UN WOMEN Jobs - 16638- Women's Economic Security Rights Specialist

Women's Economic Security Rights Specialist

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Dakar, SENEGAL

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

20-May-10 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

11 months

Languages Required :

English French

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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

UNIFEM is the women's fund at the United Nations, dedicated to advancing women's rights and achieving gender equality. It provides financial and technical assistance to innovative programmes and strategies that foster women's empowerment. UNIFEM works on the premise that it is the fundamental right of every woman to live a life free from discrimination and violence, and that gender equality is essential to achieving development and to building just societies.
Women in WEST AFRICA represent the most deprived slice of the population in spite of their paramount social and economic role in the community and in the family. They have little access to, and virtually no control over available resources, as the result of unfair social, cultural and economic norms.

The vision of UNIFEM's 2008-2011 strategic plan in West Africa is 'enabling a more secure world for African women'. The plan has adopted a national and sub-regional approach to advancing gender equality and women empowerment, and committed -among other strategies- to:

Advancing gender mainstreaming into national strategies, policies, institutions, development finance, national budgets and statistics;
Strengthening capacity of relevant actors in order to bridge gaps between normative advances and the limited 'know how' within governmental and non-governmental structures;
Engendering PRS and national budgets to address feminized poverty, and support efforts towards women economic empowerment;
Within the UN System, playing a leading role in Gender Theme Groups and Donor Gender Groups, and supporting UNDAF processes with a focus on human rights, governance, institutional frameworks, and domestication of international conventions and other relevant instruments that promote gender equity and equality

The ESR portfolio of UNIFEM West Africa consists of programmes related to Gender Budgeting, New Aid Modalities, Resource Based Initiatives, Gender Equitable Local Development, etc implemented in ten countries.

The Women's Economic Security Rights Specialistt will support the ESR programme portfolio and provide specialist advice and technical support to programme/project development, monitoring and coordination in the area of gender, poverty alleviation and economic rights at UNIFEM' SRO in Dakar.

Duties and Responsibilities

Women's Economic Security Rights Specialist will work under the direct supervision and guidance of the UNIFEM WARO Deputy Regional Programme Director (D/RPD) and in close consultation with the UNIFEM Programme Specialists with the overall aim to support UNIFEM Women Economic Security Rights & Gender Budgeting programmes in line with 2008-2011 Sub-regional Strategy (SRS) and donor commitments.

The Women's Economic Security Rights Specialist will effectively assume strategic and substantive leadership for the integration of UNIFEM' s strategies and values in women's economic empowerment & gender responsive budgeting programmes throughout the sub-region. This covers supporting fundraising, communication and partnership-building, evaluation and knowledge management; and ensuring information flow and team-building across the diverse network of partners and stakeholders involved in various ESR/GRB programmes, including Gender Responsive Budgeting, Results Based Initiatives, etc;

More specifically, the Women's Economic Security Rights Specialist will perform the following tasks:

Strategic Leadership,policy advocacy and macro micro linkages:

Support UNIFEM' efforts in the sub-region to engage national level macroeconomic processes such as PRSPs, Gender Budgeting, AID modalities, etc;
Gather relevant information on above processes and share them with staff involved in ESR/GRB programmes in the sub-region;
Ensure that information from the grassroots (e.g. on women's economic needs and priorities) are presented in a way that can inform macroeconomic processes;
Work with project coordinators in selected countries (e.g. Senegal, Sierra Leone & Mali) to support national level advocacy for decentralized partners

Programme technical support, Oversight and Reporting

Facilitate quality assurance of all ESR/GRB programmes and undertake technical assistance and monitoring missions to the project sites;
Support the recruitment, monitoring and quality assessment of the technical assistance services retained to accompany the ESR/GRB programmes;
Identify capacity development needs and develop adequate solutions to ensure effective programme implementation;
Support capacity building initiatives to allow staff and partners to understand and maintain the strategic link between national strategies and processes and local women and their economic activities, ensuring information flow and team-building across the diverse network of partners and stakeholders involved in various ESR/GRB programmes, including Gender Responsive Budgeting, Resource Based Initiatives, etc;
Support the project coordinators in developing quality annual implementation plans, monitoring and evaluation plans;
Monitor implementation of those plans and programme delivery;
Ensuring systematic tracking of progress indicators under the ESR/GRB programmes;
Ensure high-quality, results-oriented reporting on the ESR/GRB programmes, for internal and external audiences.

