Background

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN-Women will work 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 , peace and security. Placing women's rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN-Women will lead and coordinate the United Nations System's efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. The Division of Management and Administration is responsible for all aspects of security management for UN-Women Headquarters and Field Offices.

The primary objective of the Security Advisor UN-Women Security Office is to advise and assist UN-Women Headquarters, Regional, Multi-Country, Country Offices, and UN-Women Security Field Staff on their security responsibilities to protect and minimize the risk to UN-Women staff, project personnel, property, and operations in the field and at the same time enabling UN-Women programme delivery throughout.

Under the overall guidance of the Director of Division of Management and Administration, and under the direct supervision of the Deputy Director, the Security Advisor provides leadership and direction to UN-Women Field Security Staff in the implementation of UN and UN-Women security policies, procedures and plans for the protection of UN-Women personnel and assets and the safe delivery of programmes in the field. The Security Advisor is also responsible for the formulation and review of UN-Women security policy, technical content and best practices, annual work plan, annual security budget, training, IT support MOSS/MORSS programme and compliance, and effective administrative support to field security operations.

Duties and Responsibilities

Advocacy, Policy Formulation and Planning:

• Develops, implements, maintains UN-Women Security Policy including fast track policy;
• Clarifies, interprets, and implements existing UN and UN-Women security policy as applicable to UN-Women.
• Assists with and prepare briefing notes for managers and staff as required, and inputs to position papers from a field perspective;
• Keeps abreast of all security-related information as well as monitor international events in order to assess their security-related trends and implications on UN-Women operations and staff;
• Ensures effective and timely access of UN-Women managers and security advisors to prescriptive content such as policy, risk management methodology, MOSS and MORSS;
• Manages the UN-Women Security Annual Work Plan on behalf of the Deputy Director, Division of Management and Administration;
• Participates in the Division’s change management efforts (security and non-security related), including collaboration with other sections within the Division to bring efficiencies, effectiveness, and automation in support of headquarters and field operations.

Field Support:

• Provides security policy and technical advice to UN-Women management, Regional, Multi-Country, and Country Offices on related security policy, best practices, and risk management issues;
• Tracks developing threats and related risks, reviewing the impact of security factors and risk on UN-Women staff, premises, assets, programme design and delivery, and provides timely and proactive recommendations to the Division of Management, senior management, and Regional Multi Country and Country Offices regarding effective risk mitigation measures, including possible UN-Women support needs and improvements;
• Provides timely, proactive, and accurate security advice and support to the UN-Women Headquarters’ Divisions and field offices for security-related assistance and follow-up on their implementation, recognizing that staff rely on country-specific security arrangements;
• Undertakes security assessment missions to the field as required;
• Assists in the formulation and management of appropriate security-related requests from Divisions and fields offices.
• Ensures UN-Women security measures are compliant with approved MOSS and residential measures and assist field offices to reach compliance as required;
• Addresses field office needs associated with program, operations and premises towards compliance with UN and UN-Women security policy and security operating standards to ensure effective response;
• Provides advice on selection and procurement of appropriate equipment for security (vehicles, telecommunications equipment, etc.).

Programming:

• Ensures that Headquarters’ Divisions and Country Offices mainstream security into their global, regional, and country programmes, taking into consideration gender perspective. Ensures that all security measures are gender-sensitive.
• Advocates for the inclusion and mainstreaming of security in field (country) level programming; including gender specific issues into the CCA, UNDAF and country programme (or future equivalent instruments);
• Advises UN-Women Divisions and field offices to mainstream security in project planning, budgeting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation;
• Reviews the impact of security factors on UN-Women programme designs and delivery, as well as the potential impact that programmes might have on stability and security (both positive and negative), making recommendations, including to the Division of Management and Administration and Regional, Multi-Country, and of Country Offices regarding possible UN-Women support needs and improvements;
• Addresses field office needs associated with program, operations and premises towards compliance with UN and UN-Women security policy and security operating standards to ensure effective response;
• Facilitates mainstreaming of security as an integral part of UN-Women operations and projects, including reflecting in budgets the security cost of doing business.

Managerial Functions:

• Provides managerial leadership in managing and directing the activities of the UN-Women Field Security advisors and other security designated staff members;
• Formulates and manages the knowledge management plan for the UN-Women Security Office;
• Provides presentations on security awareness at UN-Women orientation courses;
• Provides UN-Women security presentations at DSS orientation courses;
• Serves as the second reporting officer on performance evaluations of field security staff;
• Manages the security budget of UN-Women security;
• Ensures that Headquarters premises are MOSS compliant;
• Manages and ensures effective security information and communication in UN-Women on behalf of the Deputy Director and Director of Division of Management and Administration.

