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 Executive Board Secretariat, officiating from the Executive Director’s Office, is the interface between UN-Women and the Executive Board, consisting of the elected 41 Member States of the United Nations. The Secretary and the Secretariat team support the President of the Executive Board and the 4 Vice Presidents in organizing and delivering official and informal sessions and meetings of the Executive Board. This includes 3 official Board sessions, many informal briefings, UN-Women field visit, the (joint) field visit of the Executive Boards and the joint meeting of the Executive Boards of UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS, UNICEF, UN-Women and WFP. In particular, the Secretariat team holds the following roles:

• Provide support and advice to the Executive Director on all inter-governmental and political matters related to the Executive Board activities and proceedings.
• Support and facilitate inter-governmental negotiations of the Executive Board Decisions.
• Assists in substantive preparations of documentation submitted to the Executive Board, for action or information, through coordination with other UN-Women substantive divisions.
• Assists in logistical arrangements with regard to the Executive Board sessions and liaise with the UN Secretariat, Diplomatic Missions and Member States, regional groups, in house divisions, etc.
• Assists in the preparations of Executive Board field visits.
• Assists in the preparations of the joint meetings of the Executive Boards of the Funds and Programmes.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Secretary of the Executive Board, the incumbent is expected to perform the following tasks:

• Support the team in the preparation of briefing notes, talking points and other documentation;
• Assist in the coordination of substantive preparations of documentation for Executive Board meetings (liaising with UN Women teams, ELT, EDO);
• Lead on communications work for the Executive Board Secretariat, including through maintaining and updating the EB website, monitoring the generic e-mail inbox, updating e-mail distribution lists, and setting-up and managing a Twitter account for the Executive Board;
• Draft generic correspondence and assist the Secretary of the Executive Board with scheduling appointments;
• Support inter-agency coordination, including through updating the joint-EB calendar, supporting joint-meeting of the board activities;  
• Act as focal point for IT-related issues of the Executive Board Secretariat;
• Provide other logistical and administrative support to the Executive Board Secretariat and to official sessions, informal briefings, and related events;
• Coordinate with DGACM and other teams as needed to ensure successful conference services arrangements;
• Arrange travel and hotel reservations, prepare travel authorizations, process requests for visas, identity cards and other documents, collect information for DSA, as required;
• Perform other tasks as needed.

Deliverables:

• Quality drafts and inputs to documentation (talking points, briefing notes, draft correspondences, etc);
• Quality proofreading support, upon request;
• Successful coordination of all logistical arrangements for meetings, sessions and events organized;
• Timely and quality communications support, including on managing the Twitter account, updating the EB website, among others;
• Timely submission of documents on  g-Doc and timely upload of documents on EB websites and other platforms;
• Timely and regular update of distribution lists of the Board and the Bureau;
• Timely update of Joint Executive Board calendars, ensuring that no Board meetings clash with events held by other Executive Boards;
• Timely preparation of formal session binders;
• Timely support with travel arrangements for Executive Board missions, as coordinated via Atlas, upon request;
• Timely and quality support to other ad-hoc requests that may arise.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Ethics and Values
• Organizational Awareness
• Development and Innovation
• Work in Teams
• Communication and Information sharing
• Self-management and Emotional Intelligence
• Conflict Management
• Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing
• Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making

Functional Competencies:

• Demonstrates commitment to UN-Women’s mission, vision and values;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Produces qualitative, accurate outputs with considerable attention to detail, in a timely manner;
• Manages complexities, shifting priorities, and can work effectively without constant supervision;
• Maintains constructive, effective business relationships with clients and partners;
• Adheres to deadlines and follows up on time-bound issues;
• Maintains diplomacy, tact and strict confidentiality with internal and external partners and clients;
• Strong interpersonal and communication (verbal, listening, writing) skills;
• Organization skills (time management, efficient administration, multi-tasking and fast-paced);
• Ability to work under pressure within strict deadlines;
• Ability to adapt quickly to work demands, and changing deadlines;
• Willingness to “inter-change” work functions with other staff within the team, when required.

Required Skills and Experience

• Completion of secondary education is required; A Master’s degree or equivalent in the field of political sciences, social sciences, international relations, law, government, other relevant field, an advantage;
• Minimum 2 years of experience in administration, inter-agency coordination and/or intergovernmental processes at the national and international level, required;
• Experience in dealing with the operational agencies of the United Nations and, particularly, the Funds and Progammes such as UNDP, UNFPA, UNOPS, UNICEF or WFP, an asset;
• Experience in the use of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and in handling web-based management systems, required;
• Experience in facilitating documentation processing and communications, an advantage.

Language:

• Fluency in English, oral and written, is required;
• Working knowledge of another UN official language is a strong advantage.

Please 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. Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

UN Women Personal History form (P-11) can be downloaded from https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form-en.doc.
 

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 based on 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. (Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check).