Back Communications Analyst

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 was created by the UN General Assembly in July 2010 and the UN Women Multi-Country Office Caribbean (MCO-Caribbean) was launched on 1 January 2011, building on the powerful foundation laid by the UNIFEM Sub-Regional Office for the Caribbean. The UN Women MCO-Caribbean covers 22 countries and territories in the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean. Over the past 10 years UN Women has worked closely with regional partners such as CARICOM and supported governments and civil society in:

• Successfully navigating inter-governmental processes regarding international standards on gender equality and women’s empowerment including Beijing Platform for Action;
• Developing and utilizing gender statistics for more efficient development practices;
• Strengthening prevention and response services to gender-based violence;
• Ensuring gender responsive disaster resilience and responses; and
• Increased opportunities for women’s economic empowerment.

All Caribbean countries have committed to the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. In 2016, eighteen Dutch and English-speaking countries of the region and Overseas Territories along with six UN Country Teams (UNCTs) on which the MCO sits, namely Barbados & the OECS, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago signed onto the United Nations Multi-Country Sustainable Development Framework (UN MSDF). The MSDF defines how the UN and CARICOM member states will jointly achieve the SDG and Development Results for the period 2017-2021. The MSDF has four (4) strategic priority areas, across which gender is systematically mainstreamed and integrated:

• An inclusive, equitable, and prosperous Caribbean
• A healthy Caribbean
• A cohesive, safe, and just Caribbean
• A sustainable and resilient Caribbean

UN Women implements a cross section of programmes in Jamaica across the 4 strategic priority areas of the MSDF. A flagship project will be the Spotlight Initiative to End Violence against Women and Girls.

The Caribbean and Jamaica in particular has a good track record with respect to its commitment to key international women’s rights instruments and the passage of local legislation to complement the rights and protections offered by these international conventions on paper. The country has clearly made some progress in fulfilling its obligations under these instruments and has also adopted and/or amended legislation to address the prevalence of gender-based violence, such as the Domestic Violence Act, the Child Care and Protection Act; and the Sexual Offences Act. There is also a National Policy for Gender Equality (NPGE); its main goal is the reduction of all forms of gendered discrimination in order to promote gender equality.

Notwithstanding progress made in advancing gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment, gender discrimination, including its worst manifestation and forms, such as violence against women and girls, continue to adversely impact all the dimensions of sustainable development in Jamaica. The country continues to be among those globally with the highest rates of crime and violence, with some crimes exceeding both global and regional averages. Whilst there is evidence that overall crime rate has been trending down since 2010, violence in the home continues to be high. Within this context, women and girls are disproportionately impacted. Data indicates that 8% of the victims of selected major crimes were children and that 60% of these were girls. One-fifth of Jamaican women report that they were sexually abused as children. Among women who reported sexual violence as children, the main perpetrators were friends or acquaintances (22.9%), complete strangers (16.5%) and family members other than parents or siblings (15.9%). Lifetime prevalence of intimate physical and/or sexual violence for women between 15 to 64 years of age is 27.8 per cent.

The Spotlight Initiative (SI) in Jamaica, provides a unique opportunity to address family violence as a major public health and development issue that has significant ramifications at the individual, community and national levels. Family Violence connotes secrecy, things that happen behind closed doors unlike other forms of violence and it presupposes a relationship between those persons involved. In the interaction between family and society, the social and cultural acceptance of family violence works to strengthen the norms, behaviours and attitudes learned within the family. The spillover effects into the society at large, is such that violence is maintained by the constant and repetitive reinforcement of violence as a norm.

The SI in Jamaica will address three key priority areas within Family Violence against women and girls: 1) Child Sexual Abuse, 2) Intimate Partner Violence and 3) Discrimination against vulnerable groups. The approach will be guided by the ecological theory that underpins the connections between family and society. The ecological model is seen as the best framework within which to address the causes, consequences, and response to family violence in Jamaica. The approach will also be guided by the core principle of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – Leaving No One Behind and underpinned by an intersectional approach that will ensure that interventions address key social factors such as socio-economic status, age, sexual orientation, health, educational and disabilities status are addressed.

