Communications Associate, Ending Violence Against Women (EVAW), Sarajevo, BiH, N-PPSA 6

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.

Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

To respond to the demands of national partners, UN Women established its presence in 2008 in Sarajevo. Priorities of UN Women’s Country Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) are based on the 2021-2025 United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework signed between the Government of BiH and the United Nations system in BiH. Key priorities of UN Women in BiH under its 2021-2025 Strategic Note span four key priority areas: 1) ending violence against women; 2) supporting the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, especially through the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 and ensuring that women are empowered to fully contribute to and lead in public and political life; 3) enhancing women's economic empowerment by working to create equal opportunities and access to resources, including by recognizing, reducing, and redistributing unpaid care and domestic work and promoting women’s entrepreneurship; and 4) strengthening gender-responsive governance by making gender equality central to national development planning and budgeting.
Within this framework, the Gender Equality Accelerator (GEA) represents a flagship joint initiative coordinated by UN Women in partnership with UNFPA, UNDP, and UNICEF. The GEA aims to accelerate transformative change on gender equality and women’s empowerment by supporting systems-level reforms and advancing institutional accountability across three interconnected pillars: (1) gender-responsive governance and leadership, (2) prevention of and response to gender-based violence, and (3) women’s economic empowerment. The programme is aligned with national reform efforts, EU integration priorities, and international frameworks including CEDAW and the 2030 Agenda. It prioritizes intersectionality, localization, and inclusive partnerships with government, civil society, and the private sector to advance structural change and deliver measurable progress on gender equality in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Reporting to the Joint Programme Manager, and in coordination with the Communications Analystof the UN Women Country Office, the Communications Associate supports the formulation and implementation of program-level communications and advocacy strategies to enhance the visibility of the GEA IPA programme with partners, the media, and the public. The Communications Associate promotes a client-oriented approach at UN Women.

Scope of Work

1.    Provide coordination support in the development of a coherent GEA IPA programme communications and advocacy strategy:
•     Provide inputs and background information for the development of the JP’s 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 JP staff on UN Women corporate communications guidelinesand  norms; 
•     Ensure coordination with the UN Women CO Communications Associate to align programme messaging with overall country office communications strategy and standards.
•     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 GEA IPA programme ’s advocacy materials:
•     Identify storylines and achievements within the JP 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 library/ database of reference materials, photos, and digital assets; 
•     Follow guidelines from RO/HQ. 

3.    Provide support in the management of the GEA IPA programme’s social media and online presence:
•     Identify stories, produce content, and provide input to the development of content for the JP website hosted at the regional UN Women ECA website and social media channels; 
•     Update the website and social media channels, ensure consistency in branding; Research, compile and produce reports on web statistics on a regular basis and electronic surveys, as required; 
•     Maintain files, databases, and systems relevant to the GEA IPA programme’s digital presence. 
 
4.    Provide media relations support to the GEA IPA programme: 
•     Serve as a media focal point on the GEA IPA programme activities , as necessary; 
•     Maintain and update a database and network of relevant press in country; 
•     Respond to requests for information and arrange interviews, as delegated; 
•     Provide substantive inputs to talking points and interviews.

5.    Facilitate knowledge management and sharing:
•     Contribute to the identification of best practices and lessons learned; 
•     Organize trainings and workshops on communication practices; 
•     Provide/exchange information with HQ and RO, and CO on GEA IPA programme.

6.     Other:
•     Provide support on special web/digital/media projects undertaken by the GEA IPA programme .  

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

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: N/A

Competencies:

Core Values:

Core Competencies:

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 

Education and Certification:

•     Completion of secondary education is required.  
      Bachelor’s degree in communications, public relations or journalism is desirable.  

Experience

•     At least 6 years (with Secondary school) or 3 years (with Bachelor 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.
•     At least 2 years of experience in the use of social media, multi-media and digital platforms, and producing different types of content (social media, audio-visual, publications, reports, etc);  2 years of experience in writing and editing in Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian and English, including articles, reports, social media content, press releases, etc… is an asset.
•     Experience in designing social media assets, publications, and similar content is required .
•     Experience working in the area of gender equality and women’s rights, as well as a good understanding of gender-based violence is  an asset.
•     Previous experience working with UN or other international organizations is an asset.

Languages
•     Fluency in English is required.
•     Fluency in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian is required.
 

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:

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