Sustainable Finance Programme- Content Development and Substantive Communications Consultant

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.

Consistent with the United Nations’ renewed focus on Financing for Development (FfD), following the 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda, UN Women has launched a comprehensive set of initiatives aimed at ensuring that financing for gender equality is strengthened and that financing for development systematically embeds a gender lens. In doing so, UN Women seeks to maximize both the quality and quantity of financing directed toward gender equality and the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Anchored in UN Women’s Strategic Plan, Beijing+30, and the outcomes of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), UN Women's Sustainable Finance Phase II will focus on four areas:

• Integrating gender equality into global sustainable finance standards and disclosure frameworks;
• Supporting ministries of finance, regulators, and central banks to strengthen gender-responsive financial policies and regulation;
• Positioning gender equality within major financial networks and coalitions; and
• Supporting development banks and financial institutions to integrate gender into investment strategies, products, and decision-making.

As the Sustainable Finance Programme expands its global, regional and country-level implementation, there is a growing need to strengthen programme communications and content development capacity. Sustainable finance is a technically complex and evolving area, requiring the ability to translate concepts related to gender equality, finance, investment, policy and financial systems into clear, compelling and accessible materials for diverse audiences.

The consultant will be expected to bring an understanding of private sector and financial sector audiences, emerging sustainable finance trends, and innovative approaches to stakeholder engagement.

The Sustainable Finance Programme requires dedicated expertise to support the development of high-quality substantive programme communications products and content assets that strengthen understanding, engagement and uptake among internal and external stakeholders. The consultant will also provide strategic advice on content development and programme positioning to ensure communications effectively support stakeholder engagement, though leadership and the Programme strategic objectives. This includes translating technical work, research, partnerships, programme achievements and results into effective communication materials, including written products, visual assets, multimedia content, presentations, digital products and storytelling materials tailored to the financing and investment audiences across the public and private sectors.

The consultant will support the Sustainable Finance team by developing and adapting programme communications materials and content that:

• Strengthens the understanding and articulation of sustainable finance concepts across UN Women;
• Supports Regional and Country Offices to communicate sustainable finance opportunities and results within their contexts to external partners and stakeholders including with donors, governments, financial institutions, investors and other sustainable finance stakeholders;
• supports the articulation and demonstration of programme results, learning and pathways for scale to key partners including external audiences, across the UN System and potential partners to the programme.
• identify opportunities for UN Women work on sustainable finance to be more visible and better understood.

The consultant will focus on programme-specific, substantive sustainable finance communications and content development in line with institutional standards, guidelines and processes.

Objective

The objective of this engagement is to strengthen the Sustainable Finance Programme’s ability to communicate its objectives, value proposition, results and impact through high-quality programme communications products, content development and stakeholder-facing materials aligned with Phase II priorities.

The consultant will support:

• Design and implementation of a programme communications and content strategy aligned with Phase II priorities and UN Women’s mandate;
• Development of clear and compelling programme narratives that translate complex sustainable finance and gender responsive finance concepts for different audiences;
• Production and adaptation of high-quality communication products and content assets, including briefs, presentations, reports, infographics, videos, digital content and visual materials;
• Development of storytelling approaches to capture programme results, country experiences, lessons learned and emerging practices;
• Provision of templates, guidance and tools to enable Regional and Country Offices to communicate sustainable finance concepts and results effectively- including the design of engaging case studies on gender responsive sustainable finance;
• Support for key programme moments, events, launches and strategic engagements through tailored content materials.
• Provide strategic advice on programme positioning, stakeholder engagement and thought leadership opportunities within the sustainable finance ecosystem.

This engagement will ensure that programme communications effectively:

• Articulate the relationship between gender equality and sustainable finance;
• Demonstrate UN Women's Sustainable Finance Programme’s value proposition and system-level role;
• Communicate results, evidence, learning and credible pathways for scale;
• Strengthen internal understanding and ownership across Headquarters, Regional Offices and Country Offices;
• Support engagement with donors, governments, financial institutions, investors and partners;
• Strengthen UN Women’s thought leadership, visibility and strategic positioning within the global sustainable finance ecosystem.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The Sustainable Finance Programme Communications and Content Development Consultant will provide strategic and creative content support to translate technical programme work into accessible, high-quality communications materials for internal and external audiences. The consultant will work closely with the Sustainable Finance team to develop content products that support programme implementation, stakeholder engagement, knowledge sharing and strategic positioning.

