Speechwriter, HeForShe Summit 2022

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. 

 

A flagship initiative of UN Women, the HeForShe solidarity movement is an international platform that invites and engages men and boys to complement the work of the women’s?movement and create an equal world for all. Men hold a disproportionate level of power across cultures globally, but they remain largely absent from the gender equality conversation. Similar to other human rights and social justice movements like Black Lives Matter and LGBTQIA+ equality, gender equality requires action and allyship across all of society. The HeForShe Summit convenes male leaders from across government, business, non-profit and academia to take urgent action for gender equality. Against the context of conflict, climate change, humanitarian crises and the global pandemic – all of which have significantly reversed advances made in achieving gender equality.  

 

UN Women is looking for a Speechwriter for the HeForShe Summit to develop copy for the event and to craft speeches that are engaging, personal, and complementary across the various key speakers in attendance in close collaboration with the speaker and their teams. A strong working knowledge of communicating social issues succinctly as well as stakeholder engagement competencies are essential to performing this role. Working in a dynamic environment, the Copy and Speechwriter will also need to be an efficient time manager capable of juggling a variety of project deadlines. 

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Duties and Responsibilities

Responsibilities: 

The Speechwriter will support the Head of HeForShe and relevant Communications Lead, on ensuring that key speakers are effectively supported to play their role as a voice of impactful allyship for women, including developing communications products to convey the desired information/message most effectively to the targeted audiences and promote public understanding of HeForShe and UN Women.  

 

The Speechwriter will be responsible for the following duties: 

• Prepare key messages, speeches, talking points and thematic briefings for presentation by key speakers in support of the HeForShe Summit goals, the strategic positioning of this initiative and UN Women more broadly  

• Guide the Head of HeForShe in the management of external and internal communication and as requested by ensuring high quality information on priority issues, including drafting information strategies, messages, op-eds and statements in the lead up to and surrounding the HeForShe Summit; 

• Collaborate with the Communications colleagues on the team in selecting the information to be transmitted to key constituencies; 

• Review drafts for adherence to corporate policy and consistency with UN policy, and provide analysis and recommendations. 

 

Deliverables: 

• Develop 1 rallying speech on behalf of a celebrity thought leader / advocate of the movement 

• Coordinate and bring coherence to all key speakers (approximately 6-8) talking points for the event to ensure a sensible flow to the event 

• Develop emcee remarks to further shape event once key speaker talking points are identified  

• Review all key public-facing copy pertaining to the HeForShe Summit for coherence and clarity  

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 

 

Required Skills and Experience

Education: 

• Master’s degree or equivalent in one or more of the following disciplines: public administration, communications, writing, social sciences, journalism or other related fields. 

Experience:  

• A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience in public information, copy and speechwriting, journalism, international relations, public administration or related area; 

• Significant prior experience in speechwriting for celebrity thoughts leaders, senior politicians and executives; 

• Demonstrated excellent understanding of strategic communications, speechwriting, advocacy and outreach at the international level; 

• Outstanding written and oral communications and editing skills; 

• Proven ability to address issues effectively, both orally and in writing; 

• Proven ability to meet tight deadlines and work well under pressure; 

• Proven ability to communicate sensitively, effectively and creatively across different constituencies; 

• Familiarity with UN Women, the UN system and with gender issues is desirable.  

 

Language:  

Fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language is desirable.