UN WOMEN Jobs - 41714- Gender Specialist - (Open to Tanzanian Nationals O

Gender Specialist - (Open to Tanzanian Nationals Only)

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Dar es Salaam, TANZANIA

Type of Contract :

Service Contract

Starting Date :

06-Jan-2014

Application Deadline :

29-Nov-13 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

SB-5

Duration of Initial Contract :

12 months

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

12 months

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. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

Tanzania has held four credible general elections since the reintroduction of multi-party politics in 1992. Citizens and the government are eager to maintain this track record and to further strengthen democratic practice in Tanzania. Looking to the 2015 general election, government has undertaken early and comprehensive preparations for the electoral processes. Since receipt of official requests for UN assistance to the election cycle leading to the 2015 general election from the National Election Commission and Zanzibar Electoral Commission, a UN Needs Assessment Mission recommended the development of a project in support of the national efforts.

In addition, in 2014 the United Republic of Tanzania will likely conduct a first national referendum on a new constitution. The national Election Management Bodies (EMBs) and other stakeholders in preparing for these critical events have requested the support of UNDP to provide technical support to the preparation and execution of the referendum.

To these ends, the Democratic Empowerment Project (DEP) is a four year (2013-2016) UNDP, UN One Fund and other donor-funded project with the overall aim of contributing to Tanzania’s UNDAP’s Outcome 7: i.e. “key institutions of democracy, (i.e. EMBs, etc.) effectively implement their election and political functions”. UN Women and UNESCO are implementing partners in a One UN Country Team context.

Project Objectives

The DEP seeks to promote democracy and contribute to the realization of the following four objectives:

Capacity of key democratic institutions (EMBs, CRC, RPP, etc.) enhanced to support and promote legal and institutional reform in the context of the on-going constitutional reform process and beyond;
Capacity of the EMBs to conduct credible elections enhanced through strategic, technical and operational support and improved EMB engagement with stakeholders (i.e. political parties, CSOs, and the media) to foster a democratic environment;
Inclusive participation in elections and politics enhanced through the empowerment of women, youth and PWDs; and
National peace infrastructure enhanced to mitigate and prevent election-related conflicts, including gender based violence.

Project Management

The project will be executed directly by UNDP and implemented under the overall guiding principle of national ownership and leadership in the electoral process. The international assistance provided should be considered as an extension of, and a complement to, national resources and is intended to support national management and coordination structures.

UNDP-UN Women cooperation

DEP builds on well-established UNDP and UN Women partnerships with the EMBs, the Police, judiciary, Registrar of Political Parties, civil society and the media in an effort to enhance their capacity to contribute to credible and peaceful elections. UN Women will take the lead in supporting DEP management, the EMBs and other stakeholders to ensure that a gender equality perspective is mainstreamed into all project components, and will in particular support implementation of agreed activities under DEP Component 3: Inclusive participation in elections and politics enhanced through the empowerment of women, youth and people with disabilities.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide advisory support to national institutions to ensure that gender issues are considered and integrated in the design and implementation of election-related activities:

Support the EMBs and other national institutions (such as TPF, judiciary, media, etc.) in ensuring a gender responsive approach to their work, including development of capacity building initiatives. A gender assessment if requested may form the basis for this as part of an overall capacity assessment;
Provide support and advice to the EMBs to ensure that the formulation, planning and management of voter registration, legal drafting, voter education and outreach, support to community media, and civil society, the training of electoral officers, and other aspects of election administration include specific strategies for gender equality and access;
Provide support to project staff working within the UN Women-DEP partnership to increase women’s participation in the electoral process and to foster the inclusive functioning of political parties.

Strengthen internal project knowledge and practice on mainstreaming of gender equality concerns across all project components:

Work closely with all DEP technical staff on the design of activities and appropriate strategies for mainstreaming gender concerns;
Provide support during implementation, helping to resolve problems as they arise;
Provide technical advice to the M&E Specialist on the development of gender-related indicators and targets, and the identification of data sources for the DEP M&E framework;
Assist the M&E Specialist with monitoring against gender-specific indicators and targets;
Comment on and contribute to knowledge products developed by DEP, and research commissioned by DEP.
Strengthen knowledge and practice of gender equality mainstreaming among project staff, and provide on-demand technical advice and training as required;
Provide quality inputs to project periodic reports.

In relation to Violence Against Women in Elections (VAWE) in DEP Component 4, the Gender Specialist will also provide support to the DEP team on:

EMB/stakeholder outreach and partnership building on prevention on Violence against Women in Elections (VAWE), and collaboration with the office of the Registrar of Political Parties, Tanzania Police Female Network and the media as it relates to VAWE; investigate opportunities of replicating regional models such as Women’s Situation Room, etc.;
Providing advice and technical support to ensure the effectiveness of awareness training conducted for the Police on human rights and gender, and the inclusion of VAWE concepts and principles.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:

Ability to practically integrate gender concerns into project components, and conduct gender analysis in a project management context;
Knowledge of and experience with election management, voter education and training preferred, ideally with EMBs;
Excellent written and oral communication skills, and ability to communicate clearly and convincingly on the importance of promoting women’s political participation and leadership;
Advocacy experience essential;
Ability to travel widely within Tanzania and work under pressure.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in Gender Studies, Political Science, Law, Sociology, Social Work, Development Studies or a related field, with a focus on gender and/or human rights.

Experience:

Seven years of relevant, diversified and progressively responsible professional experience related to the promotion of gender equality and women's empowerment, including experience dealing with policy makers and senior technical specialists.

Language:

Fluency in written and spoken English and Kiswahili is essential.