Reporting to the Deputy Representative, the Communications Analyst is responsible for assisting in the planning and implementation of the Office communications and advocacy strategies including to increase the standing and awareness of UN Women’s programming especially the Spotlight Initiative with partners, the media and the public. 

The Communications Analyst works in close collaboration with the Spotlight Initiative team and implementing agencies, Government officials, media, multilateral and bilateral donors and civil society.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide substantive support to the planning and design of external communication and outreach strategies and plans for the UN Women MCO programmes with an emphasis on the Spotlight initiative in the country

• Facilitate the implementation of visibility and outreach activities
• Provide analysis for elaboration of communication and outreach strategies;
• Plan and implement EU visibility activities
• Ensure wide dissemination and visibility of Spotlight Initiative achievements
• Implement and evaluate implementation of high impact communications’ products (e.g. web, electronic)
• Monitor and analyze print and social media and provide analysis on the Spotlight Initiative;
• Provide inputs and support for Spotlight campaigns and special events;
• Support C4D interventions of recipient UN Agencies.

Coordinate and contribute substantively to the development and dissemination of advocacy materials in Jamaica

• Draft briefing materials, and press releases and coordinate its dissemination through effective channels;
• Identify storylines for publication and articles;
• Promote and disseminate corporate advocacy materials on spotlight achievements, publications, and campaigns;
• Coordinate the translation/adaption/rewriting of information received, printing and dissemination of publications and audio-visual materials;

Coordinate media relations for UN Women MCO Caribbean and the Spotlight initiative in Jamaica

• Coordinate the establishment of relevant relationships; Maintain list of relevant media in country;
• Respond to inquiries for public and UN system information materials;
• Organize roundtable discussions, press conferences and briefing session for press, as required;
• Draft talking points.

Build and maintain partnerships and maintain relations with donors

• Maintain relationships with partners and alliances to enhance visibility;
• Liaise with advocacy partners and undertake outreach to civil society organizations, governments, and other groups to ensure that newsworthy information reaches the public and donors, as delegated.

Provide inputs to the UN Women and Spotlight web/ online presence

• Provide inputs to UN Women Caribbean and the Spotlight Initiative websites’ content and maintenance based on corporate requirements;
• Provide inputs to Spotlight Initiative   in line with corporate social media policy;
• Upload information to knowledge management system on a regular basis, including news, updates, resources.

Facilitate knowledge building and sharing

• Identify and synthesize best practices and lessons learned directly linked to Spotlight initiative goals and activities;
• Organize and conduct training and workshops on communication and advocacy, as appropriate.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Timely monitoring of current events and trends
• Quality and relevant advocacy materials and content
• Timely updating of website and social media
• Timely dissemination of materials as shown by knowledge of UN Women’s activities in Jamaica.
• Regular interactions with mass media, as shown by coverage

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

Functional Competencies

• Ability to communicate sensitively, effectively and creatively across different constituencies
• Good Knowledge of web-based management systems
• Good Knowledge of production, graphic design and photography standards
• Good Knowledge of social media platforms and experience in social media outreach
• Good Communication, networking and advocacy skills
• Ability to be strategic and analytical
• Knowledge of gender and human rights issues desirable

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in communications, public relations, journalism or relevant field is required.
• 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 2 years of professional work experience at national or international level in public relations, communications or advocacy;
• Experience in the use of social media.

Language Requirements:

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

Duty Station:

• The position will be based in Jamaica.

Applications:

• This position is open to Nationals of Jamaica, Residents of Jamaica, and CARICOM Nationals who can legally work in Jamaica;
• All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment; Please group all documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows the upload of one document.

Note:

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.

UN Women is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.