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. 

The Strategic Partnerships Division (SPD) works to strengthen UN Women’s position as a partner of choice for gender equality and the empowerment of women (GEWE) among governments and private sector actors around the world. The Division does this by positioning GEWE in the intergovernmental and multilateral fora, and engaging with governments and private sector corporations, foundations and individuals as policy, programme and resource partners.

The Communications & Advocacy Section at UN Women Headquarters in New York supports the positioning of women’s empowerment and gender equality as key issues on the international agenda and establishes UN Women’s role as the global authority in this context. This entails developing and promoting high-quality content, communicating about UN Women’s work through digital and social media and engaging a global audience online.

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Deputy Chief of Section, the Social Media Specialist is responsible for leading the global social media content strategies, policies and activities of UN Women and provides guidance and training to colleagues in the field.

The Social Media Specialist works in close collaboration with Multimedia Specialist, the Web Editor and the Media Specialists to ensure successful and integrated content creation and distribution. 

Key Functions and Accountabilities:

1. Oversee the Social Media Strategy for UN Women.

Oversee the design and implementation of the global social media strategy for UN Women. Lead the conceptualization, design, planning, execution and evaluation of UN Women’s social media content. Lead an agile, news driven social media content and engagement strategy for UN Women’s social media channels by tapping into relevant social media conversation with impactful messaging.  Provide oversight and guidance on the monitoring and moderation of social media networks and platforms to ensure relevant engagement opportunities are flagged and acted upon.  Continue to increase growth of social media supporters and quality engagement through advanced social media analytics and the use of industry standard audience social media monitoring and management tools.  Lead on global social media risk and crisis management strategies.

2. Lead and implement the social media capacity building strategy. 

Lead on capacity building strategy for the global communication network in regard to UN Women branded social media accounts. Develop and continuously update guidelines and standards for the use of social media, both personally and professionally, by UN Women staff. Provide tailored, relevant guidance and assistance to country and regional office social media portfolios and build capacity globally for ongoing effective social media engagement. Oversee the creation of new UN Women social media accounts and ensure the professional and centralized set-up to ensure strong social media governance. Provide expert knowledge and support to regional and field offices during crisis communication moments.

3. Develop and implement the global communication campaign for UN Women.

Provide expert input on social media elements of global campaigns, including vendor selection and management Oversee development of social media content package for large multi-lingual campaigns on a global level, including activation of global communication network. Develop and implement influencer engagement strategies.  Lead metrics analysis for social media of global campaigns.

4. Lead and manage the social media team.

Recruit and performance manage, coach, mentor and manage social media staff and consultants. Mentor team members. Manage day-to-day operations of the social media team, including the budget, recruitment and performance management processes and relevant consultancy contracts. Lead the inputs of the social media team into the unit’s work plan.   Oversee procurement of relevant tools, equipment and vendors for the social media team.

5.    Coordinate and facilitate partnership building.

Represent UN Women in interagency groups focused on social media. Manage the relationship with platforms. Conduct partnership and influencer mapping and engagement strategy.

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

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: 
The Social Media Specialist supervises and leads a team comprising of several staff members and four consultants.  

Competencies :

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.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

Expert level knowledge of major social media platforms and proven experience in strategic social media outreach at the international level. Strong team leadership skills, incl. track record of managing a global, hybrid team. Proven ability to develop and implement large-scale social media strategies and campaigns. Excellent writing and editing skills and demonstrated experience in social media content production. In-depth understanding of the integration of multimedia elements in social media content production. Strong editorial judgment, including ethical and political awareness. Strong awareness of digital trends and changes in the social and digital landscape. Knowledge of development issues considered a strong asset.

Education and Certification:

A Master’s degree or equivalent in Communications, Journalism, International Affairs, Political Science, or a related 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 7 years of experience managing large-scale social media accounts at the international level is required. Experience in leading a mid-sized social media team, incl. recruitment and performance management is required. Experience in overseeing content creation for multiple channels and in the use of advanced tools for social media management and evaluation is required. Experience in the development and implementation of global communication and advocacy campaigns and producing daily content in a in sensitive and fast-moving news environments is required. Experience in developing guidance and capacity building support for a global communication network required and providing expert advice in reputational risk situations is required. 

Languages:

Fluency in English is required. Fluency in French or Spanish is particularly desirable. Knowledge of another UN language (Russian, Arabic and/or Chinese) is desirable.
 

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.)

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