis (analyzing one issue with diverse media/public discourse perspectives).

Language Requirements:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in Russian, Kyrgyz and English languages .