Coordination and Communication Associate

Host entity: UNWOMEN Japan Liaison Office

Volunteer type: National

Areas of expertise: Communication, advocacy, public information, Translation and interpretation, Project management, programme development, strategy

Application deadline: 18/08/2026

Mission and objectives

UN Women is the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting their needs worldwide.

UN Women supports UN Member States as they set global standards for achieving gender equality, and works with governments and civil society to design laws, policies, programmes and services needed to ensure that the standards are effectively implemented and truly benefit women and girls worldwide.

Assignment context

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.

Japan has become one of UN Women’s top donors and has strengthened its focus on gender equality over the past few years. Recognizing the importance of Japan in development assistance, a UN Women Japan Liaison Office (JLO) was established in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo in 2015. UN Women presence in Japan provides a strategic entry point and an opportunity to liaise with stakeholders from the Government of Japan, local governments, private sector, media, academic and civil society. It is also an opportunity to work closely with other UN entities based in Tokyo. The work of the UN Women JLO is shaped to contribute to UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2026-2029.

Supervision, induction and duty of care of UN Volunteers

UN Volunteers should be provided equal duty of care as extended to all host entity personnel. Host entity support to the UN Volunteer includes, but is not limited to:
• Introductory briefings about the organisation and office-related context including security, emergency procedures, good cultural practice and orientation to the local environment;
• Support with arrival administration including setting-up of bank accounts, residence permit applications and completion of other official processes as required by the host government or host entity;
• Structured guidance, mentoring and coaching by a supervisor including a clear workplan and performance appraisal;
• Access to office space, equipment, IT support and any other systems and tools required to complete the objectives of the assignment including a host entity email address;
• Access to shared host entity corporate knowledge, training and learning;
• Inclusion of the volunteer in emergency procedures such as evacuations;
• Leave management;
• DSA for official travel, when applicable ;
• All changes in the Description of Assignment occurring between recruitment and arrival or during the assignment need to be formalized with the United Nations Volunteer Programme.

Task description

Under the direct supervision of the Partnership Specialist of UN Women Japan Liaison Office (JLO), the Coordination and Communication Associate will:

• Coordinate the translation of UN Women highlights 2025-26 including coordination with the translation company, printing company and other vendors and internal stakeholders.
• Coordinate youth engagement initiatives resulting from UN Women’s partnership with private sector actors.
• Serve as communication focal point for the private sector members of the Unstereotype Japan chapter until the onboarding of the Communication specialist.
• Support the coordination, research, and onboarding of private sector companies to join UN Women’s advocacy initiatives such as the Unstereotype Alliance.
• Support the translation and compilation of knowledge products on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) in Japanese.
• Provide inputs and support to organizing the executive mission(s).
• Support developing briefing materials, presentations, advocacy materials, press releases and coordinate its dissemination through effective channels.
• Support JLO’s web/online presence.
• Support the migration of the website to the new template.
• Assist the Director in communication and advocacy activities.
• Any other related tasks as may be required by the office or assigned by the supervisor.

Furthermore, UN Volunteers are encouraged to integrate the UN Volunteers programme mandate within their assignment and promote voluntary action through engagement with communities in the course of their work. As such, UN Volunteers should dedicate a part of their working time to some of the following suggested activities:

• Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and take active part in UNV activities (for instance in events that mark International Volunteer Day);
• Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country;
• Provide annual and end-of-assignment self-reports on UN Volunteer actions, results and opportunities.
• Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.;
• Assist with the UNV Buddy Programme for newly-arrived UN Volunteers;
• Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.

Skills and experience

• Minimum of 1 year of relevant experience in one or more of the following areas: journalism, public relations, advocacy, international relations, political science, marketing, development, advertising, digital communications, multimedia agencies, or another relevant field, ideally with a particular focus on gender issues;
• Experience in coordinating an initiative or a project;
• Experience generating knowledge products or reports;
• Familiarity with the work of the United Nations Organization, its mandate, main areas of focus, United Nations bodies, agencies, entities and departments, current priorities issues;
• Experience in planning, developing and publishing social media content across multiple platforms, such as Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube
• Experience in managing and updating websites, including preparing, editing and publishing web content through content management systems, and monitoring basic web analytics;
• High proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (i.e. MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Previous experience as a volunteer and/or experience of another culture, (i.e. studies, volunteer work, internship) would be highly regarded;
• Computer skills (proficiency in Adobe Photoshop, Canva, and InDesign is an asset).

Competencies and values

• Accountability
• Adaptability and flexibility
• Creativity
• Judgement and decision-making
• Planning and organising
• Professionalism
• Self-management

Living conditions

The duration of your assignment is indicated above with the possibility of extension subject to availability of funding, operational necessity and satisfactory performance. However, there is no expectation of renewal of the assignment.

Travel to duty station (if applicable) and a Settling-In-Grant will be provided in the event the duty station is not within commuting distance from the place of recruitment. The applicable Volunteer Living Allowance is provided monthly to cover housing, utilities and normal cost of living expenses. Life, health and permanent disability insurance are included as well as final repatriation (if applicable).

Furthermore, in non-family duty stations that belong to hardship categories D or E, as classified by the ICSC, the applicable Well-Being Differential (WBD) on a monthly basis will be provided.

You can check full entitlements at the duty station at https://app.unv.org/calculator.
The complete UN Volunteer Conditions of Service is available at https://explore.unv.org/cos.

Full eligibility requirements, conditions of service and application instructions are available on the official UNV platform.