Consultancy: Communications Consultant – Gender Equality - Req.# 579733

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential. 

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. 

And we never give up. 

For every child, Hope.

Consultancy Title: Communications Consultant – Gender Equality

Section/Division/Duty Station: Gender Equality Section, Programme Division, NYHQ

Duration: 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026

Home/ Office Based: NYHQ / Remote 

About UNICEF 

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you. For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. UNICEF has over 12,000 staff in more than 145 countries.

BACKGROUND

Purpose of Activity/ Assignment:

The Communications Consultant is accountable to develop, support, network, implement and monitor an advocacy and communication strategy and associated products and activities, with the objective of promoting brand awareness, understanding, and support for gender equality as a key driver for children’s and women’s rights as supported by UNICEF's mission, priorities and programmes in the country/regional offices and at a global level.

Half of the Communication Consultant’s time will be focused on communication (externally and internally) on the adolescent girls agenda, including in relation to the Adolescent Girls Programme Strategy implementation, adolescent girls targeted priorities in UNICEF’s Gender Action Plan (GAP) 2022-2025 and 2026-2029 and the Skills4Girls portfolio.

Scope of Work:

1. Communication strategy and workplan: Programme Group (PG) Gender Equality has a clear and dynamic communication strategy and associated work plan to advocate for gender equality as a key driver for children’s and women’s rights. The strategy targets audiences internally and externally to enhance the organization’s credibility and brand including various public domains to strengthen awareness, political will, and partnerships in support of UNICEF's mission and objectives. The workplan outlines key communication products, platforms and special events to achieve strategy objectives.
2. Networking and partnerships: PG Gender Equality has a well maintained and continually developed contact list of internal and external individuals, groups, and for whose support is essential to/can assist in achieving the advocacy and communication objectives (including media relations and influencers). Effective working relationships with UNICEF, broader UN, and other key external communication counterparts (especially within the gender equality ecosystem) are developed, maintained and enhanced.
3. Influencing global priorities and campaigns: PG Gender Equality has an effective process in place for influencing, integrating and taking action on UNICEF’s global communications priorities, campaigns and partnerships.
4. Partnership and resource mobilization support: New and existing partnership management with both public and private sector are supported by effective and creative advocacy and communication strategy and activities.
5. Monitoring and evaluation: Robust baselines are established against which the achievement of objectives of the communication strategy are regularly analysed to continuously improve and adapt real-time effectiveness of the communication strategy and workplan activities.
6. Capacity building and support: PG Gender Equality and broader UNICEF teams (e.g., communication specialists in regional offices, other business units, etc.) are provided with professional expertise and advice on all aspects of advocacy and communication as related to the strategy and workplan as required.
7. Support engagement and coordination with communications vendors: PG Gender Equality will be hiring communications vendors to produce a range of communication assets and products.
8. Adolescent Girls agenda, adolescent girls targeted priorities and the Skills4Girls (S4G) portfolio: Dedicated communication support is provided (exte