Communications, Advocacy and Stakeholder Engagement Specialist (WEE)

The Communications, Advocacy and Stakeholder Engagement Specialist provides strategic leadership for communications, advocacy, digital engagement and stakeholder outreach across the Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) portfolio in Asia and the Pacific. The role involves leading communications strategy, mentoring teams, managing partnerships, and enhancing visibility and impact of WEE initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Lead and guide the overall WEE communications strategy and implementation of the annual communications workplan across the WEE portfolio, ensuring alignment with the central ROAP Communications Strategy and global organizational priorities.
• Mentor and strengthen the capacity of the WEE communications team by establishing streamlined workflows, fostering professional development, and promoting a cohesive, high-performing work environment.
• Act as the strategic advisor to the WEE leadership team on all communication, advocacy and stakeholder engagement matters, including proactive positioning, reputational risk management, and high-visibility issues.
• Provide quality assurance across all communication related products, strategies and assets to ensure consistency, accuracy, and alignment with WEE communications strategy and workplan.
• Accelerate WEE digital transformation by deploying AI-powered workflows, utilizing custom AI workspaces, curated knowledge hubs, and advanced prompting across communications and advocacy functions to optimize narrative and stakeholder engagement strategies, scale editorial and content output, and help the team work faster and more agile.
• Lead the development of WEE social media and digital advocacy strategies across thematic areas, providing strategic direction on narrative positioning, emerging trends, growth metrics, and stakeholder engagement to strengthen the visibility and impact of WEE advocacy priorities across digital platforms and key advocacy moments.
• Provide strategic direction for WEE web platforms, pivoting to AI-driven Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), expanding the visibility and strategic reach while maintaining top-tier quality and alignment.
• Lead the strategic positioning of UN Women’s Women’s Economic Empowerment portfolio across Asia and the Pacific, ensuring coherent narratives, thought leadership, and advocacy messaging that strengthen UN Women’s visibility and influence on WEE issues among key stakeholders, donors, partners and decision-makers.
• Serve as the primary strategic focal point and liaison with the ROAP Communications unit and HQ, representing the WEE team in regional planning processes to ensure strategic alignment and effective prioritization of communications opportunities and resources.
• Provide strategic guidance, technical support and quality assurance to Country Offices to strengthen narrative coherence, advocacy positioning and branding across the region, ensuring WEE communications and storytelling are aligned with UN Women corporate standards and WEE strategic priorities.
• Drive the conceptualization and strategic direction of regional campaigns, coordinating with Country Office leads to ensure strategic visibility and impact for WEE-led programmes, particularly through digital and social media strategies.
• Convene and lead regular regional communications coordination meetings with WEE communications focal points across UN Women country offices, and additional engagements as needed, to facilitate collaboration, narrative alignment, and knowledge exchange.
• Lead communication, advocacy and partnership support across the WEE portfolio with a strong focus on priority programmes, including but not limited to the Gender Action Lab (GAL) – Innovation for Impact, a strategic programme intended to grow into a long-term innovation platform for UN Women and WE RISE Together.
• Lead the identification, cultivation, and management of high-level strategic communications partnerships with media organizations, private sector partners (e.g., Unstereotype Alliance model), foundations, and specialized agencies to advance programme objectives, advocacy priorities and stakeholder engagement.
• Provide strategic communications leadership for key donor-funded projects, ensuring high-level partner engagement and fulfillment visibility, communications and reporting requirements.
• Lead the development of impactful communications, advocacy and behavioural change campaigns, positioning communications as a strategic vehicle for programme influence, stakeholder engagement and impact delivery.
• Establish strategic measurement, organizational positioning and storytelling approaches on WEE impacts and results to strengthen stakeholder engagement, organizational positioning and partnership-building.
• Lead the development of strategic communications approaches and stakeholder engagement plans for flagship WEE initiatives, ensuring communications and advocacy efforts contribute to programme objectives, partnership development, resource mobilization opportunities and long-term sustainability.
• Lead and maintain strategic communications partnerships with media, private sector, foundations and other stakeholders to advance WEE advocacy and programme objectives.
• Support stakeholder engagement strategies that strengthen visibility, influence and partnership development across the WEE portfolio.
• Ensure donor visibility and communications commitments are delivered in accordance with partnership agreements.
• Establish and monitor communications performance indicators across the WEE portfolio.
• Analyze audience engagement, campaign performance and communications results to inform strategic decision-making.
• Document and disseminate lessons learned, innovations and good practices across WEE initiatives.
• Perform other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Requirements

• Master’s degree or equivalent in communications, journalism, international relations, public policy, political science, digital media, development 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.
• At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in strategic communications, advocacy, public information, digital communications, media relations, stakeholder engagement, or related fields.
• Demonstrated experience providing strategic communications advice to senior leadership and leading communications, advocacy, or stakeholder engagement initiatives at regional, multi-country, or international levels.
• Experience working with international organizations, development institutions, governments, the United Nations system, and/or private sector partners is desirable.
• Experience applying AI-enabled tools and innovative digital approaches within strategic communications and advocacy functions is desirable.
• Knowledge of gender equality, women’s economic empowerment, women’s rights, or related UN Women mandate areas is desirable.
• Fluency in English is required.
• Fluency in Thai is required.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, advocacy, and editorial skills in English are required.
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

Skills

• Strategic Communications
• Advocacy
• Public Information
• Digital Communications
• Media Relations
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Communications Strategies
• Communications Leadership
• Mentoring Communications Teams
• Partnership Management
• AI-enabled Communications Tools
• Digital Advocacy Approaches
• Gender Equality Knowledge
• Women's Economic Empowerment
• Editorial Skills
• Written Communication
• Verbal Communication
• International Relations
• Development Studies

Languages

English, Thai