Communications Associate

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.

In the last years, with the scaling up of the Communications and advocacy work, at UN Women Lebanon Country Office, the workload within the Communications Unit has gone up. As more tasks are required at the UN Women Lebanon country Office, within the Communications Unit, there is a need to recruit a Communications Associate to actively support the Unit in the communications and Advocacy daily responsibilities.

Reporting to the Communications and Advocacy Specialist, the Communications Associate supports the formulation and implementation of the communications and advocacy strategies to increase the standing and awareness of UN Women with partners, the media and the public. The Communications Associate adopts a quality client-oriented approach to deliver results.

Scope of Work:

1. Provide coordination support in the development of a coherent CO communications and advocacy strategy:

• Provide background information for the development of the CO communication strategy;
• Provide support to advocacy efforts and campaigns by organizing roundtable discussions, press conferences, and other publicity events and providing inputs to briefing materials and press releases;
• Provide support to programme and other CO staff on UN Women corporate communications guidelines and printing norms; and
• Track and monitor print and social media and report relevant information to senior staff to inform strategy development.

2. Provide coordination support to the development of CO advocacy materials:

• Identify storylines and achievements within the CO for online and print publications;
• Draft press releases, articles, key messages and other advocacy materials;
• Coordinate the translation, adaptation, or rewriting of information received for the local context; disseminate materials to appropriate stakeholders;
• Coordinate the publication of materials for final approval; maintain relationships with printers/ publishers;
• Maintain library/database of reference materials, photos, and digital assets; and
• Follow policies, procedures and guidelines from RO/HQ.

3. Provide support in the management of the CO's social media presence and website:

• Identify stories, and provide input to the development of content for the CO website and social media channels;
• Update the website and social media channels, ensure consistency in branding;
• Compile reports on web statistics on a regular basis and electronic surveys, as required;
• Maintain files, databases, and systems relevant to the CO's digital presence; and
•  Provide support on special web/digital/media projects undertaken by the CO.

4. Provide media relations support to the CO head of office:

• Serve as a focal point on UN Women activities open to the press, as delegated;
• Respond to request for information and arrange interviews, as delegated; and
• Provide substantive inputs to talking points.

5. Facilitate knowledge management and sharing:

• Contribute to the identification of best practices and lessons learned.
• Organize trainings and workshops on communication practices as delegated; and
• Provide/exchange information with HQ and RO, as delegated

6. Provide Administrative support:

• Serve as the focal point for processing payments related to retainers; consultants, and others.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

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:

• Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats, using appropriate IT functionality
• Strong event planning skills
• Strong knowledge of social media and communication strategies and methods
• Ability to identify relevant events and stories and communicate them to a mass audience
• Strong multimedia skills

Minimum Qualifications

Education and Certification

• Completion of secondary education is required.
• Bachelor's degree in communications, public relations; education, journalism or other related field is desirable.

Experience

• At least 6 years (with Secondary Education) or 3 years (with a Bachelor's degree) of progressively responsible experience in providing support to the formulation and implementation of internal and external communications and advocacy strategies and related plans is required.
• Experience in the use of computers applications and software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) as well as web-based management systems is required.
• Experience in the use of social media and digital communications is required.
• Previous experience working within the UN system and more specifically with the UN System would be considered an asset

Languages

• Fluency in English and Arabic is required.
• Knowledge of French is 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.