Representation and Networking:

• Participates in inter-agency security working groups to exchange views and experiences on related security issues and advises other UN agencies on the mainstreaming of gender into security and risk management;
• Interfaces with relevant functional units in UN-Women to address policy and implementation dimensions overlapping with security;
• Interacts with UN-Women Headquarters Division Directors, Regional, Multi-Country, and Country Office Directors regarding UN-Women security advice;
• Represents the Division of Management in meetings regarding security, attend security workshops/training sessions (inter-agency or other such as the IASMN), work groups and conferences.

Management of Emergency Preparedness Plans:

• Develops and updates the HQ Crisis Management Plan as required;
• Implements the plans and ensures all required staff are trained to respond to the required duties for activation;
• Ensures effective security related information flow/exchange to enable and improve operational assessments, planning at HQ and to enhance security awareness, coordination and implementation of security arrangements.
• Serves as the representative for the joint management of the Business Continuity Planning process within UN-Women.
• Acts as the global focal point of business continuity;
• Ensures that the headquarters and field offices’ Business Continuity Plans (BCP) are maintained. Ensures that BCPs are aligned with the Crisis Management Plan at HQ and field offices.

Maintain liaison with UN HQ Security, Security Focal Points and Host Governments:

• Maintains interface with the Security and Safety Services with the United Nations Department of Safety and Security. This interface will ensure that the UN-Women HQ planning links to the requirements of the Secretariat Emergency Plan;
• In cooperation with UNDSS, interfaces with the Host Government security services; the Security Advisor shall remain informed on local laws and ordinance changes that will impact HQ planning and inform management of the impact on HQ Operations;
• Is responsible for finding external resources that can best prepare supporting line units to be most effective with their interfaces with these changes.

Crisis Management/Business Continuity Focal Point:

• Serves as the Security Office focal point for HQ Crisis and business continuity Management;
• Ensures preparedness through training, simulation exercises, and workshops toward preparedness;
• Mainstreams the inclusion of Business Continuity Planning within the context of Crisis Management and interface closely with IST and HR toward that end;
• Brings the most state of adequate solutions and ensure operability of the same to enhance crisis response by senior management;
• Monitors constantly the effectiveness of the crisis communication platform and ensure that it is tested periodically to be most effective during an emergency.

Perform any other duties as required and request by the Deputy or Director of the Division of Management and Administration.

Impact of Results

The risk to UN-Women staff, project personnel, property and operations in the field minimized and at the same time UN-Women programme delivery enabled through:

• Ensuring that UN-Women security support is included in all aspects of the programming process at country office level as well as throughout individual project life cycles, from project identification, planning, budgeting, implementation monitoring, evaluation, and project closure;
• Strengthening the security arrangements of UN-Women offices, and eventually guesthouses and safe houses.

Competencies

Core Values & Ethics:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN values and ethical standard;
• Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Supports the Organization's corporate goal;
• Complies with UN-Women rules, regulations and code of conduct.

• Builds effective client relationships and partnerships;
• Interacts at all levels of staff/organization;
• Excellent interpersonal skills;
• Building and sharing knowledge;
• Provides guidance and support to others;
• Applies existing knowledge to work;
• Makes valuable practice contributions.

• Excellent oral and written skills;
• Listens actively and responds effectively.

Task Management:

• Plans, prioritizes and delivers a variety of tasks on time;
• Exercises sound judgment/analysis;
• Develops creative solutions;
• Ability to function effectively in crisis and stressful circumstances.

• Promotes learning environment in the office;
• Provides constructive coaching and feedback for others.

• In-depth knowledge of security and risk management;
• Knowledge of mainstreaming gender into security and risk management;
• Knowledge of business operations and programming cycle;
• Monitors developments inside and outside the clients' environment to keep informed and anticipates problems;
• Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside.

Required Skills and Experience

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in management, security, or equivalent or formal multi-year education in security management, such as military or police senior Command and Staff College qualification with command experience at senior level.

• Minimum 10 years of progressive experience in security management of which at least 5 years is in senior management;
• Minimum 5 years of direct experience of programme management in the field in a development context with reference to conflict and post conflict scenarios;
• In-depth knowledge and experience of programme delivery and project implementation in the context of conflict and post conflict environs;
• Solid budget management experience as it relates to field support;
• Solid experience of conducting security risk assessments as integral part of operational planning and the enabling of operations;
• Experience of policy development and implementation.

• Fluency in written and spoken English is required;
• Knowledge of another UN language is an asset .

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 .