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.
 
UN Women is dedicated to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in Afghanistan. Staff and consultants of UN Women/Afghanistan Country Office (ACO) are expected to contribute to a professional working environment in which the strengthening of national capacities and human potential is prioritized. Respect for diversity and human dignity is required, as is the active pursuit of a collaborative and inclusive approach to both internal and external stakeholders, including colleagues and partners.
 
The ACO’s organizational structure for its programme is comprised of three priority Pillars: Coordination and Advocacy, Political and Economic Empowerment, and EVAW. This post is within the EVAW Pillar. The Gender and Justice Specialist reports on daily matters to the EVAW Pillar Manager.
 
The EVAW Pillar’s programme has two areas of work. One is the provision of grants provided through the Special Fund, predominantly for shelters and EVAW campaigns. The Gender and Justice Specialist will work with the other area of focus; on activities to improve access to justice for women and girls. Through this element, the ACO seeks to enhance a gendered approach in the ongoing complex legal and political reform processes and to ensure the meaningful inclusion of women’s voices and perspectives in those reform processes, using a wide range of strategies. These strategies include knowledge provision and advisory capacity in gender justice, advocacy, bridging and supporting participation in mainstream processes, coordination, capacity-building, and piloting innovative projects.
 
The main task of the Gender and Justice Specialist, under the direct supervision of the EVAW Pillar Manager, will be to: assist in coordinating the program’s work with the various justice institutions; provide specialized legal advice on gender related issues; oversee capacity building trainings to partners and stakeholders including the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MOWA), and; advise on strategic interventions that will ensure the implementation of policy and legislative work towards securing an operational justice system
 
In line with the recommendations of the National Action Plan for the Women for Afghanistan (NAPWA) and the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS).

The Gender and Justice Specialist, under the guidance of the EVAW Pillar Manager and in coordination with the EVAW Pillar Deputy Manager, is charged with: the general daily management of any staff associated with the access to justice projects and initiatives; oversight of monitoring and evaluation efforts; completion of donor and other report writing; and contribution to strategic planning and work plan development. The post serves as a key technical advisor to the Pillar Manager, with the aim of growing the programme and identifying areas where UN Women Afghanistan should engage. Within the context of access to justice initiatives, the Gender and Justice Specialist will be held accountable for: (i) compliance with UN WOMEN and UNDP policies and regulations; (ii) effective systems to support programme delivery and growth; (iii) accountability to organizational values and principles; and (iv) an enabling workplace environment in which staff potential is maximized.

Duties and Responsibilities

Key Deliverables:
  • Advisory function and Management and supervision
  • Program management, Oversight, Program Coordination
  • Donor reporting and program writing and Monitoring and evaluation
  • Capacity building
Key Responsibilities:
  • Advisory functions and Management and Supervision: 
  • Provide technical advice to the Pillar Manager, and ACO management as needed, on potential areas of intervention
  • Build partnerships with relevant stakeholders, and assist in resource mobilization as requested by the Pillar Manager.
  • Support the EVAW Pillar Manager and Deputy Manager in setting strategic goals
  • Under the overall guidance of the Pillar Manager and in consultation with the Deputy Manager the Specialist directly supervises and appropriately delegates areas of responsibility to staff associated with the access to gender activities and initiatives, providing close guidance to international consultants and junior project staff as needed,
Programme Management, Oversight and Programme Coordination: 
  • In consultation with the EVAW Pillar Manager, the Specialist will take responsibility for the effective and timely implementation of key programmatic initiatives which can include:
  •  mainstreaming of Gender and Justice programmes both at the national and sub-national levels;
  • monitoring and evaluating the activities and the status of women within the justice sector and women’s access to justice;
  • reviewing and developing policies and legislations in line with gender and justice requirements;
  • and contributing to knowledge production within Afghanistan and globally.
  • The Specialist, in coordination with the Deputy Pillar Manager, will coordinate the timing, resource needs, and synergy of all access to gender projects and initiatives, ensuring cross-fertilization within and across units as appropriate.
  • The Specialist will contribute to the development of the EVAW Pillar work plan with realistic and achievable timelines outcomes and indicators.
Monitoring and Evaluation and Donor Reporting and Programme Writing:  
  • The Specialist will oversee monitoring and evaluation of access to gender projects and initiatives as well as contributing to the M&E of the Pillar’s work plan, advising and supporting the EVAW Pillar Manager on appropriate indicators and methodologies, as well as areas in need of strengthening in such as way that proactive and remedial action might be taken in a timely manner. 
  • Under the direction of the Pillar Manager and in coordination with the Programme Management Specialist and the Deputy Country Director, the Specialist will ensure the completion of donor reports in a timely and professional manner.
  • The Specialist will undertake reports, concept notes and other written materials as requested by the Pillar Manager.
Capacity Building:  
  • In consultation with the Pillar Manager and in coordination with the Deputy Manager, the Specialist will design and implement a capacity building and professional development programme for access to gender staff to maximize their human potential and contribute to optimizing the operational effectiveness of the Pillar.

Key Results

  • Development of a coherent Access to Justice programme, bringing national and international stakeholders together to ensure optimal impact for the women and girls of Afghanistan.
  • Identification of strategies for engaging traditional and religious leadership in promoting women’s rights are reflected in national legal frameworks and justice sector mechanisms at the national and subnational levels.

Competencies

Core values and Guiding principles:
  • Integrity: Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.
  • Professionalism: Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.
  • Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity: Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.
CORE COMPETENCIES
  • Ethics and Values:  Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity
  • Organizational Awareness: Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment
  • Development and Innovation: Take charge of self-development and take initiative
  • Work in teams: Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
  • Communicating and Information Sharing: Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication
  • Self-management and Emotional Intelligence: Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others
  • Conflict Management: Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.
  • Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing: Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge
  • Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making: Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making
Functional Competencies:
  • Contributes to UN Women Practice Areas and actively works towards continuing personal learning and development
  • Ability to provide top quality policy advice services on related issues
  • In-depth practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues
  • Ability to lead formulation of strategies and their implementation
  • Excellent drafting and presentation skills
  • Ability to plan and organize work programme
  • Ability to work with minimum supervision
  • Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to critical feedback
  • Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
  • Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills

Required Skills and Experience

Education:
  • Masters degree in law, human rights, political science or other related field, with specialization in gender and/or human rights law. Exposure to Islamic Law/Islamic Studies ideal.
Experience:
  • Minimum of 7 years of progressively relevant professional working experience, with experience in developing countries and ideally with exposure to post conflict situations.
  • Sound knowledge of international standards on human rights, women’s rights and related instruments.
  • Good understanding of and familiarity with legislative reform.
  • Good familiarity with the mandate and the operations of justice institutions.
  • Good understanding of Shari’a Law and the Islamic legal framework is desirable;
  • Proven leadership skills, including the ability to set priorities, manage time effectively, and contribute to a team environment of respect, recognition, and mutual accountability;
  • Demonstrated sensitivity, discretion, tact, and courtesy in relation to gender equality and women’s rights, development principles and projects, implementing partners, and national and international personnel of varied nationalities and backgrounds;
Language Requirements:
  • Fluency in spoken and written English required; written and spoken skills in Dari or Pashto an asset.

Note:

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.

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment

Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.