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 centre of all its efforts, the UN Women will lead and coordinate United Nations system 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 Policy Division develops and implements the UN Women program of work on analysis, research and knowledge management that provides the evidence base for the advice and guidance UN Women provides to the intergovernmental process, the UN system, and to UN Women staff working at country and regional level on issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment. It identifies emerging issues and trends, and develops and proposes new strategies for achieving the agreed goals through innovative approaches and lessons learned about what works in practice. It also designs and oversees the training and capacity development programmes of UN Women, working closely with the UN Women training facility in Santo Domingo.

Based on UN legislative mandates and UN Women Strategic Programme Plan, it undertakes or coordinates global or sectoral research and data analysis; advises on norms, policies and strategies for achieving the internationally agreed goals related to gender equality and women’s empowerment issues. It acts as a knowledge hub, collecting evidence on progress and emerging issues, identifying trends in implementation of global commitments; and sharing knowledge on innovative approaches and lessons learned in implementation. It designs tools for inter-regional capabilities building and institutional development programmes and fosters strategic substantive partnerships with academia and other UN partners, in close collaboration with the Intergovernmental Support and Strategic Partnership Bureau, the Programme division and UN Women Training Center (Santo Domingo).

The Policy Division staff is organised in Thematic Sections, bringing together technical experts who: undertake issues-based research; analyse data on country, regional or global trends; build a knowledge base on policy commitments and their implementation; propose evidence-based options for global policy, norms and standards and for UN Women global programme strategies; and contribute substantive inputs to policy advocacy and technical cooperation programmes.

The Peace and Security Section leads on UN system-wide coordination on Women, Peace and Security, provides technical and financial support to the peace and security work of UN Women field offices, and implements a number of global initiatives that range from training women on mediation, peacekeepers on preventing and responding to sexual violence, and experts on investigation and documentation of international crimes, to rapidly deploying gender advisors to commissions of inquiry, peace talks, and post-conflict planning and financing processes, supporting gender-responsive public service delivery, and linking women in the community and grassroots organizations to police and other actors to ensure better protection.

The Section Chief reports to the Director, Policy Division for strategic guidance and direction, and is responsible for leading the development of thematic work within the mandates of the Division.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of key functions:

• Substantive support to intergovernmental processes and policy development;
• Advisory services and programme support;
• Research, analysis and content development;
• Representation and advocacy;
• Management of the Section;
• Knowledge management and capacity building.

Substantive support to intergovernmental processes and policy development:

• Lead the review and development of global policies in Peace and Security to enhance understanding of gender issues and dimensions, meet UN Women mandates and support its programmes and that of other partners;
• Supervise and oversee the work of the team to ensure substantive and technical quality according to standards and goals for the area of Peace and Security;
• Provide inputs in international fora to help shape development of global and regional policies, norms and standards and implementation strategies;
• Produce studies, reports and background papers on a range of gender equality issues in accordance with mandates provided by relevant intergovernmental bodies, highlighting progress and challenges in critical areas and emerging issues as well as preparing options and recommendations for action;
• Organize expert preparatory meetings, panels and other interactive events on gender issues for intergovernmental processes;
• Provide substantive support on gender equality issues to intergovernmental bodies (General Assembly, Economic and Social Council, Commission on the Status of Women, Security Council and UN Women Executive Board), preparing analytical summaries of debates, supporting negotiations and analyzing/compiling outcomes;
• Convene or represent UN Women in UN interagency working groups to enhance coordination and/or ensure increased attention to gender equality  in peace and security areas;
• Support UN Women, UN partner entities and Member States in accelerating implementation of the women peace and security resolutions 1325 and  2122, the CEDAW General Recommendation 30, and the Peacebuilding Commission Declaration, September 2013 (e.g. ensure adequate reporting against the system-wide Strategic results framework on women, peace and security);
• Ensure UN Women senior leadership is prepared to provide briefings on women, peace and security to the Security Council as per resolution 2122;
• Oversee production of the annual Secretary-General’s report to the Security Council on the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, with specific focus on populating and developing the agreed set of indicators on resolution 1325.

Advisory services for programme support:

• Provide thematic policy advice and technical guidance to and collaborate substantively with Member States, UNCTs, UN Theme Groups and staff of UN Women programme countries to ensure the integration of gender perspectives and attention to global commitments in all policies and programmes in the area of Peace and Security;
• Contribute to strategic discussions on programme design, oversight and evaluation to support implementation and capture best practices and lessons learned for policy development and adjustment;
• Provide policy and technical advice Peace and Security ) for UN Women’s programmes at country level to enhance operational performance from programme development to delivery, including through supporting  recruitment and induction of region based Policy and Security advisors;
• Facilitate and/or advise on engagement of governments, country offices and regional programs with civil society, participatory approach, capacity development and establishment of an enabling environment for gender issues;
• Build and facilitate internal and external Communities of practices in Peace and Security.