Communications and Learning:

Ensure oversight and communication related to monitoring and evaluation, including facilitating coordination among evaluation experts, UNIFEM SRO, and the UNIFEM HQ Evaluation Unit;
Develop and oversee wide strategic distribution of ESR/GRB programmes' findings and knowledge-related publications, inclusive of select case studies, good practices and lessons learned;
Document, and analyze lessons learned that might be useful for the UN system at large and UNIFEM in particular for global institutional learning;
Monitor the development of, and provide substantive guidance and technical inputs, to ensure the quality of products and capacity development tools commissioned by country teams with emphasis on ensuring evidence-based approaches (e.g. training materials, training workshops, tools, knowledge-sharing publications and outreach materials developed);
Work in partnership with key communications and media actors to promote WEE, GRB & GELD messages;
Support staff for the development and implementation of communications and advocacy plans, and to identify and seize strategic advocacy opportunities on an ongoing basis;
Ensure maintenance of a calendar of the most relevant international/regional fora relevant to ESR/GRB programmes, facilitate access to that information by partners and relevant UNIFEM staff, and coordinate UNIFEM participation;

Developing Partnerships and Networks:

Strengthen and enhance partnership/co-operation/consultation/coordination with, where appropriate, national and local state actors, national and international civil society actors, especially, women's organizations, bilateral institutions, UN, World Bank, donors, academia, private sector and private foundations for more effective and coordinated ESR/GRB programme implementation;
Support communication and partnership-building;
Work with RM Specialist to develop and drive donor outreach and fundraising plans to mobilize additional resources for the programmes;
Utilize effectively ongoing coordination mechanism to ensure coherence of the programme with other country-level processes including national development policy-making, UN programming and coordination processes (UNDAF, UN Gender Theme Group, etc.), donors' council work, etc.;
Ensure effective partnership, networking and coordination between other ongoing UNIFEM programmes, projects and activities in the sub-region for a more holistic and coherent approach to SRS implementation.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN's values and ethical standard;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP/UNIFEM;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favouritism.

Technical competencies

Technical expertise on gender and economics;
Technical expertise in relation to GRB, public sector and finance management systems;
Strong understanding of obstacles and opportunities for realization of women's economic and social rights.

Functional Competencies
Management and Leadership

Proven ability to lead and manage "smart" business solutions in challenging environments;
Builds strong client relationships, focuses on impact and results for the client;
Establishes and maintains relationships with a broad range of people to understand needs, gain support, and is proactive in developing solutions;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Monitors progress against milestones and deadlines;
Demonstrates openness to change, flexibility, and ability to manage complexities;
Ability to work under pressure and with multi-disciplinary and multicultural teams and possess excellent inter-personal skills;
Demonstrates strong written and oral communication skills;
Remains calm, in control, and good humoured even under pressure;
Proven networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills;
Ability to establish priorities for self and others, and to work independently.

Development and Operational Effectiveness

Proven ability to problem-solve and think creatively to develop and implement smart business solutions in a challenging socio-economic environment;
Proven ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them for development results.

Knowledge Management and Learning

Possesses in-depth knowledge of the issues of women's rights and gender equality;
Knowledge and experience with programming, monitoring and evaluation;
Experience in developing advocacy strategies and public speaking highly desirable;
Promotes knowledge management and a learning environment in the office and among local partners through leadership and personal example;
Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills;
Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside of UNIFEM.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Masters degree or equivalent in development related field

Experience:

5 years of relevant experience for programming geared to support women's empowerment and rights, with particular experience in complex and multi-component programmes;
A proven track record in managing and monitoring results-based and rights-based national programming is required, including in-depth knowledge of results-based management approaches;
Demonstrated knowledge of programming issues within the field of social protection, employment, service provision; and public sector planning and budgeting;
Experience writing project documents, fundraising proposals and project reports;
Fundraising experience highly desirable;
International development experience and multi-cultural exposure.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English and French.