UN WOMEN Jobs - 43612- GENDER SPECIALIST

GENDER SPECIALIST

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS

Type of Contract :

FTA Local

Starting Date :

02-May-2014

Application Deadline :

31-Mar-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

NO-C

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 YEAR

Languages Required :

English Spanish

Expected Duration of Assignment :

1 YEAR

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

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. Placing women's rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system’s efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

Under the overall guidance of the UN Resident Coordinator (UN RC) in Honduras, and under the supervision of UN Women’s Regional Director for the Americas and the Caribbean, the Gender Specialist will be responsible for providing strategic and technical support to strengthen the work of the United Nations in Honduras on gender equality across priority sectors. The scope of work of the Specialist requires experience and in-depth understanding of gender equality and women’s empowerment issues, as well as expertise to provide high-quality technical advice and advocacy on these issues.

The Specialist will provide technical and advisory support to the UN RC/UN Country Team (UNCT) to strengthen the UN response to addressing national priorities for gender equality and women’s empowerment and for supporting the Government in the mainstreaming of gender within national policies, in line with UN Women’s strategic vision. S/he will also be the contact between UN Women and its partners and clients in-country, working in close collaboration with UN Women’s Regional Office in Panama as well as UN Women HQ in New York.

In particular, s/he will assist and coordinate with the UN Resident Coordinator’s office and UN Women’s Regional Office in partnership building and outreach within the country within the framework of related regional strategies for gender equality and women’s empowerment. S/he will also be responsible for effectively managing the administrative and financial activities related to her/his responsibilities.

Duties and Responsibilities

Coordination and Technical Support:

Supporting the UN Country Team (UNCT), national and local partners, in the development and implementation of laws, plans, policies and budgets, in line with international and national commitments on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls; and in support of mainstreaming national gender equality priorities into legal frameworks and government-led programmes.
Take part in country level Cooperation Strategy Formulation, Monitoring and Implementation processes and similar exercises related to the RC system ensuring that gender concerns are clearly reflected and mainstreamed in process.
Provision of technical and policy advice to the UN Resident Coordinator (UN RC), and international partners as required, in the coordination of emerging technical and high level policy advice to the Government of Honduras and civil society, ensuring that such support responds to women’s needs and national gender equality priorities.
Engage with National Government, including Parliamentary Committees, local authorities, and non-governmental organizations in support of women’s representation and leadership in national and local decision-making processes
Liaise with key national and local stakeholders from Government, academia, civil society at the national and communal level, private sector and key international actors to build up and strengthen strategic alliances and partnerships on women’s rights and gender equality initiatives.

Strategic Policy Advice support:

Provide analysis and advise the UNCT on the gender dynamics and opportunities to support inclusive engagement of women in the development assistance provided by the UNCT
Identify and advise on entry points for new initiatives for the UN to strengthen national and local capacities for gender equality and to support the advancement of women’s empowerment and gender equality in the country.
Advise the UNCT on improved accountability tools and assets so as to ensure that the UN’s commitments to gender equality and women’s empowerment are tracked and up-scaled as opportunities arise

Advocacy and Partnership Building Support:

Support joint programming and coordination around gender equality, including support in forging strategic partnerships at the national and local level to promote gender equality, women’s advancement and women’s representation.
Support UN system-wide inter-agency coordination on gender to contribute to strategic and policy discussion on gender equality, and women’s empowerment issues.
Support gender equality advocates, both within government and non-governmental organizations, to have a stronger voice in decision-making processes that shape the lives of women, including those relating to reconciliation and humanitarian support.
At the request of the UN Resident Coordinator and/or UN Women Regional Director, represent UN Women and/or UN at inter-agency, intergovernmental, international, regional and national conferences and meetings and advocate UN’s policy and initiatives in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Maintain active relationship/partnerships with National Government Counterparts, UN System, international community, inter-government and non-governmental organizations, institutes and academia on women’s issue to enhance collaboration, resource mobilization and share and influence agenda and priority setting.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

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:

Substantive experience and skills in the area of gender equality and women's empowerment issues;
Proven ability to advocate and provide policy advice;
Ability to develop and maintain partnerships and mobilize resources;
Knowledge of methodologies and best practices for promoting gender equality, equity and women empowerment in general and in Honduras in particular;
Experience with implementing gender mainstreaming agendas across a variety of sectors;
Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting
Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and results for the client and responds positively to feedback
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude
Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills
Ability to plan work assignments, establish priorities and to meet strict assignment deadlines;
Ability to build strong relationships with colleagues and to focus on impact and results;
Demonstrated aptitude to build effective partnerships with a diverse group of stakeholders;
Compelling communication (verbal and written) skills, including ability to prepare reports, formulate and defend sound recommendations and articulate options concisely conveying maximum necessary information;
Negotiating skills and ability to work at all levels with others to reach mutually benefiting and lasting understandings.
Excellent interpersonal skills; capacity to recognize and respond appropriately to the ideas, interests and concerns of others;
Ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with people in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree (or equivalent) in a social sciences, economics, gender issues, or other development-related fields.

Experience:

A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in development, focusing on gender programming, part of which has been in the field with experience on gender equality and women’s rights with an international organization;
Experience with the UN inter-agency cooperation would be an asset; Good knowledge of UN Women and the UN system.
Knowledge of and experience in Honduras required;
Experience working with a variety of stakeholders and partners related to gender equality and women’s empowerment, including UN agencies, Governments and civil society organizations, in a development context required, preferably in the region required

Language Requirements:

Fluency in written and spoken English and Spanish.