UN WOMEN Jobs - 50795- UN Women: Programme Specialist (2 positions)

UN Women: Programme Specialist (2 positions)

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Freetown, SIERRA LEONE and Monrovia, LIBERA

Type of Contract :

TA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

25-Oct-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-4

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

6 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

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.

“The outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) has placed incredible pressure and burden on the already weak health care system and is undermining the hope of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The epidemic is having a particular negative impact on women as the disease has claimed more lives of women than men. Women have been exposed more because of their gender role as care givers in the family and community.

For the current EVD outbreak, UN Women is providing technical guidance and support to the UNCT strategic response to Ebola. UN Women has developed a Gender Mainstreaming Strategy for the UNCT. The implementation of the strategy amongst other activities requires positioning of UN Women to continue providing technical support to each pillar in the EVD response mechanisms. UN Women shall also be hosting the Gender advisory board in the newly constituted United Nations Mission on Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER)”.

The Programme Specialist, under the supervision of the UN Women Representative, will support the development and implementation of UN Women Country Office emergency response, and provide technical and programme support including coordination, partnership building, advocacy and communication and capacity building.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:

Policy Guidance and Strategic Planning Support;
Coordination and Partnership Building Support;
Evidence-based advocacy and Communication;
Capacity Building and Knowledge Management.

Description of Key Responsibilities:

Policy Guidance and Strategic Planning Support:

Provide substantive support in the development and implementation of the UN Women’s emergency response strategy, in partnership with UN agencies and other partners, in support of mainstreaming gender equality and women’s empowerment concerns into emergency response planning and programming;
Liaise with the Host Community Support Platform (HCSP) and provide technical support on gender mainstreaming for the implementation of the Government’s National Resilience Plan (NRP);
Ensure high quality and timely reports, position papers and follow up actions;
Respond to requests for technical input on gender mainstreaming, social protection, and livelihoods;
Draft/ provide inputs to concept notes, funding proposals and project documents;
Identify strategic programme approaches and modalities which provide value added for UN Women’s engagement in emergency response in the country;
Support collection of lessons learned, best practices, knowledge management;
Contribute to strategic thinking and policy decisions on strengthening gender mainstreaming in programming.

Coordination and Partnership Building Support:

Participate and lead UN Women’s contribution to the existing inter-agency coordination mechanisms established in the country in response to the Ebola crisis and contribute to enhance coherence of UN system in promoting gender equality concerns in planning;
Contribute/Support internal UN Women processes that strengthen complementarity between Global Response and National Response Plan;
Contribute to strategic thinking and policy decisions on strengthening gender mainstreaming into emergency planning and programming;
Forge strategic partnerships and alliances at the country level to promote gender equality and women's advancement through joint projects and inter-agency efforts;
Negotiate relevant partnerships as needed to achieve UN Women country office strategic goals.

Evidence Based Advocacy and Communication:

Support UN Women’s Advocacy efforts to help raise awareness and stimulate action in addressing specific needs of women and girls in response to the Ebola crisis and , establishing strategic partnerships with governments, UN agencies, NGOs, private sector etc.
Ensure information exchange within UN Women, with a particular focus on information chains between the Programme Division, Regional office, and relevant HQ teams;
Actively participate in country level programming processes, ensuring that the UN Women is strategically placed within UN emergency response context;
Assist the UN Women Representative and UNCT to secure expertise that will ensure commitment, quality control and resources for gender equality programming.

Capacity Building and Knowledge Management:

Contribute to UN Women’s global knowledge management efforts related to collection and dissemination of best practices on crisis response by documenting and sharing best practices;
Promote development and dissemination of gender-sensitive tools and methodologies for strengthening gender coordination and mainstreaming in emergency response and recovery in the assigned portfolio;
Contribute to the development and maintenance of regional and national knowledge networks and practices on mainstreaming gender into emergency contexts;
Support country staff capacity development to engage in emergency response and in supporting system coordination and responses from a gender perspective.

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 promote ethics and integrity by creating organizational precedents.

Organizational Awareness:

Build support for the organization and ensure political acumen;
Environment of creativity and innovation.

Work in teams:

Build and promote effective 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.

Communication and Information Sharing:

Create and promote an environment for open and 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: Share knowledge across the organization and build a culture of knowledge sharing and learning;
Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making: Ensure fair and transparent decision making processes and manage risk.

Functional Competencies

Technical expert on gender within emergency context including supporting various clusters on gender mainstreaming;
Strong advocacy and Capacity building skills needed;
Strong on coordination within the UN System and among development partners;
Ability to promote knowledge management in UN Women and a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example;
Proven ability to advocate and provide policy advice;
Ability to lead strategic planning, programme development and implementation, results-based management and reporting;
Good planning, goal-setting and prioritization skills including ability to work under stress;
Effectiveness in establishing and fostering good relations with government counterparts, UN agencies, donors, and NGO partners;
Ability to leverage information technology and executive information systems.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, international relations, public administration, gender issues, or other development-related fields.

Experience:

Minimum of 7 years of experience in development programming in the area of emergency response, recovery and gender equality;
Substantive and technical experience in inter-agency coordination, experience working with governments, donors and civil society organizations internationally and in the field;
Substantive knowledge and experience related to current policies and practices in the fields of gender equality and humanitarian action and convey strategic vision from the spectrum of development experience.

Language:

Fluency in written and spoken English.

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.