UN WOMEN Jobs - 53354- Implementation of UN Women Kenya Country Programme

Implementation of UN Women Kenya Country Programme- Peace & Security

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Nairobi, KENYA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

16-Feb-2015

Application Deadline :

02-Feb-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

4 Months

Languages Required :

English

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

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 center 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.

In Kenya, the UN Women Country Programme contributes to the development objectives of Kenya’s blue print, the Vision 2030 and the Medium Term Plan (2013-2018) 2030 and is aligned to the United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks (UNDAF) of 2014-2018, as well as UN WOMEN Global Strategic Plan. The Kenya Country Programme - “Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Gains Consolidated' - aims to achieve the following results: (i) increased women’s leadership and participation in governance; (ii) strengthened women’s economic empowerment; (iii) increased protection of women & access to justice for women; and (iv) strengthened women’s leadership in peace building and humanitarian response.

The Government of Finland has been supporting UN Women Kenya’s programme on women, peace and security, through its twinning process with the Government of Kenya. The aim of the on the programme is to develop assist Kenya develop a National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325 and address the low implementation and weak accountability of the resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council on Women, Peace and Security (1325, 1820, 1888 and 1889). The implementation gap can be measured by the low number of women participating in peace processes, increase incidence of sexual and gender based violence and lack of financing for women needs in post conflict and the absence of monitoring mechanisms/instruments to access implementation and achievements.

UN Women aims at supporting the Government of Kenya, civil society in understanding and applying instruments on women, peace and security such as the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1325 (2000) towards the full realization of women’s human rights in Kenya. The programme will aim to support women to participate in and influence reconciliation and peace-building initiatives at the community and national level to ensure women’s perspectives are realized and women are viewed as proactive agents of transformative change.

It is in this context that UN Women in Kenya is seeking to recruit a consultant who reports to UN WOMEN Deputy Country Director and provide programmatic support to Peace and Security aspects of UN WOMEN work in Kenya. The scope of work of the Peace and Security Specialist requires experience and understanding of gender equality and women's empowerment issues, as well as programming expertise, to translate UN WOMEN's strategic plans into effective peace and security initiatives and results. It also requires developing mutually reinforcing partnerships with relevant Government counterparts, UN organizations, CSOs, and FBOs as well as with bilateral and non-traditional donors in order to promote inter-agency partnerships and mobilization of visibility and resources to advance gender equality and women's empowerment in peace and security.

Duties and Responsibilities

Programme Development and Management

Support the implementation of the country office 2015 annual work plan and strategic plan and ensure lessons learnt guide recommendations and formulation of Peace and Security, programme planning;
Internal reporting requirements are fulfilled focusing on outputs and outcomes, including preparation of results-based high quality donor reports;
Ensure internal inter-linkages and coordination between UN Women Kenya programmes, projects and activities for a holistic and coherent programmatic approach for implementing the UN Women Kenya Strategy.

Provide strategic advice services and coordination

Provision of advisory services to Government, civil society organizations and the National Steering Committee on 1325 on the implementation of the Kenya National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325;
Support UN joint initiative- Programme in Marsabit, supporting peace-building priorities;
Support inter-agency work and processes pertaining to gender, conflict prevention, transitions and peace building within the UN system, as requested.

Establish and maintain strategic partnership and support the resource mobilization efforts of the Country Office

Strengthen partnerships with UN agencies and national policy making forums to highlight and reinforce accountability mechanisms for the implementation of UNSCR 1325;
Develop partnerships and close collaborations with UN agencies, Government institutions, civil society organizations, multilateral and bi-lateral donors on matters related to the promotion of women, peace and security with a view of ensuring strategic partnership and strengthened coordination.

Advocacy and knowledge sharing

Facilitate and coordinate strategic advocacy efforts to maximize support of UN System, governments, CSOs, and other relevant partners on advancing women rights in line with UNSCR 1325 and other normative commitments/frameworks;
Identification of key women’s human rights issues and challenges, best practices, lessons learned and recommendations to be integrated into UN WOMEN Kenya knowledge management efforts;
Facilitate South-South and regional cooperation/initiatives on women, peace and security;
Participate actively and contribute UN WOMEN’s perspectives at relevant conferences, workshops and meetings which advance women, peace and security agenda.

Final product/deliverable

Implementation of 2015 activities of UN Women Peace and Security programme in Kenya;
Strategic partnerships built with government institutions, UN agencies working on peace and security thematic working groups;
Final report- Results, achievements, opportunities, challenges and lessons learned.

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 diversit

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 safeguard ethics and integrity.

Organizational Awareness

Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Development and Innovation

Take charge of self-development and take initiative.

Work in 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.

Communicating and Information Sharing

Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for 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

Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.

Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making

Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making.

Functional Competencies:

Substantive knowledge and experience related to current policies and practices in the field of gender equality, humanitarian action and disaster risk reduction management;
Ability to conceptualize and convey strategic vision from the spectrum of humanitarian and development experiences;
Strong communication skills, with proven expertise in writing coherent and analytical policy and programme documents;
Proven analytical and problem solving skills;
Good planning, goal-setting and prioritization skills;
Effectiveness in establishing and fostering good relations with government counterparts, UN Agencies, multispectral coordination mechanisms, donors and NGO partners;
Ability to leverage information technology, executive information systems, management techniques and tools for optimal office performance.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree or equivalent in , Social Sciences, Political Science, International Relations, Conflict Studies or related fields.

Experience:

A Minimum of 5 years of professional experience working in the field of gender and development with a focus on the promotion of gender equality, women’s empowerment and women human rights;
Prior experience working on women, peace and security issues in Kenya;
Proven experience in supporting establishing and fostering strategic partnerships with government counterparts in the area of peace and security, UN agencies, donors and CSOs.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English is required.