Jobs - 37322- UN Women: Programme Specialist

UN Women: Programme Specialist – Gender and Democratic Governance

Location :

Khartoum, SUDAN

Type of Contract :

TA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

08-May-13 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-4

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

Expected Duration of Assignment :

10 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.

Following the strategy initiated in 2011 to ensure UN Women’s global strategy is aligned with country development plans as detailed in the AWPs; UN Women Sudan has consolidated, during 2012/13, the vision and work modalities for its focus areas, aligning national priorities with the global strategy. In addition UN Women also actively collaborates with other U.N. organizations in its programmes.

The overall development objective of the Sudan AWP 2012/2013 is to consolidate efforts that contribute to gender equality and women’s empowerment in Sudan. Sudan is revising its Interim National Constitution (2005) and the participation of women in the process and integration of gender and women’s rights in the new constitution will be a major activity for 2013. UN Women will be supporting the Political Parties Affairs Council in their work with political parties to implement affirmative commitments in the Constitution and Political Parties Act in their Constitutions and manifestoes.

The scope of work of the Programme Specialist – Gender and Democratic Governance requires experience and in-depth understanding of gender equality and women’s political empowerment issues, to translate the governance Outcomes in the AWP into effective programmes and results. It also requires developing mutually reinforcing partnerships with relevant Government counterparts, UN organizations, and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).

Under the overall guidance of the Country Representative for Sudan and the direct supervision of the Deputy Representative, the Programme Specialist – Gender and Democratic Governance is expected to engage proactively on women’s leadership and political participation issues with federal and state level government institutions (with particular emphasis to the relevant line ministries at federal and state level and key governance institutions such as Parliament, the National Electoral Commission and the Political Parties Affairs Council), civil society organisations, academic institutions, UN Agencies and relevant bi-laterals to help strengthen the policy and institutional framework for advancing women’s political participation in Sudan.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:

Analysis and Monitoring of Trends, Opportunities and Challenges
Programme Development and Technical Support:
Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with key stakeholders, federal and state level actors and development partners
Knowledge Management and Reporting:

Description of Functions:

Analysis and Monitoring of Trends, Opportunities and Challenges.
Provide policy recommendations, strategic advice and proposed courses of action to the Country Representative and Deputy Country Representative.
Establish and maintain close working contacts with national partners, civil society, and international organizations in the country.
Maintain up-to-date knowledge of political events and integrate information and analysis in support of policy development, analysis, outreach and advocacy.
Contribute to the drafting and delivery of briefings to senior management and other officials as required.
Prepare analytical reports, briefing notes, background papers, summaries, correspondence and talking points.
Liaise with key national and local stakeholders from Government and civil society and key international actors to build up and strengthen strategic alliances and partnerships on political participation initiatives.
Work closely with colleagues from UN Women at the Regional Office and HQ working on Governance and Economic Security and Rights to identify promising practices, technical expertise, and strategic opportunities for enhancing women’s political participation as well as the effectiveness of women political actors in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Programme development and technical support

Manage and be responsible for the overall implementation of the governance outcomes in the Country Office AWP for 2013, viz. Outcomes 1, 4 and 5.
Support relevant national institutions develop and strengthen policies to ensure a high quality rapid response capacity on women’s political rights, participation, leadership and influence, the adoption and implementation of constitutional reforms and other measures in laws and policies, (including temporary special measures), gender-responsive electoral management, and institutional change to enhance women’s engagement on leadership positions.
Collaborate with and participate in joint activities with various stakeholders in pursuit of the shared goal of increasing women’s political participation such as: UN agencies, the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security, the National Electoral Commission, the Political Parties Affairs Council, the Sudanese Parliamentary Women’s Caucus, and civil society organisations working on governance issues.

Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with key stakeholders and development partners

Support the building of strategic alliances and partnerships for women political participation related strategies and initiatives.
Maintain close liaison with relevant donors and other actors supporting women political participation efforts in the country.
Support the country office mobilizing resources for the implementation of women political participation initiatives.
Maintain close contact with relevant staff in the Regional Office and Headquarters.

Knowledge Management and Reporting

Manage the process of compiling reports and lessons learned on Women’s political participation and contribute to UN Women's knowledge management efforts.
Produce key knowledge products on aspects of GEWE in democratic governance and political participation, ensure their dissemination
Establish and facilitate a national community of practice on GEWE in democratic governance and political participation for UN Agencies and donors.

Impact of Results:

The measure of success of the Programme Specialist – Gender and Democratic Governance will be the impact of the activities in the Governance Outcomes to alter the policy and institutional frameworks for governance and development in Sudan to be more inclusive of women and their needs, including affirmation action provisions in favour of women to address current inequalities.

Competencies

Core Values / 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 other.

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 experience and record of accomplishment in the area of political participation.
Demonstrated People Management Skills
Good knowledge of UN Women and the UN system.
Proven ability to advocate and provide policy advice
Ability to lead strategic planning, programme development and implementation, results-based management and reporting.
Ability to develop and maintain strong partnerships and mobilize resources.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

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

Experience:

A minimum of 7 years of experience on political issues, and preferably including 5 years field experience in the area of governance and political participation, particularly on development /review of constitutions, electoral assistance and gender responsive planning/budgeting.

Language Requirement:

Fluency in written and oral English. Fluency in written and spoken Arabic will be an added advantage

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.