Advocacy and Campaigns Coordinator

Background

UN Women, grounded in the vision of gender equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations (UN), is the UN entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women GEWE). They work globally to make the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals a reality for women and girls and stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on four strategic priorities: serves as the 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. UN Women aims to support the full, effective and gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the UN Security Council resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE). UN Women recognizes the importance of a whole of society approach in this regard, i.e. supporting engagement between Member State governments, civil society, academia, private sector and others as key stakeholders and partners in efforts on GEWE. This calls for the adoption of strategies which promote the engagement of diverse stakeholders, raise public awareness and understandings of GEWE issues, and promote increased political will and investments in this agenda - to drive transformative change.

This push to promote transformative change comes as in 2020 we marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA), 20 years since the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 1325 on Women and Peace and Security; and five years of the 2030 Agenda and SDGs. The BPfA+25 global review of progress on the 12 critical areas of action revealed some progress, but not a single country today can claim to have achieved gender equality. The COVID-19 crisis has deepened pre-existing inequalities and exposing vulnerabilities, which are, in turn, amplifying the devastating impacts of the pandemic on women and girls. Therefore, now more than ever, it is critical to secure irreversible and measurable progress towards GEWE everywhere so that countries can build back better and different from COVID-19.

The UN Secretary General’s call for a Decade of Action (starting 2020), aims to generate a sense of urgency and accountability and the necessary impetus to intensify efforts to implement the international gender equality commitments fully. To further leverage this opportunity, UN Women, together with the Governments of France and Mexico and in partnership with civil society, planned to convene a civil society centered, multi-stakeholder global gathering for gender equality – the Generation Equality Forum (GEF) in July 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic however impacted on the timing of the GEF and as such it has been postponed to 2021.

UN Women also recognizes the crucial role of men and boys as equal partners for women’s rights; it requires an inclusive approach that raises public awareness, political will and resources for ending violence against women and girls (EVAWG), and supports different stakeholders to drive transformative impact on social norms change. UN Women is supporting the UN Secretary-General’s Political Engagement Strategy on Gender Based Violence and COVID-19 globally, with aims to accelerate concrete policy response to gender-based violence in the context of COVID-19 and promote zero tolerance of gender-based violence across all spheres of society everywhere. This strategy is being deployed with urgency and senior level engagements across the Asia and Pacific region throughout 2021, and is the overarching umbrella that is guiding UN Women and UN coordinated action on ending violence against women and girls, in alignment with the Generation Equality movement.

The UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (UN Women ROAP) is looking to engage an Advocacy and Campaigns Coordinator. Reporting to Head of Partnerships and RM, with matrix supervision for the Generation Equality (GEF) workstream by theHead of Strategic Planning and Coordination, and matrix supervision for the Ending VAW and UNITE workstream by the Ending VAW Programme Manager the Advocacy and Campaigns Coordinator will support UN Women ROAP in regional outreach and positioning initiatives; coordinate the organization and implementation of related events and campaigns; provide substantive inputs to regional strategic partnerships and advocacy strategies and products; coordinate regional dissemination and campaigning among UN Women Multi/Country Offices and Program Presences (M/CO/PPs) in the region. S/he will understand how effective project coordination will help deliver more impactful and creative external relationships, and better advocacy and campaign services to internal audiences, which will advance the UN Women mission at regional level. The Coordinator will be supported by the Advocacy and Communications International Junior Consultant; the coordinator will also supervise the consultant.

Duties and Responsibilities

1.  Build and maintain strategic partnerships

• Build and maintain close relationships with current and potential strategic partners, with a focus on regional partnerships with youth-led, private sector, media organizations, men and boys, to build public awareness and coordinate action on key priorities needed to advance GEWE in line with the GEF Regional Journey and related Action Coalitions (ACs);
• Building and maintain strong relationships with key UN inter-agency and partners’ personnel, including in supporting the design and/or implementation of initiatives, with UN agencies and regional stakeholders;
• Strengthen relationships with regional networks in Asia-Pacific, build links and form effective relationships with key allies in private sector and diverse civil society and youth-led networks in the region, to ensure that UN Women work learns from and reflects the dynamism of these initiatives;

2.  Provide coordination support

• Serve as the UN Women ROAP Coordinator of National Youth Focal Points, providing coordination support linked to their engagement in key campaigns and updating them providing and maintaining up-to-date strategic knowledge of issues in the youth activism landscape, and sharing information for purposes of planning and direction-setting for UN Women ROAP, and M/CO/PPs;
• Ensure that UN Women-coordinated campaigns, including the GEF Regional Journey, HeForShe and UNiTE, are effectively mainstreamed across UN Agencies and regional partners; build and maintain strong relationships with key inter-agency and partner staff, including in supporting the design and/or implementation of joint UN programmes and events, for UN agencies and regional partners;
• Coordinate the planning project/programme field visits and missions related to advocacy, including by identifying strategic opportunities, initiatives and events and/or initiatives, meetings, and preparing agendas and briefing documentation,
• Coordinate the recruitment and supervision of interns and volunteers/service providers (designers, photographers, videographers, etc.) for outreach events/actions;

