UN Women: International Consultant – Communications to advance Governance Peace and Security in Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand, Consultancy

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.

UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP), through its Governance, Peace and Security (GPS) Unit, leads policy and programme development and implementation in the areas of women’s leadership and decision-making and the advancement of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. This includes supporting peace building initiatives; facilitating the development, implementation, and monitoring of National and Regional Action Plans on WPS; promoting gender-responsive security sector reform; and advancing emerging and non-traditional WPS priorities such as Gender, Climate, Peace and Security and Women, Peace and Cybersecurity. The GPS Unit applies an intersectional approach across its work, with a strong focus on disability inclusion, youth engagement, and the meaningful engagement of men and boys as allies in advancing gender equality and sustainable peace. In line with CEDAW General Recommendation No. 40 on the equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making systems, the GPS Unit supports women leaders and women-led organizations to strengthen their participation, influence, and leadership across political, peace building, and governance processes.

In this context, the ROAP GPS team is looking to recruit an International Communications Consultant. The Consultant will report to the Regional Policy and Programme Specialist on Governance, Peace and Security.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under supervision of the GPS Policy and Programme Specialist for the Asia-Pacific Region, the Consultant will be responsible for the following:

1. Strategic Communications and Advocacy

• Develop and implement a communications and advocacy strategy for the Governance, Peace and Security (GPS) portfolio, including sub projects aligned with UN Women's Strategic Note and corporate communications priorities.
• Position UN Women as a thought leader on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), women's political participation and leadership, access to justice, climate security, cybersecurity, peacebuilding and conflict prevention.
• Provide strategic communications advice to programme teams and senior management on advocacy and positioning.

2. Knowledge Management and Results Communication

• Translate complex policy and programme results into accessible and compelling communications products for diverse audiences.
• Develop stories of change, human-interest stories, case studies, policy briefs, fact sheets and multimedia products demonstrating the impact of UN Women's governance, peace and security work.
• Document lessons learned, innovative practices and evidence emerging from programme implementation.
• Support the preparation of annual reports, donor reports and corporate reporting products, ensuring strong reporting and evidence-based communications.
• Maintain a repository of communications materials, photos, videos, publications and success stories related to the GPS portfolio.
• Act as Knowledge Management Focal point for the GPS team.

3. Media Relations and Public Information

• In coordination with ROAP Communications team, develop and maintain relationships with national, regional and international media covering governance, peace and security issues.
• Draft press releases, media advisories, op-eds, speeches, key messages and briefing materials.
• Coordinate media engagement around major events, launches, reports, campaigns and high-level visits.
• Monitor media coverage related to women's leadership, peace and security, elections, conflict prevention, cybersecurity and other GPS priorities, and provide strategic analysis.

4. Digital Communications and Campaigns

• In coordination with ROAP Communications team, lead digital communications efforts for the GPS portfolio across websites, social media and digital platforms.
• Develop and implement campaigns on key thematic priorities, including Women, Peace and Security, women's political participation, ending violence against women in politics, climate security, cybersecurity and technology-facilitated gender-based violence.
• Produce digital content, including videos, podcasts, social media toolkits, infographics and interactive communications products.
• Monitor analytics and audience engagement to inform communications strategies.

5. Strategic Partnerships and Donor Visibility

• Support donor visibility and communications requirements for GPS programmes and projects.
• Develop communications materials for resource mobilization and donor engagement.
• Coordinate communications efforts with development partners and UN entities involved in joint programming initiatives.

Expected Outputs and Timeline

Monthly progress reports are to be submitted, describing work completed and listing any outputs finalized during that month related to tasks outlined above. Payments will be made upon approval of the progress reports by the Policy and Programme Specialist. The International Consultant will report to the Policy and Programme Specialist on Governance, Peace and Security.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This consultancy is office-based at Bangkok, Thailand. The consultant is expected to work part time, at 80% (4/5 days per week)

• If the selected candidate is not based at the duty station, UN Women will cover the cost of the most economical economy-class airfare for travel to the duty station at the start of the assignment and return travel to the consultant’s home country upon completion of t