UNDP Jobs - 30640- Gender Specialist UNDP/ELECT II Project

GENDER SPECIALIST UNDP/ELECT II PROJECT
Location :	Kabul, AFGHANISTAN
Application Deadline :	28-Jun-12
Additional Category	Democratic Governance
Type of Contract :	FTA International
Post Level :	P-4
Languages Required :	English
Duration of Initial Contract :	One Year (with possibility of extension)
Background
UNDP supports stabilization, state building, governance and development priorities in Afghanistan. UNDP support, in partnership with the Government, the United Nations system, the donor community and other development stakeholders, has contributed to institutional development efforts leading to positive impact on the lives of Afghan citizens. Over the years UNDP support has spanned such milestone efforts as the adoption of the Constitution; Presidential, Parliamentary and Provincial Council elections; institutional development through capacity-building to the legislative, the judicial and executive arms of the state, and key ministries, Government agencies and commissions at the national and subnational levels. UNDP has played a key role in the management of the Law and Order Trust Fund, which supports the Government in developing and maintaining the national police force and in efforts to stabilize the internal security environment. Major demobilization, disarmament and rehabilitation and area-based livelihoods and reconstruction programmes have taken place nationwide. UNDP Programmes in Afghanistan have benefited from the very active support of donors. UNDP Afghanistan is committed to the highest standards of transparency and accountability and works in close coordination with the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan and the UN system as a whole to maximize the impact of its development efforts on the ground. Organizational Context: Years of conflict have damaged Afghanistan’s economic, political, physical, social and institutional structures. Reconstruction demands a secure environment in which there is credible leadership and enforced rule of law. Strong, legitimate and effective public administration structures, responsive to the needs of ordinary citizens - including the poor – are a precursor to any sustainable development. To this end, UNDP supports Afghan electoral institutions so that they can become more effective vehicles for development. The UNDP Enhancing Legal and Electoral Capacity for Tomorrow (ELECT) project phase I (2006-2011) lent technical and operational assistance to Afghan electoral bodies throughout the 2009 Presidential and provincial council elections and 2010 parliamentary elections. This included the establishment of Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) offices throughout Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. The ELECT II project, commencing in January 2012, provides long-term assistance to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of Afghanistan, focusing on institutional strengthening and capacity consolidation. The overarching objective of ELECT-II is to support the national electoral institutions to plan and conduct credible future elections with minimal external support. Continuing long-term assistance through support to capacity building of national electoral authorities beyond 2010 is in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1974 (2011). This assistance is closely coordinated with UNAMA, UNDPKO and EAD. The three key outputs for ELECT II are: Output 1: Operational and technical capacity of the IEC is developed to ensure well organized, future Afghan-led electoral processes. Output 2: The quality of the national voter registry is improved. Output 3: Capacity of the IEC to encourage broader democratic participation is strengthened Note: UNDP Afghanistan reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP Afghanistan at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and education requirements.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Gender Specialist will be part of a team of Specialists supervised and guided by the Chief Technical Advisor (CTA), and will report on delivery to the Senior Electoral Advisor – Pillar 1. Her/his primary task will be to ensure the mainstreaming of gender-relevant issues in IEC needs and capacity assessments. S/He will systematically refer to the 2011 IEC Lessons Learnt Report and 2010 IEC Gender Unit Lessons Learnt Report in carrying out her/his assignments. S/He will be embedded with the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and will be responsible to provide technical advice, help to build the technical capacity of IEC in relevant election-related activity areas and to work closely with the IEC Gender Unit and in coordination with other IEC departments to support the IEC in: Assistance to the assessment of the existing situation with a view to determine needs and considerations necessary in developing a comprehensive strategy for gender mainstreaming in the field of electoral affairs. Assistance to ensuring that gender issues are taking into consideration in the design and implementation of all aspects of capacity and needs assessments and planning. Advice on developing a mid and long-term comprehensive gender strategy for the IEC, based on this assessment and other available information and input. Support to the IEC in planning, preparing and implementing capacity development activities for staff at headquarters and provincial offices. Support to the IEC in planning and organizing workshops/seminars for all stakeholders, surrounding the inclusion of women in electoral activities. Advice to the Commission on international best practices, legal and international human rights and equal opportunity employment standards, which should reflect gender equitable principles and practices, pertaining to electoral management bodies. Identification of ways to promote the full participation of women in decision-making, with particular regard to electoral activities. Advice on mainstreaming gender concerns within IEC policies and programmes, including external relations and outreach. Advice on and support to strategies for the IEC to increase women’s participation in the electoral process and administration. Assist and mentor capacity development of the IEC Gender Unit staff. Collecting and analysing data on women as stakeholders in the electoral process. Advice to the IEC on cooperation with government institutions, CSO and women’s networks working on relevant for the empowerment of women Advice on how the IEC and the ELECT II project can cooperate with other UN agencies in support of women in order to achieve synergies and increase impact Contribution to ELECT II regular reporting and documents ELECT II capacity building support for best practice knowledge sharing. S/He will work closely with the IEC Gender Unit. Performance of any other tasks as assigned by the CTA. The Gender Specialist will also provide support and advice to the other ELECT II technical advisors and consultants to ensure the input of advisors, including planning and assessment, respects and integrates equal opportunity and gender equity policy and practice. S/He will report regularly to the Senior Electoral Adviser – Pillar 1.
