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.
By working on the principle of governance of the rule of law, persons, institutions and entities, public and private, including the State itself, are accountable to laws consistent with international human rights norms and standards. Justice systems must be reformed, to address gender discrimination and remove the in-built biases that are reproducing gender inequality.
Under the supervision of the Chief of Section, the Policy Advisor is responsible for developing and implementing the organization’s policies in the Rule of Law (justice and constitutional area) of expertise to achieve gender equality and advancement of women. He/she provides technical and policy advice at country and regional levels, through strategy development, thematic reviews, tools for capacity building and channels for knowledge sharing and prepares documentation for UN normative intergovernmental processes; prepares studies, reports and content for policy advocacy.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Substantive input to policy development in the thematic area;
- Advisory services, technical guidance and programme support;
- Substantive support to intergovernmental processes and policy development;
- Representation and advocacy;
- Knowledge generation and capacity building.
- Lead corporate policy development in the thematic area;
- Lead development of policy strategies in the thematic area;
- Develop tools, guidelines and manuals on the thematic area, for use by UN Women country offices, the UN system, and other partners;
- Provide technical and policy leadership when UN Women participates in, convenes, or leads interagency group on policy related areas;
- Provide thematic inputs and guidance to corporate strategic planning and positioning;
- Oversee, develop proposals and manage projects/studies with respect to global/ thematic gender equality policies and programmes or other relevant interventions;
- Contribute to the preparation of UN Women’s flagship reports;
- Conduct and lead the analysis of data and provide evidence to build the case for policies and interventions on gender equality and distill relevant lessons;
- Research, develop and present policy papers, practice notes/concepts and other knowledge based-tools for discussion in global and regional fora to help influence/advance policy dialogue.
- Provide policy advisory services in the thematic areas to Regional Offices, Multi-country Offices and Country Offices;
- Provide policy guidance on conceptual strategy development and management of the implementation of overall strategies and intra and inter-divisional policies and procedures;
- Work closely with UN Women’s regional and national programme offices to support the development and implementation of programmes in Rule of Law: constitutional and justice;
- Provide technical inputs into programme documents, country strategies, and knowledge products;
- Organize technical consultations, South-South and South-North exchanges and other opportunities to share experiences and promising practices on effective means of enhancing gender equality and women’s influence;
- Develop catalytic global programmes with normative and universal content with can add value to UN Women’s leadership in innovation, knowledge, and technical areas;
- 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;
- Manage, supervise and carry out the work programme of the Unit under his/her responsibility to ensure substantive and technical quality according to standards and goals for each thematic area.
Substantive support to intergovernmental processes and policy development
- Provide substantive input in the preparation of position papers and reports for presentation to intergovernmental bodies such as the Commission on the Status of Women, Economic and Social Council, the General Assembly and other policy-making organs, as appropriate and prepare analytical summaries of debates, supporting negotiations and analyzing/compiling outcomes.
- Prepare substantive input into and help coordinate the development of analytical reports to contribute to the Secretary-General’s mandated reporting to intergovernmental fora
- Support the implementation of resolutions, decision and other directives in relevant areas of focus, including through support to expert bodies created by intergovernmental fora;
- Provide inputs in international fora to help shape development of global and regional policies, norms and standards and implementation strategies.
- Represents UN Women at policy making inter-agency, inter-governmental and international technical and advocacy fora;
- Participates in international, regional or national meetings and provides programmatic/substantive expertise on an issue, or hold programmatic/substantive and organizational discussions with representatives of other institutions.
- Contributes substantively to the development of strategic approaches to policy dialogue, resource mobilization, partnerships, advocacy and outreach;
- Establishes and nurtures relationship with academia, research institutes, civil society and experts to expand and share knowledge, exchange views on latest findings, incorporate cutting-edge thinking in UN work;
- Contributes to pro-active positioning and planning for the Executive Director’s trips and meetings.
- Contribute substantively to the knowledge management and development of capacity building of UN Women Programme staff in the thematic area
- Contribute substantively to the development/expansion of knowledge management strategies and methodologies in Rule of Law: Constitutional and Justice
- Establish and lead global communities of practice that promote collaboration, peer support, consultation and surface innovation, good practices, lessons and needs and opportunities;
- Engage in existing thematic and gender equality networks to better connect UN Women and partner work and promote learning and innovation;
- Develop and maintain rosters of gender experts, who can develop technical support to UN Women offices, national partners, UNCT’s or other UN system entities
- Contribute to the internal flow of information throughout the organization on policy and technical issues
- Produce knowledge products to meet UN Women needs and standards of quality.
- Maintain and ensure quality of content for “focus area” for UN Women guidelines, tools and other materials.
- Advise possible evaluations to the Evaluation Section and extract learnings from evaluations and reviews across the regions.
Impact of Results:
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.
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
- Substantive knowledge and experience related to current policies and practices in the Rule of Law: constitutional and Justice 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;
- Proven analytical and problem solving 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;
- Proven track record of excellent management and technical leadership skills and ability to delegate appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:- Master degree (or equivalent) in development related disciplines, gender issues, economics, public policy, law or other social science fields directly related to the thematic area of the post.
- A minimum of 10 years of extensive development experience that combines intellectual, strategic and managerial leadership in development, policy analysis, sociological/gender equality at least seven of which is in justice, constitutional work.
- Written and oral proficiency in English is required;
- Knowledge of another UN working language is desirable.
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.