National Expert on Communication for the Moldova International Stock Exchange (BIMx)

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.

Women’s economic empowerment is a cornerstone of sustainable development, inclusive growth, and gender equality. Ensuring that women have access to financial resources, markets, and decision-making processes is critical to advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Women entrepreneurs play a vital role in job creation, innovation, and economic resilience. However, they continue to face systemic barriers in accessing finance, including limited collateral, gender bias in lending, lack of financial literacy, and restricted access to networks.

Globally, a significant financing gap persists for women-led businesses, with estimates ranging in the trillions of USD. Women are also underrepresented in capital markets both as investors and issuers. Addressing these gaps requires not only financial instruments but also targeted communication strategies to raise awareness, build confidence, and promote participation.

The Moldova International Stock Exchange (BIMx) is being developed as a modern platform for corporate financing and investment, contributing to the development of the capital market. As a new institution, BIMx must build awareness and engagement, particularly among women entrepreneurs.

As BIMx mission and vision is aligned to national strategy of economic development, national strategy for capital market development, NMB taxonomy roadmap, EU Aquis including gender equality directive, it promotes gender equality in access to capital market instruments. 

In this path, it requires, as a central element of the capital market, assistance in implementing gender equality measures including communication and visibility to achieve its objectives.

The consultant will be reporting to Programme Coordinator, and will be supported by Programme Associate, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.

Description of Responsibilities/ Scope of Work

The objective of the assignment is to design and implement a gender-responsive communication strategy that increases women’s awareness, engagement, and participation in capital market through BIMX tools, with a focus on women entrepreneurs and potential women investors, including both enterprises and individuals.

The consultant will be responsible for delivering the following free interrelated tasks: 

Task 1: Gender-responsive Communication audit 

Assess the current communication ecosystem and identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities.

• Review all existing communication materials (website, reports, social media, press releases, presentations, internal communications)
• Conduct stakeholder interviews and/or surveys (internal teams, partners, investors, media, beneficiaries)
• Analyze communication performance data (engagement metrics, reach, media coverage, brand perception)
• Conduct a comprehensive website audit including:

Content structure and clarity

User experience (UX) and navigation

Technical performance basics (speed, mobile responsiveness)

• Assess content against:
  • Gender equality principles (inclusive language, representation, imagery)
  • Accessibility standards (e.g., readability, alt text, usability)
• Identify gaps in:
• Content relevance and messaging
• Audience targeting
• Transparency (investor/ESG information)
• Assess alignment with organizational strategy, values, and brandbook
• Benchmark against industry best practices and peer organizations
• Identify gaps in messaging framework, channels, audience targeting, and consistency
• Ensure alignment with gender equality commitments 
• Develop a structured audit report including: 
  • Key findings (quantitative and qualitative)
  • Risks and missed opportunities
  • Clear, prioritized recommendations for improvement

Task 2: Stakeholders and audience mapping  

Define and segment all relevant target groups to enable gender-responsive and tailored communication.

• Identify all relevant stakeholder categories (e.g., investors, regulators, women entrepreneurs and women investors, employees, partners, media, civil society, customers)
• Segment audiences based on influence, interest, needs, and communication behaviors
• Develop stakeholder personas (motivations, expectations, preferred channels, key concerns)
• Map stakeholder relationships and influence levels (e.g., power-interest matrix)
• Define communication objectives per audience group
• Identify key engagement channels per segment
• Produce a visual and narrative stakeholder mapping framework for internal use

Task 3: 12-Month Communications Plan 

Translate strategy into a detailed, time-bound implementation roadmap

• Develop audience-specific communication approaches based on stakeholder mapping
• Identify priority themes, narratives, and storytelling approaches
• Recommend optimal communication channels (digital, media, internal, events)
• Establish a content strategy and editorial calendar structure (monthly/quarterly)
• Integrate risk communication and crisis preparedness considerations
• Define monitoring, evaluation, and reporting mechanisms
• Define specific activities, timelines, responsibilities, and deliverables
• Ensure adequate visibility of UN Women and its relevant donors as supporting entities 

Deliverables

Payment Details

Payments will be made on a deliverable basis, upon submission of each deliverable by the National Consultant and its endorsement by UN Women confirming that the services have been satisfactorily performed and that the deliverables have been achieved by or before the due dates specified above.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy. As part of this assignment, travel is not required.

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:

• Ability to design, lead, and implement comprehensive communication strategies aligned with organizational objectives and external environment dynamics.
• Expertise in managing media engagement, handling press inquiries, building journalist relationships, and shaping public narratives.
• Proven capacity to engage, influence, and maintain relationships with government officials, international partners, donors, and key stakeholders.
• Ability to anticipate, analyze, and respond to reputational risks and misinformation.
• Strong skills in writing, editing, and quality assurance of public communication products, ensuring clarity, accuracy, and brand compliance.
• Experience in conceptualizing and executing multi-channel communication campaigns, including public awareness initiatives.
• Competence in leveraging digital platforms for engagement, including social media strategy, performance monitoring, and online campaigns.
• Demonstrated ability to supervise teams, coordinate across multiple stakeholders (including partner organizations), and mentor communications professionals.
• Capacity to provide high-level communication counsel to senior leadership, including during sensitive or high-stakes contexts.
• Expertise in organizing public events and outreach initiatives that enhance visibility and stakeholder engagement.

Required Qualifications

Education and Certification:

•  Master’s degree or equivalent in Communication, Journalism, Philology, Political Science, International Relations or another sector discipline relevant to strategic communication and public relations 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 5 years of progressively responsible professional experience in communication, strategic PR, gender equality programming, sustainable development, or promotion, combined with practical engagement with media management is required.
• Prior experience in designing and delivering portion campaigns and launch events is required
• Experience in engaging with government, financial institutions, business community and women’s organizations in Moldova is required
• Experience in producing high-quality technical reports, assessment documents, promotion materials, outreach campaigns or policy guidance in both Romanian and at least one other language required.
• Prior experience in developing gender-responsive strategic communication documents and outreach campaigns is an advantage
• Experience working with or for international organizations, development programmes, or EU-funded projects is an advantage 

Languages:

• Fluency in Romanian and working knowledge in English is required.
• Working knowledge in Russian is an asset.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted regarding the next stages of the recruitment process.

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.