Deputy Director of Advocacy P5

Position description

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 Division of Communications and Advocacy (DCA) 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 broad strategic direction of the Director of DCA, the Deputy Director of Advocacy provides senior leadership and strategic direction for UN Women’s global advocacy agenda, exercising substantial autonomy in the design, prioritization, and execution of advocacy initiatives. The Deputy Director of Advocacy plays a pivotal role in setting organizational advocacy priorities; leading high-impact advocacy strategies across development, humanitarian, and peace and security contexts; and ensuring coherence across advocacy, campaigns, brand, partnerships, and resource mobilization. The incumbent works in close collaboration with DCA teams, Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division (PPID), Strategic Partnerships Division (SPD), Strategic Planning, Resources and Effectiveness Division (SPRED), Regional and Country Offices (RCOs), and National Committees (NatComs). The incumbent consults the Director of DCA on matters with significant institutional, reputational, or resource implications.

Key Functions adn Accountabilities:

 1. Advocacy Strategy Leadership

• Lead the development, implementation, and evaluation of UN Women’s global advocacy strategies, ensuring alignment with UN Women’s Strategic Plan and corporate priorities.
• Provide strategic leadership within DCA on advocacy positioning, narratives, and priorities across thematic and cross-cutting areas.
• Manage institutional relationships with programme and policy leads in PPID and ensure advocacy strategies are evidence-based, politically informed, and results-oriented.

• Direct the coordination of advocacy efforts across DCA teams, Regional and Country Offices, and National Committees to ensure coherence and mutual reinforcement of advocacy efforts across levels.

   

2. Humanitarian Advocacy

• Lead UN Women’s humanitarian advocacy agenda within DCA, ensuring strong integration of gender equality and women’s rights in humanitarian action, peacebuilding, and crisis response.
• Oversee and guide the DCA Women, Peace and Security/Humanitarian Communication and Advocacy Specialist in Geneva to shape global humanitarian advocacy priorities and messaging.
• Represent UN Women in relevant inter-agency, humanitarian, and policy forums to advance gender-responsive humanitarian outcomes

3. Global Campaigns and Global Flagship Events

• Provide strategic leadership for UN Women’s institutional flagship campaigns and global advocacy moments, including International Women’s Day, the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, and other high-visibility global events.

• Oversee the development of integrated advocacy and campaign plans that combine policy influence, public engagement, media, partnerships, and digital tactics.

  Direct the planning and execution of the International Women’s Day flagship event at UN HQ and other high-profile advocacy events ensuring organizational visibility and measurable advocacy outcomes.

4. Goodwill Ambassadors and Influencer Engagement

• Direct and oversee UN Women’s global cohort of Goodwill Ambassadors (GWAs), determining strategic engagement priorities aligned with organizational advocacy priorities.
• Formulate and direct a renewed global Goodwill Ambassadors and influencers strategy, including identification and engagement of diverse, high-impact voices that amplify UN Women’s advocacy reach.
• Provide authoritative guidance to Regional and Country Offices and National Committees on the strategic engagement of Goodwill Ambassadors and influencers at regional and national levels, setting standards and quality benchmarks for engagements.

 

5. Brand Strategy and Support to Resource Mobilization

• Lead the implementation of UN Women’s brand strategy in coordination with the Head of Brand and relevant DCA teams, strengthening organizational visibility, credibility, and recognition of UN Women’s mandate and impact.
• Ensure advocacy content and public-facing products reinforce brand coherence and strategic positioning.

• Shape and drive advocacy contributions to public and private resource mobilization efforts in collaboration with SPD, SPRED, and other stakeholders to support public and private resource mobilization efforts by articulating advocacy impact, developing compelling narratives, and contributing to donor engagement initiatives.

   

6. Partnerships and Resource Mobilization for Advocacy

• Lead relationships with key advocacy stakeholders and partners, including Member States, UN entities, civil society, foundations, philanthropy, private sector partners, and influencers.
• Mobilize additional resources for public campaigning, advocacy, and engagement initiatives, particularly from foundations and philanthropic partners.

• Build and sustain strategic alliances that expand UN Women’s reach, influence, and advocacy impact.

   

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

Supervisory Responsibiliities:

The incumbent leads a small team of 2-3 staff members plus temporary 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:

• Strategic advocacy leadership and political analysis
• Campaign design and delivery
• Partnership development and coalition building
• Brand stewardship and public positioning
• Resource mobilization and donor engagement
• People management and team leadership

Recruitment Qualifications:

Education and Certification:

• An advanced university degree (master degree or equivalent) in international relations, political science, public policy, communications, international development, gender studies 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 10 years of progressively responsible experience in advocacy, with responsibility for advocacy strategies, campaigning and partnerships are required.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and implementing global advocacy strategies with measurable outcomes is required.
• Proven experience leading large-scale global campaigns and high-visibility advocacy initiatives are required.
• Substantial experience working with Goodwill Ambassadors, high-profile influencers, and public figures is required.
• Demonstrated experience in fundraising and resource mobilization, including supporting donor engagement, developing advocacy-linked value propositions, and mobilizing resources from public and private donors is required. 
• Demonstrated experience in brand strategy leadership, including oversight or implementation of organizational brand positioning, visibility, and coherence across advocacy, campaigns, and public communications is desirable.
• Experience leading and managing personnel in international, multicultural and diverse settings is required.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required.
• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.
• Experience working within the UN system or with international organizations is highly desirable.

Languages:

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

Application instructions

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