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 for women as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.  Placing women’s rights at the centre 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.

Based on UN legislative mandates and the UNW Strategic Plan, the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific is tasked with providing strategic programme development, policy / technical advisory services and quality assurance support to Multi Country Offices and Country Offices. It undertakes or coordinates regional research and data analysis; advises on norms, policies and strategies for achieving the internationally and regionally agreed goals related to gender equality and women’s empowerment issues. It acts as a knowledge hub at the regional level, collecting evidence on progress and emerging issues and sharing knowledge on innovative approaches and lessons learned in implementation.

Over the last decade, increasing natural hazards, climate-related emergencies, mounting insecurity and crises in Asia and the Pacific are eroding development gains, posing significant challenges in the transition to low-carbon, resilient societies. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the world was off-track to meet the transformational environmental, social, and economic changes required to achieve gender equality, address climate change, and realize human rights for all. The pandemic set back sustainable development progress while further increasing inequalities. Women and girls, especially those facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, have faced disproportionate fallout. 

Environmental degradation and climate and disaster impacts are unequally felt across the region. For women, people living in poverty and other marginalized groups, pre-existing discriminatory social norms and pervasive gender inequalities increase exposure to risks while undercutting the ability to cope and recover from shocks. Women’s livelihoods are often the first to decline due to climate-related hazards and disasters. Further, inequalities in access to resources, finance and technologies leave women with greater challenges in coping and rebuilding after a crisis.

The low-carbon transition and social transformation required to solve the climate crisis pose significant opportunities to redress gender inequalities and promote human rights. By placing women and other marginalized groups at the centre, this transition can advance gender justice and occur more quickly with empowered women and marginalized groups acting as change agents.

The scope of work of the Programme Specialist –Gender and Climate Change in the UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific requires experience and in-depth understanding of gender equality and climate change mitigation and adaptation issues, to translate UN Women's strategic plans into effective programmes and results. It also requires developing mutually reinforcing partnerships with relevant Government counterparts, UN organizations, donors and CSOs.

Reporting to the DRR/Humanitarian/Climate portfolio lead” (Humanitarian Specialist), the Programme Specialist is expected to engage proactively with local and regional women leaders and UN Entities to ensure gender issues are addressed on efforts related to climate change in the Asia Pacific region.

1.  Analyze and monitor Climate Change Trends, Opportunities and Challenges

• Provide UN Women Regional Office and Country Offices with up-to-date information and guidance on regional trends on climate change and their strategic implications to guide current and future regional climate change programming, including policy support and information in the context of multilateral negotiations/discussions on Gender and Climate Change, including those associated with the UNFCCC;
• Provide technical support in the translation of global and regional developments in climate change mitigation and adaptation and climate financing mechanisms into strategic planning and direction of UN Women gender and climate change programming;
• Explore strategic opportunities with Country Offices and governments that can maximize synergies between gender, climate change, disaster risk reduction, poverty, and SDG-related activities, including south-south cooperation schemes and innovative clean technology options for energy access for the poor.

2.  Oversee the development of programmes on Gender and Climate Change in the Asia Pacific Region in collaboration with Country Office/ Multi Country Office teams

• Lead the development of regional programme documents on gender, climate, and environment;
• Work closely with and provide advice to regional/ national bodies and interagency groups that influence national policies related to Climate Change and where necessary represent UN Women;
• Provide technical inputs and advisory services to Country Offices and governments on gender-responsive national low-carbon, climate-resilient development strategies and plans and review of sector policies;
• Provide advice on contextualizing/ localizing programme documents, country strategies, and knowledge products including those aligned with the global flagship initiatives relate to climate change;
• Provide strategic planning support for the regional activities addressing gender and climate change and their incorporation into the regional business plan;
• Expand and create linkages with existing regional and national gender equality and climate change resilience programmes/projects portfolio, including the expansion of the sustainable energy and women’s economic empowerment programmes

3.  Manage the resource mobilization strategy for Climate Change in the region

• Participate in the development, implementation, monitoring and periodic updating of the resource mobilization strategy on Climate Change in the region;
• Provide technical support to country office, multi-country offices and programme presences in the region in the region in mobilizing resources for the implementation of gender and climate change programmes, including those related to adaptation and mitigation (e.g. in renewable / sustainable energy and climate resilient livelihoods).

4.  Oversee the design of programmes/ projects on Climate Change in the region and the development of relevant knowledge products

• Secure a flow of information between UN Women Country Offices, the Regional Office and HQ;
• Promote the use and improvement of knowledge management mechanisms to share information about gender and climate change related initiatives;
• Research, develop and present analytical reports, research papers, briefing notes, background papers, summaries, correspondence, and knowledge products on Climate Change

5.  Provide capacity building support to Country Office/ Multi Country Office teams and governments and other partners

• Provide substantive technical and policy support to country office and multi-country office programme teams in developing and strengthening projects/ programmes to support the implementation of global norms and standards;
• Provide substantive technical and policy support to UN Women partners to programme gender and climate change-related resources and provide advice on the effective use and management of different climate financing mechanisms

6.  Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with stakeholders, regional/ international actors and development partners, including resource mobilization

• Map out the gender equality and climate change partnership landscape to ensure optimal strategic alliances for UN Women
• Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with other agencies, donors, NGO’s, the private sector, scientific institutions etc.to support the development regional and national gender equality and climate change strategies and initiatives, including through joint programming.
• Lead the process of preparation, design, submission and approval of regional and national programme/project concepts and full-fledged proposals for financing.

7.  Oversee knowledge building and sharing on Gender and Climate Change

• Identify and disseminate lessons learnt and good practices in collaboration with country offices;
• Ensure technical skills and knowledge are shared within and among MCO/ Cos;
• Timely and quality technical advice and support.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Timely and quality implementation of Programme/Portfolio activities against set workplans, timelines and budgets, in line with the Strategic Note
• Leadership in area of expertise in the region
• Quality and timely reporting
• Strong relations with partners and stakeholders
• UN Women is well represented in important meetings on topics related to expertise
• Contributions to resource mobilization
• Timely and quality knowledge products

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 Gender and Climate Change
• Excellent programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills,
• Excellent knowledge of results based management
• Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making
• 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 skills;
• Ability to write policy papers, speeches, briefings;Strong knowledge of programme development, implementation, results based management and reporting

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree in gender studies, human rights, international affairs, disaster risk reduction, climate change, social science, public policy, and/or any relevant field directly related to gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls;
• 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:

• A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience in the area of climate change, environment, disaster risk reduction, human rights, gender equality and women's empowerment, preferably at the international level 
• Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors is an asset;
• Strong personal commitment to gender equality, human rights, and respect for diversity
• Ability to work efficiently and responsively within a multicultural team, while demonstrating strong initiative and high degree of personal motivation needed to carry out tasks independently with sound judgement, good coordination, communication and analytical skills as well as professionalism and maturity
• Ability to take decisions and manage political/cultural sensitivity
• Experience working in the UN System, in particular UN Women is an asset;
• Working experience in Asia-Pacific is strongly desirable

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English, with excellent written and verbal communications skills.
• Knowledge of online communications platforms an advantage;
• Excellent command of written English, knowledge of other languages spoken in the Asia-Pacific region 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 Application and recruitment process | About us: Careers at UN Women | UN Women – Headquarters  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.

Inclusion Statement:

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