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.
Established by UN General Assembly Resolution 50/166 in 1996, the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) is the first and remains the only global UN funding mechanism dedicated exclusively to providing direct grants to civil society organizations working to prevent and end all forms of violence against women and girls (EVAW/G). Since 2010, UN Women has administered the UN Trust Fund on behalf of the UN system, providing a strong institutional foundation and field support through a global infrastructure of country and regional offices.\
As part of the visibility of the work at UN Women East and Southern Africa, the ending violence against women (EVAW) team has a mandate to amplify attention and create awareness on the impact of our work with stakeholders in governments, regional bodies, civil society, donors, private sector and other actors of the work UN Women is doing to ensure our advocacy efforts are visible to internal and external audiences. To this effect, there is a need for a dedicated resource person to support advocacy and communications efforts in the Unit and within the region, especially in the lead up to the African Union’s adoption of the first Convention on ending VAWG and the commemorations of Beijing+30 in 2025.
The consultant will be reporting to the EVAW Regional Policy Specialist under the supervision of the ACT to EVAW Programme Coordinator, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment planning.
Strategic Communications Leadership
Lead the development, implementation, and monitoring of strategic communication plans across the EVAWG and ACT programmes, ensuring alignment with UN Women’s global communication priorities and regional goals;
Produce monthly communication packages highlighting key milestones, events, and partner achievements;
Design and lead high-impact communications campaigns for critical regional milestones and advocacy moments including AU Convention on Ending VAWG ratification,16 Days of Activism against GBV, Monitoring missions, EVAW regional and international forums;
Create social media content (posts, infographics, GIFs) tailored for Twitter/X, LinkedIn, and Facebook;
Document best practices and results from EVAWG programming through high-quality multimedia content;
Work with ESARO Comms to Provide strategic content development, campaign architecture, message refinement, audience segmentation, and brand visibility;
Develop templates for high-level events, preparing and coordinating communication packages (press kits, talking points, media advisories, digital content);
Coordinate with ACT partners, and the UN Women Regional Office Comms Team to ensure unified messaging, brand consistency, and narrative impact;
Provide direction to ensure alignment of visibility efforts with Programme results and donor expectations.
Technical assistance to ACT partners
Act as help desk and provide technical support on ACT partners communication and advocacy work;
Provide technical support in implementing communications plans and developing communication material under ACT.
Campaign and Visibility Execution
Lead the design and implementation of high-visibility campaigns including:
AU Convention ratification campaign;
16 Days of Activism;
ACT Programme visibility and engagement drive;
Develop strategic content calendars, creative briefs, and messaging toolkits for these campaigns.
Tools, Templates and Mapping
Map existing communication assets across ACT partners and identify visibility gaps;
Support narrative change initiatives aligned with UN Women’s approach to transforming discriminatory social norms (narratives, material well-being, countervailing power);
Engage regional influencers, creatives, and youth through our ACT partners to co-create and disseminate messages around violence prevention and women’s rights;
Maintain an up-to-date communication asset library (photos, quotes, videos, templates);
Contribute to newsletters and Curate EVAWG and ACT communication packages;
Create an ACT Newsletter to give Partners’ work visibility and promote evidence/results-based reporting & accountability;
Contribute to monthly reports and knowledge management products. Design branded templates for:
Social media graphics
Reports, factsheets, and policy briefs
Success stories and case study formats
Partner press releases and media advisories
Create toolkits for:
ACT Programme communications
16 Days of Activism (2026)
AU Convention ratification campaign
UN Celebrations, Anniversaries, Commemorative Days and Key Advocacy Spaces/ events.
Results-Oriented Communications
Design a visibility and results dashboard to track impact, reach, and engagement metrics;
Produce monthly analytics reports measuring content performance and stakeholder engagement;
Create a “Results Through Stories” portfolio showcasing Programme impact.
Stakeholder Coordination and Technical Support
Provide tailored communication coaching to ACT grantees and partners;
Build and maintain partnerships with media houses, influencers, regional creatives, and AU-affiliated entities;
Represent UN Women EVAWG unit communications in regional coordination mechanisms as needed.
Expected Deliverables
Deliverable | Description | Due Date
Campaign Toolkits | Three toolkits: ACT, AU Convention, 16 Days | January 2027
Monthly Content Calendar | Updated and approved each month | Monthly
Digital Visibility Templates | Customizable brandedtemplates for reports, visuals, stories, Articles, QuoteCards | Monthly
Success Story Portfolio | 5 stories fromACT partners withphotos and quotes | December 2026
3 Multimedia Packages | Short videos or podcasts on EVAWG workimpact | December 2026
Monthly Analytics Reports | Summary of metricsand recommendations | End of each month
Quarterly meetings with ACT partners | Quarterly meetings with ACT partners | December 2026
Partner Communications Briefing Pack | For ACT grantees and stakeholders | January 2027
End-of-Assignment Report | Strategic insights, lessonslearned, recommendations | January 2027
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.
Functional Competencies
• Strategic thinking and political acumen in gender and human rights advocacy;
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, Mailchimp, social media analytics;
• Familiarity with Drupal CMS, Teams, and UN publishing standards.
Required QualificationsEducation and Certification
Master’s degree in Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, 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
Minimum 1 year of progressive experience in communication, visibility, or advocacy;
Demonstrated experience in Gender Communications or Development Communication;
Strong portfolio of content and campaigns for international or UN organizations.
Languages
Fluency in English is required;
Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).
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.)