The scope of work will be delivered across the following areas:

1. Programme Communications Strategy and Content Framework

Objective:
To establish a coherent programme communications approach supporting Phase II implementation.

Key Activities:

• Develop and refine the Sustainable Finance Programme communications and content strategy and framework
• Support development of:
  • programme narratives;
  • key messages;
  • audience-specific communication approaches;
  • content guidance and templates.
• Translate technical programme priorities into accessible communication materials and strategic messaging tailored to diverse stakeholder groups.
• Recommend innovative approaches to reach financial sector audiences.
• Identify emerging opportunities for strategic communications with key audiences
• Advise on communications approaches for high-level engagements in line with the Phase II priorities.
• Ensure consistency across programme materials developed for global, regional and country-level audiences.
• Identify innovative communications, partnership and thought leadership opportunities that enhance the Programme's visibility and influence.

Outputs:

• Programme communications framework.
• Narrative and messaging toolkit.
• Content development guidance materials.

2. Programme Content Development and Production

Objective:
To produce high-quality written, visual and multimedia content that communicates Sustainable Finance Programme priorities and results at the global, regional and country level.

Key Activities:

Develop and adapt:

• Programme briefs;
• Donor and partner materials;
• Presentations and briefing materials;
• Results narratives and case studies;
• Infographics and visual assets;
• Video concepts/scripts and multimedia materials;
• Digital content products;
• Event-related communication materials.

Support translation of technical sustainable finance concepts into accessible and compelling content for different audiences.

Outputs:

• Programme communication asset suite.
• Stakeholder-facing materials.
• Visual and multimedia content products.

3. Regional and Country Office Communications Support

Objective:
To strengthen the ability of Regional and Country Offices to communicate and apply sustainable finance approaches.

Key Activities:

• Develop templates and guidance materials to support country storytelling and results documentation.
• Support Sustainable Finance Champions to communicate programme priorities and results.
• Develop practical tools to explain: gender-responsive finance;
  • sustainable finance instruments;
  • investment approaches;
  • programme opportunities and results.
• Capture country and regional experiences through written and visual storytelling.

Outputs:

• Country and regional communication templates.
• Sustainable finance storytelling guidance.
• Case studies and results narratives.

Inputs

The UN Women Sustainable Finance team will provide the Consultant with the background materials, project documents, as well as other relevant materials with regards to implementation of the tasks under this TOR.

Consultants’ workplace and official travel

This is a home-based consultancy. Travel may be required based on events and will be covered by the hiring section.

Management Arrangements

The consultant will work under the supervision of the UN Women Head of Sustainable Finance. The Consultant will not be located in the premises of UN Women and will have to work remotely. However, the consultant is expected to have periodical coordination meetings with the Sustainable Finance team and participate in relevant staff meetings.

Duration of the Assignment

The assignment duration is 1 September 2026- 31 May 2027 in line with the indicative workplan and timeline described under duties and responsibilities.

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:

• Demonstrated experience developing communications and content strategy with the financial and private sector private sector
• Excellent writing skills in English in preparing briefs, reports, human interest stories, news, articles and similar work for various audiences.
• Skilled in producing high-quality written, visual, and multimedia content (brochures, briefs, video scripts, infographics).
• Strong ability to coordinate with multidisciplinary teams, incorporating diverse inputs into cohesive products.
• Strong planning, coordination, and time management skills; ability to deliver high-quality outputs within tight deadlines.
• Excellent verbal communications, writing, editing, and storytelling skills.
• Command of the most current graphic design/ multimedia software is an asset.

Required Qualifications

Qualifications:

• Master's degree ; a first-level university degree combined with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of an advanced degree.
• Minimum of 7 years of progressive experience in strategic communication, encompassing content and media product development, editing, marketing, branding, and knowledge management.
• Demonstrated experience designing, developing, and implementing communication strategies and plans.
• Demonstrated ability to develop high-impact graphic and audiovisual materials, including photography and video production.
• Proven track record of producing high-quality communication materials for large, complex organizations.
• Experience managing multifaceted communications, strategy , content development and/or marketing projects.
• Experience engaging with or advising private sector organizations, financial institutions, investors, development finance institutions or other actors on marketing, communications and content strategy is highly desirable.
• Languages:
• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of any other UN official language is an asset.

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.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.