Competencies
Corporate Competencies: Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards. Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP. Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability. Treats all people fairly without favoritism. Ability to convey difficult issues and positions, proven political judgment, sensitivity to local cultures. Promoting ethics and integrity, creating organizational precedents. Building support and political acumen. Sharing knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning. Promoting learning and knowledge management/sharing is the responsibility of each staff member. Fair and transparent decision making; calculated risk-taking. Functional Competencies: Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise Understands more advanced aspects of primary area of specialization as well as the fundamental concepts of related disciplines. Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself professionally. Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments. Demonstrates comprehensive understanding and knowledge of the current guidelines and project management tools and utilizes these regularly in work assignments. Client Orientation Anticipates client needs. Works towards creating an enabling environment for a smooth relationship between the clients and service provider. Demonstrates understanding of client’s perspective. Solicits feedback on service provision and quality. Promoting Organisational Learning and K sharing Makes the case for innovative ideas documenting successes and building them into the design of new approaches. Identifies new approaches and strategies that promote the use of tools and mechanisms. Develops and/or participates in the development of tools and mechanisms, including identifying new approaches to promote individual and organizational learning and knowledge sharing using formal and informal methodologies. Building Strategic Partnerships Effectively networks with partners seizing opportunities to build strategic alliances relevant to UNDP’s mandate and strategic agenda. Sensitizes UN Partners, donors and other international organizations to the UNDP’s strategic agenda, identifying areas for joint efforts. Develops positive ties with civil society to build/strengthen UNDP’s mandate. Identifies needs and interventions for capacity building of counterparts, clients and potential partners. Displays initiative, sets challenging outputs for him/herself and willingly accepts new work assignments. Takes responsibility for achieving agreed outputs within set deadlines and strives until successful outputs are achieved Promotes UNDP’s agenda in inter-agency meetings.
Required Skills and Experience
Education: Master’s degree in Gender/women Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, Social Welfare, Development Studies, law or a related field, with a focus on International Development, Gender or Human Rights. Experience: Minimum 7 years of experience in electoral process and gender mainstreaming, and well experienced in needs assessment planning and implementation; Diversified and progressively responsible professional experience in Gender and Human Rights or International Development, specifically related to the promotion of gender equality and women's empowerment, including considerable experience dealing with policy makers and senior technical specialists; Good understanding of the various stages of the electoral process [candidate nomination, code of conduct, accreditation of candidate and party agents, public outreach, voter education, training etc.] and the electoral management body’s mandate; Previous experience in Afghanistan or other Islamic countries is an asset. Language Requirements: Fluency in English and excellent writing skills are required. Interested and qualified International candidates should apply on-line through the UNDP Jobs site at http://jobs.undp.org/ or http://www.undp.org.af/Jobs/index.htm. or . Please ensure that you upload your UN Personal History Form-P11 (available at http://www.undp.org.af/Jobs/index.htm) in the relevant field of the on-line applications. ) in the relevant field of the on-line applications. Incomplete applications or applications received after the closing date 28 June 2012 will not be given consideration. Please note that only applications who are short-listed will be contacted. For more detailed information about UNDP Afghanistan please visit our website at www.undp.org.af Successful candidates must be prepared to start work within 3 weeks of the offer of appointment. Internal candidates who have served a minimum of 12 months in the current assignment are invited to apply. Female candidates are highly encouraged to apply.
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UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.