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.

Consistent with the UN’s renewed focus on Financing for Development (FfD) following the 2015 Addis Ababa Agenda, UN Women has launched a comprehensive set of important initiatives to ensure that SDG-aligned financing for development embeds a gender lens. Through political engagement, technical assistance, capacity building, showcase transactions and partnerships, monitoring and reporting, UN Women is working to elevate the dialogue on gender-responsive climate action and economic recovery. UN Women aims to replicate the success of COP to drive consensus around size of gender gaps and indicators of improvement, as well as to encourage innovative financial instruments such as SDG-5/Gender Bonds, which will drive funding towards a more equal future. UN Women is equally committed to the development of frameworks, guidelines and standards, which are needed to make financing for gender equality accessible, transparent and lead to lasting impact.

Given UN Women’s gender expertise, convening abilities and well-established partnerships with governments, UN entities, standard setting bodies, IFIs, and the private sector, UN Women, through its Sustainable Finance Programme, is working to increase the volume and quality of financing for SDG 5. The programme will be implemented with a view to leveraging strategic partners for the growth of a credible SDG-5/gender bond and gender lens investing market, that will ultimately contribute to reducing gender inequalities. Reporting to the Head of the Sustainable Finance team, the Sustainable Finance Specialist works in close collaboration with UN Women HQ staff, Country and regional Offices, UN agencies and Government officials, public development banks, multi and bi-lateral donors, and civil society ensuring successful UN Women programme implementation under portfolio. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Plan and co-ordinate the implementation of UN Women’s Sustainable Finance Programme:

• Oversee the day – to – day operations of the Sustainable Finance work;
• Co-ordinate the design and implementation of programme proposals and initiatives and ensure communication, synergies and inter-linkages with other policy and programme teams within UN Women;
• Provide guidance to the team on Results-Based Management (RBM) tools and performance indicators associated with UN Women’s Strategic note and the Sustainable Finance Programme document;
• Monitor the programme implementation of activities and budget using RBM tools;
• Co-ordinate relevant inputs into results – based donor reports, RBM quarterly and annual reporting and other reports related to the work of sustainable finance;
• Manage the programme budget and financial reporting;
• Oversee the management of relevant project staff, consultants, recruitments and conduct performance assessments as necessary.
• Ensure that Country and Regional teams are kept informed and up to date on the work of the Sustainable Finance team and support co-ordination across countries and regions.

Provide Technical Assistance and capacity building:

• Support offices in assessing the feasibility of financial instruments including Sovereign and Private Gender Bonds;
• Provide technical suport and and capacity building for all stages of sustainable bond issuances;
• Provide technical advisory support and capacity building to UN Women Country offices looking to incorporate financing instruments into their strategic plan as well as existing programmes including technical support to country offices in early round negotiations and discussions with Minitries of Finance (MoF) and related Ministries;
• Co-ordinate delivery on the action plans articulated in partnership MOUs.

Develop Sustainable Finance Market Infrastructure and Standard Setting for Gender Lens Investing (GLI):

• Leverage networks to produce key gender lens investment standards;
• Coordinate the dissemination and uptake of the gobal Gender Bond Guidelines;
• Collaborate with other standard setting bodies to develop strategies and content for greater alignment, transparency, and accountability within the GLI ecosystem;
• Provide regular updates for internal and external communications encompassing written research and knowledge products on how best influence and drive the discourse – particularly as it relates to standard setting for GLI and provide inputs on the development of a GLI taxonomy;
• Continue to build strong networks and key public and private sector partnerships including with capital market issuers and investors advocating for gender to be considered across financing instruments and strategies;
• Represent UN Women, as appropriate, in select working groups, and other relevant fora to drive global standards around GLI and position UN Women as the leading global institution on GLI.

Manage inter and intra-agency coordination on sustainable finance and gender lens investing:

• Co-ordinate with other UN agencies, country offices, donors, and partners to ensure the UN Women’s Sustainable Finance work is aligned and communicated to other UN Agencies and sits within the broader Financing for Development agenda;
• Lead and/ or participate in relevant inter-agency working groups and communities of practise such as the SDG Joint Fund Commuinity of Practise on Sustainable Debt ensuring that gender equality is considered as an intergral part of all financing instruments and strategies;
• Provide substantive technical inputs and support to senior management on inter-agency coordination related activities by attending meetings, events, and participating in groups and committees;
• Lead intra- agency coordination of sustainable finance and GLI, including the facilitation of monthly Sustainable Finance Network meetings.

Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies with Public and Private Sector:

• Provide inputs into concept notes and programme proposals for Sustainable Finance and GLI, ensuring coherence across the UN system and alignment with the Secretary Generals Common Agenda;
• Co-ordinate partnerships and resource mobilization strategies within both the public and private sector as it relates to sustainable debt and GLI;
• Provide regular briefings and support to resource mobilization focal points in relation to their engagement on Sustainable Finance and GLI with public and private partners; 

Co-ordinate advocacy, knowledge building, and communication efforts:

• Represent, as appropriate, UN Women in relevant meetings and policy dialogues on issues related to Sustainable Finance and GLI;
• Coordinate advocacy strategies on GLI and Sustainable Finance;
• Identify best practices and lessons learned to guide programme improvement;
• Coordinate the development of knowledge management strategies and methodologies and products on sustainable debt and GLI both internally and externally.

 Key Performance Indicators:

• Timely and quality of programme implementation in line with the Sustainable Finance Programme Document, work plan and Strategic Note;
• Clear coordination of team, inputs and partnership building;
• Quality reports and timely submission;
• Quality of advocacy, communication, and knowledge management initiatives;
• Strong relationships with donors, partners, and other stakeholders developed, maintained and expanded.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

Core Competencies:

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

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework:  https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

• Strong networking skills and demonstrated ability to build and manage private sector partnerships;
• Programme formulation, implementation, monitoring, and reporting skills;
• Ability to develop and manage operational plans, staff and budgets;
• Excellent knowledge of sustainable finance, particularly sustainable debt issuances in line with gender equality objective;
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in finance, accounting, economics, global policy, international development finance or related field.
• 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:

• Minimum 7 years of progressively responsible experience in finance and/or sustainable finance.
• Relevant private sector experience and/ or private sector partnership experience is preferred. 
• Experience in managing and coordinating a team is required, preferably within the UN system.
• Relevant experience in sustainable finance, gender lens investing, and sustainable debt is required.
• Experience coordinating and liaising with a range of financial actors including asset managers, stock exchanges, financial institutions, investors and issuers is required.
• Experience developing global standards for gender lens finance is an asset.
• Experience working in the UN System and engaging with other UN Agencies is an asset.

Language Requirements: 

• Fluency in English is required;
• Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset.

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc. 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.

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.

Diversity and inclusion:

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.)