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.

The Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) in Nairobi (Kenya) coordinates and provides oversight to UN Women’s work in 13 countries across the region. The Office also plays a key role in ensuring the coordination mandate of UN Women as well as support country offices' resource mobilization efforts. ESARO serves as the hub of technical assistance, policy guidance and oversight, as well as thought leadership on gender equality and women’s empowerment issues in the region.

Under the direct supervision of Regional Policy Advisor, Governance, Women, Peace and Security, and matrix managed to the Global Advisor on Political Participation in Headquarters, the Policy Specialist for Women’s Political Participation will provide the technical support and oversight required for the implementation of the thematic portfolio in the region; support capacity and skills-enhancement of staff and partners in countries; establish and strengthen partnerships; and develop relevant knowledge products on political participation.

As part of this portfolio of work, the Policy Specialist for Women’s Political Participation will also support implementation, monitoring and reporting on global agreements norms and standards upon request, to UNCTs where UN Women is a non-resident agency and to COs where UN Women is present.

The scope of work of the Policy Specialist for Women’s Political Participation requires experience in and in-depth understanding of gender equality and women’s political empowerment and leadership to translate UN-Women’s Strategic Plan 2022-2025 into effective programmes and results in the Eastern and Southern Africa Region.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide policy and programme advice to country offices, specific technical assistance and quality assurance:

• Provide technical support and policy advice to programme/ project managers/ specialists in country offices (COs) to support implementation of thematic programmes, aligned with corporate direction and messaging, including the UN Secretary General Common Agenda, and in compliance with UN System wide policy.
• Oversee the development of regional programming on women’s political participation in collaboration with COs, the Liaison Office in Addis Ababa and the Political Participation team in Headquarters.
• Provide thematic oversight of COs’ corporate planning (incl. development of Strategic Notes and Biannual Work Plans) and annual reporting processes (inc. Annual Report to the Executive Board) ensuring corporate policy coherence (including thematic support to UNSDCF processes as needed).

Provide capacity building support to country office teams and partners:

• Provide substantive and policy support to COs to implement and localize corporate guidance notes, knowledge products and tools, ensuring policy and strategic coherence, and avoiding duplication.

• Develop, implement, and monitor capacity building initiatives on key priority topics in the region.

• Manage surge capacity deployments as needed, experts, practitioners, trainers, academics, etc.
• Work closely with and provide advice to regional/ national bodies and interagency groups that influence national policies related to women’s political participation and where necessary represent UN-Women.

Manage the resource mobilization strategy in the area of women’s political participation in the region

• Undertake targeted resource mobilization in the area of women’s political.
• Provide technical support to offices with resource mobilization efforts in this area, including through substantive inputs to resource mobilization programme documents and consultations with donors as needed.
• Prepare and/or deliver presentations to development partners on this topic as needed.

Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with regional/ international actors and development partners and stakeholders.

• Build and maintain alliances and strategic partnerships for the advancement of women’s political participation in the region, especially with the African Union (AU), and the RECS (IGAD, SADC, EAC and ICGLR).

• Produce periodic updates and briefs on regional/country development situation to be used by stakeholders, COs, RO and Headquarters.
• Maintain close contact with relevant staff in UN-Women Liaison Office in Addis Ababa and HQ.

Oversee knowledge management on women’s political participation:

• Conduct capacity building and substantive sessions through in-person trainings, induction, webinars, workshops etc.
• Provide quality assurance of COs’ knowledge products in line with corporate strategies.
• Manage the Regional Community of Practice on Women's Political Participation, including through codifying lessons learned and good practices from the region and liaise with HQ focal point for ongoing contribution to the global thematic Community of Practice.
• Maintain up-to-date relevant thematic regional data; and integrate analysis to policy-oriented advocacy and corporate support (e.g. briefing notes, background papers, region-specific reports).

Key Performance Indicators:

• Timely and quality technical advice and support.
• Leadership in area of expertise in the region.
• A regional programme document for resource mobilization is finalized.
• Quality reports and other strategic documents drafted and submitted in a timely manner.
• Strong relationships with various partners and stakeholders.
• Regular communication with colleagues at both country, regional and global levels to ensure policy coherence.
• UN-Women is well represented in important meetings on topics related to expertise.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Functional Competencies:

• Excellent knowledge of women’s political empowerment and leadership (including issues related to democratic development, electoral assistance, campaigns, legal frameworks, political parties, legislatures, local government).
• Strong knowledge of the region.
• Knowledge of the UN System is an advantage
• Excellent networking skills.
• Ability to interact with donors, identify and analyze trends, opportunities, and threats to fundraising.
• Ability to perform qualitative and quantitative policy research.
• Ability to advocate and provide policy advice.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to write policy papers, speeches, briefings.
• Strong knowledge of programme development, implementation, results-based management, and reporting.
• Ability to work collaboratively in diverse teams, as well as strong communication skills.
• Ability to undertake frequent travel within the East and Southern Africa region.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in political science, gender studies, law, human rights, international relations, or other social science fields is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 7 years progressively responsible experience in developing programmes and advocating for women’s political empowerment and/or gender-responsive, ideally with some experience in developing countries.
• Experience in programmme development, policy research and analysis and resource mobilization.
• Experience working with, and building partnerships with governments, donors, and civil society organizations internationally and in the field.
• Experience working with the UN is an asset.
• Experience working in ESA region is an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of French and Arabic is an asset.

Please attach a completed P11 to your application. Kindly note that applications without a completed and signed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

UN Women Personal History form (P-11) can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment .

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need. 

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application. 

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)