3.  Provide social mobilization, outreach, and visibility  support to  key global campaigns at the regional level:

• Prepare, review and/or coordinate substantive documents/reports, briefs, speeches, presentations, and other advocacy materials on campaign strategies and results as needed for the campaigns;
• Provide inputs to the development of key communications materials and advocacy products, as well as content for UN Women ROAP social media channels, especially as it relates to the GEF Regional Journey, UNiTE and HeForShe;
• Provide technical support to the development of communications plans to reach UN Women regional advocacy goals, in close collaboration with the Communications Unit -at regional and global level-, including working across teams to manage rapid response strategic communications at key moments;
• Ensure adequate documentation, monitoring and reporting of advocacy/campaign results, lessons learned and effective approaches in the Asia-Pacific region.

4.  Coordinate and monitor the GEF  Regional Journey:

• Serve as Regional Campaign Coordinator for the GEF Regional Journey and Secretariat to the GEF Regional Journey Governance structure.
• Coordinate the development of a dynamic regional GEF Journey, in consultation with UN Women Headquarters GEF Secretariat, UN Women ROAP and UN Women M/CO/PPs, and in collaboration with Member States, civil society and youth-led networks, private sector, academia and UN agencies;
• Ensure that the GEF Regional Journey is effectively mainstreamed across UN Women ROAP and M/CO/PPs’ programmatic and UN Coordination initiatives- and in UN Women advocacy and communications regional efforts, in collaboration with UN Women ROAP thematic leads, the Strategic Partnerships regional team;
• Represent UN Women ROAP in meetings, events and/or initiatives on issues related to the work of the GEF journey in the region;
• Coordinate the development, implementation, and monitoring of a GEF Regional Journey Annual Work Plan;
• Monitor, analyze and share the GEF Regional Journey results across the region, in coordination with relevant colleagues in M/CO/PPs;

5.  Provide regional advocacy and strategic partnerships to prevent Violence against Women and Girls (VAW):

• Serve as Regional Coordinator for the Asia-Pacific UNiTE Campaign Secretariat which includes UN agencies and CSOs;
• Provide advocacy/visibility support and coordination for the UNiTE Campaign Secretariat, supporting implementation of the UN Secretary-General’s Political Engagement Strategy on Gender Based Violence and COVID-19;
• Schedule regional inter-agency Asia-Pacific UNiTE meetings, following up on agreed action points as required; Coordinate the preparation, implementation and monitoring of the Asia-Pacific UNiTE Secretariat Annual Work Plan;
• Provide inputs to communications plans for the UNiTE initiatives and partnership work; Monitor, analyze and share its results across the region, in coordination with relevant colleagues in COs;
• Ensure quality documentation, reporting and monitoring of UNITE advocacy/campaign results, lessons learned and effective approaches in the Asia-Pacific region, including to update the Issue Based Coalition (IBC) group.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Quality partnerships which further UN Women mandate;
• Representation of key campaigns (GEF Regional Journey, 16 Days of Activism, HeForShe) throughout the UN system;
• Relations with partners and stakeholders;
• Quality reports and timely submission;
• Quality communication and advocacy materials and initiatives;
• Increase in business/youth engagement;
• Quality high-visibility engaging and action-driven events which further UN Women positioning.

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

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

• Strong personal commitment to GEWE;
• Strong problem-solving skills;
• Strong interpersonal, team-building and networking skills;
• Strong coordination skills and ability to work independently to deliver agreed results and meet strict deadlines;
• Strong communication skills, including good knowledge of social media tools;
• Excellent organizational skills;
• Ability to be self-motivated, with a strong entrepreneurial spirit;
• Ability to manage multiple tasks effectively;
• Ability to manage a team
• Ability to fostering good relations with counterparts, UN agencies, donors, and private partners;
• Ability to command trust and authority from external and internal stakeholders;
• Familiarity with GEWE issues in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Understanding of the role of the private sector in promoting gender equality will be desirable;
• Familiarity with the UN system’s rules and procedures will be an advantage.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Communication, Public Relations, Journalism, Social Science, Development, or a related field.
• 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:

• At least 5 years of progressive professional work experience at national or international level in public relations, communications, or advocacy within the UN;
• Proven track record in raising the visibility and influence of an organization through effective advocacy strategies;
• Experience in organizing advocacy, public outreach and/or strategic partnerships initiatives and high-visibility events, preferably within a development or social marketing context;
• Experience in coordinating campaigns to achieve short- and long-term impact, including through the use of social media;
• Experience of GEWE will be a distinct advantage;
• Experience in the use of computers and office/audiovisual software packages, as well as social media/web/audiovisual production;
• Experience with photography and audiovisual production will be an asset;
• Experience in the Asia and the Pacific is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required
• Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset.

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-p11-personal-history-form.doc?la=en&vs=558. Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.