Research, analysis and content development:

• Lead the preparation of global studies that enriches the objective evidence base regarding partners in implementing resolution 1325a research agenda on the linkages between global commitment on (thematic area) and their implementation at global, regional or national levels;
• Conduct and/or lead the analysis of data and provide evidence to build the case for policies and interventions on Peace and Security Prepare research briefs and ensure wide and easy access of information for internal and external use and/or discussion;
• Introduce innovation and cutting edge practices to enhance the development of policy and programming tools and materials;
• Develop, test and roll out tools and methodologies in (thematic area) to provide standards and guidelines for programming and management; and ensure that lessons learned are incorporated into programmes and activities;
• Research, develop and/or present policy papers, practice notes/concepts and other knowledge based-tools for discussion in global and regional forums to help influence/advance policy dialogue;
• Plan, organize and substantively service ad hoc expert group meetings, seminars, conferences, workshops and similar gatherings, including identification and determination of major issues for discussion and selection of participants, development of background documentation, preparation of reports and policy recommendations, and dissemination of results of such meetings.

Representation and advocacy:

• Represent UN Women in international fora to encourage greater commitment to, collaboration on the implementation of  Women, Peace and security;
• Convene or represent UN Women in UN interagency working groups to enhance coordination and/or ensure increased attention to gender equality issues in sectoral areas;
• Contribute to the development of strategic approaches to policy dialogue, resource mobilization, partnerships, and outreach.
• Promote initiatives for policy dialogue;
• Establish and nurture relationship with academia, research institutes, civil society and experts in Peace and Securityto expand and share knowledge, exchange views on latest findings, incorporate cutting-edge thinking in UN work on gender equality;
• Engage substantively with the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in conflict to build synergies in efforts;
• Engage substantively with key UN partners to advance joint commitments or programmes that support the UN System-wide Strategic Results Framework, the Secretary-General’s 7 Point Action Plan, and the Global Focal Point on the Rule of Law (DPA, DPKO, UNDP, UNHCR, OHCHR, UNFPA, PBSO).

Management of the Section:

• Supervise and oversee the work the work of the team to ensure the delivery of quality results according to standards and goals established in the Section;
• Promote teamwork and establish a working environment that is conducive to delivering results;
• Monitor the appropriate use and management of financial resources and take responsibility for the integrity of financial systems and consistent application of the internal control framework and/or UN Women/UN rules and regulations. Submit timely mandated reports;
• Identify and integrate efficiency gains and cost reductions in all operations;
• Build staff capacity through planned training, learning programs, mentoring and coaching. Use corporate monitoring and oversight tools such as the Balanced Score Card, Atlas Snapshot and Dashboard, Global Surveys, audits, evaluation and other corporate reports to identify areas for improvement;
• Oversee the development and implementation of strategic evaluation plans, ensure that management responses to all evaluations are completed and followed up, and that learning from evaluations is fed back into UN Women initiatives and operations.

Knowledge management and capacity building:

• Lead the development/expansion of knowledge management strategies and methodologies in the (thematic area);
• Build and facilitate internal and external Communities of Practice in (thematic area). Contribute to the development and maintenance of global and regional knowledge networks activities and practices;
• Produce knowledge products to meet UN Women needs and standards of quality;
• Maintain and ensure quality of content for (thematic area) for UN Women guidelines, tools and other materials.

Impact of Results:

The Section Chief impacts on success of the efforts to develop and implement the UN Women Policy Strategies. The Section Chief is responsible for developing and implementing the organization policies in his/her thematic area of expertise to achieve gender equality and advancement of women.

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.

Development and Innovation:

• Support staff competence development, and contribute to an 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:

• Substantive knowledge and experience related to current policies and practices in the (thematic area);
• Ability to conceptualize and convey strategic vision from the spectrum of development experience;
• Strong communications skills, with proven expertise in writing cogent and convincing policy and programme documents for development practitioners;
• Managerial Competencies/Supervisory and management experience is a requirement including proven strong people management skills;
• Proven analytical and problem solving skills;
• Proven record of writing and/or publishing on policy and programmatic aspects of gender equality thematic areas including conducting and directing research, data collection and publication;
• Proven ability to organize and manage knowledge management processes and tools;
• Excellent presentational and public speaking skills;
• Ability to leverage information technology, executive information systems, management techniques and tools for optimal office performance;
• Good planning, goal-setting and prioritization skills;
• Effectiveness in establishing and fostering good relations with government counterparts, UN agencies, donors, and NGO partners.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master degree (or equivalent) in development related disciplines, gender issues, economics, public policy, law or other social science fields.

Experience:

• A minimum of 15 years of progressively responsible experience in development, law, policy analysis, sociological/gender equality or related areas, including in the Peace and Security  and in managerial leadership;
• Proven experience in advocating for women’s empowerment and rights and in Peace and Security including in depth knowledge of regional organizations and women’s organizations working on  peace and security;
• Field experience in developing countries is an advantage;
• Familiarity with UN intergovernmental processes, with a focus on gender equality and women’s empowerment and knowledge of UN system gender architecture and strategic stakeholders/partners is required;
• Familiarity with modalities of UN technical support at regional and country levels, with a focus on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Languages:

• Written and oral proficiency in English is required;
• Knowledge of another UN working language is desirable.

Application:

• 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, please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF document . Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

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.