Deadline: 14, April 2024

Location: Nairobi, Kenya

The United Nations Girls Education Initiative (UNGEI) is seeking to fill the position of Advocacy and Communications Specialist.

UNGEI is a global partnership hosted by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), united by a shared commitment to advancing gender equality in and through education.

Responsibilities

• Input into and review UNGEI’s Advocacy strategy/calendar, advising on potential targets and opportunities (for example key influencers and moments) to raise UNGEI’s visibility and push forward UNGEI’s agenda, in particular concerning the broader post-2030 agenda
• Lead on or support the delivery of high-quality advocacy outputs linked to the UNGEI’s programmes, including policy briefs, donor notes, reports, and other products, in particular, related to gender equality in and through education, gender-responsive education sector planning, school-related gender-based violence, feminist and youth leadership and other relevant programmatic and issue-based priorities
• Lead and participate in strategic discussions, working groups, reference groups, advisory bodies, etc. to support policy and agenda setting for girls’ education and gender equality in education related to UNGEI’s programmes and priorities
• Work closely with the UNGEI Youth Engagement Lead to ensure meaningful participation of young feminists in Gender at the Centre Initiative (GCI) programming and advocacy, including through the convening of National Youth Coalitions for Gender-Transformative Education in GCI countries
• Lead the follow-up of the high-level political commitment of the Freetown Manifesto, developing a monitoring mechanism, liaising with UNICEF country offices in the 14 signatory countries to monitor implementation of the commitments, linking with the Global Platform for Gender-Transformative Education, inviting new countries to sign on to the manifesto
• Liaise with UNGEI members, donors and partners and their respective communications focal points, including GCI Alliance members and key partners and develop joint advocacy actions.
• Support the development of research/knowledge management innovations and tools as needed to support our Advocacy aims, for example for the Ending Gender Stereotypes Programme, SRGBV Programme, Feminist School Gender-Transformative Leadership, community-based research on harmful gender norms, for example by reviewing and co-drafting reports, advising on dissemination and amplification
• Identify and cultivate key influencers within and external to the UNGEI partnership to strengthen UNGEI’s outreach and visibility
• Keep abreast of best practices in the area of gender equality in education, and related topics and share knowledge with colleagues and stakeholders.
• Support consultants, other members of the UNGEI team/partners in the development of compelling communications products, which may include supporting to draft, review or proofread documents or assets
• Input into the development of UNGEI’s annual communications strategy, sharing innovative ideas for engaging new and strategic audiences
• Support the UNGEI team in the development of key communications assets, for example, the Gender at the Centre Initiative Newsletter, UNGEI annual report card or global public goods
• Coordinate with Unesco International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP-UNESCO) on a joint GCI communications strategy, including co-development of GCI newsletters and annual reports
• Contribute to the development of social behaviour change communication activities at country level to transform harmful gender norms, including through the GCI programme in West and Central Africa
• Writing blog articles on UNGEI achievements and events, co-developing articles with GCI partners
• In collaboration with UNGEI programme managers, contribute to the monitoring of UNGEI activities by compiling data on number of people reached, number of webinars, etc. to use in reports and other communications outputs
• Represent UNGEI in meetings, events, workshops and trainings as required
• Deputise for the Communications and Advocacy Manager as required
• Support the planning and implementation of UNGEI digital and online events and meetings, including Feminist Network for GTE, Gender at the Centre Initiative Board meetings, workshops and trainings, other symposia and events
• Coordinate learning and knowledge management for the GCI initiative, organising learning webinars for CSOs, collecting lessons learnt and good practices

Requirements

• Advanced university degree (Master’s or higher) in Education, Gender or Women’s Studies, International Relations, International Development, Political Science, Sociology, Psychology, Social Sciences or other social science field
• Five years, minimum, of relevant professional experience in advocacy and/or communications in international development/social impact
• Three years, minimum, of experience related to education and gender equality
• Professional work experience in at least one global majority country
• Relevant experience in a UN system agency or organisation an asset
• Fluency in English and functional proficiency in French (oral and written). Knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish) or a local language an asset

To apply and for more information, click here. 

Photo source: Education Cannot Wait