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 overall objective of the United Nations System Coordination in UN Women is to develop and oversee the implementation of UN Women’s UN system coordination role to “lead, coordinate and promote the accountability of the United Nations system in its work on gender equality and the empowerment of women” at global, regional and country level and to support the systemwide implementation of the gender mainstreaming strategy.

Broadly speaking, WCA coordination unit coordinates and engages the UN system to:

1-   Enhance accountability for mainstreaming a gender perspective into the results and functions of the entities of the UN system, including financial resource functions, through the implementation of the UN-System Wide Action Plan (UN-SWAP)

2-   Enhance accountability for mainstreaming a gender perspective into the results and functions of the UN Country Teams (UNCTs) through the implementation of the UNCT-SWAP Gender Equality Scorecard (UNCT-SWAP)

3-   Enhance Gender Mainstreaming into substantive themes, including through UN Women’s participation in system-wide forums and inter-governmental processes

4-   Enhance Disability Inclusion and Intersectionality, including of gender equality and disability.

Annually, UN-SWAP focal points in UN entities and UNCT-SWAP focal points in UN Country Teams report on the 17 and 15 performance indicators, respectively, which are integrated into the UN-SWAP and UNCT-SWAP accountability frameworks. UN Country Teams report in the last quarter of the year, while UN entities report in the first quarter. Reporting is done through a password-protected online platform. The UN-SWAP and UNCT-SWAP accountability frameworks undergo yearly revisions for minor updates and enhancements, which are also reflected in the online reporting platform.

Under the supervision of the Planning & coordination Specialist, the Coordination consultant will provide technical support in normative work and engagement of partners in regional and global intergovernmental/multi-stakeholder fora, including in relation to the SDGs, CSW and other relevant international platforms and processes and will provide technical support to the development and management of UN Women’s strategic coordination strategy, 

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide guidance to and support the coordination of UN agencies on addressing gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) as a guiding principle during the development and implementation of the Cooperation framework (including the development of the Roadmap, CCA and UNSDCF).

  • Provide advice and inputs on the UNSDCF Roadmap to ensure that the UNSDCF development process will ensure strong integration of gender equality and women’s empowerment, in line with the UNCT SWAP requirements in UN Women country office and NRA countries, and facilitate active engagement of Women’s CSOs; 
  • Support the development of a rigorous gender analysis in the Common Country Analysis (CCA) to explain immediate, underlying and root causes of gender inequalities and gender-based discrimination, and differentiated impacts (including through an appreciation of social, legal, political, economic and cultural dynamics that underpin gender inequality), and to ensure consistent sex disaggregated data and related analysis;  
  • Review and provide technical guidance and inputs to each step of the UNSDCF WCA country office and NRAs to ensure the integration of gender equality considerations: Strategic prioritization, results matrix, funding framework, joint work plans, joint programmes, monitoring, reporting and evaluation;
  • Provide guidance and support to the UNCT to strengthen monitoring and reporting on GEWE in the context of the Cooperation Framework;
  • Support the coordination and preparation of analytical and regular progress reports on gender index through UN Info under the lead of coordination Specialist.

Support the coordination and provide technical support to strategic partnerships building in normative work.

  • Support targeted engagements with key partners through intergovernmental and multi-stakeholder spaces/initiatives, including by proposing innovative approaches.
  • Provide support in the development of  WCA regional engagement roadmaps for annual CSW sessions and SDG-related forums and other relevant events/initiatives, including preparatory engagement and follow-up actions.
  • Build, manage, and expand relationships with national and regional partners to advocate for enforcement of international standards and norms on GEWE, including by designing and implementing joint actions and initiatives.
  • Keep WCARO and country offices abreast of relevant intergovernmental/multi-stakeholder events and discussions.
  • Provide advisory support to country-level UN Women offices and regional project managers on engagement in intergovernmental and multi-stakeholder initiatives/convenings.
  • Ensure meaningful engagement of CSOs (including youth-led organizations) and other under-represented partners from the region in regional and global events/convenings.
  • Identify areas for joint interventions and advocacy in partnership with UN agencies, international/regional bodies; etc.
  • Provide substantive inputs to resource mobilization actions supporting the intergovernmental and normative engagement.
  • Follow up engagement of Member States in the region in relation to the UN Women Executive Board and its activities.
  • Participate in events, as delegated.
  • Support in revitalizing the gender theme group
  • Support the Gender theme Groups and advancing of the Action plan and annual reports
  • Support RCO in integrating Gender Equality Marker and joint programming
  • Support financial initiatives on GEWE.

Support the coordination of  interagency advocacy and facilitation of knowledge building and management:

  • Support in coordination interagency efforts to establish advocacy networks and linkages to international networks related to gender equality, women’s empowerment; including those relating to reconciliation and humanitarian support;
  • Support in capacity development initiatives on gender-related issues and priorities;
  • Provide support to the coordination and the development of interagency advocacy strategies and their implementation.
  • Support and oversee the process of identifying and synthesizing best practices and lessons learnt, according to priorities set by the UNCT; and contribute to their dissemination.
  • Share knowledge and enhance organizational learning among UN Women regional and field offices through the development and use of on-line tools, templates, tips, mechanisms and guidelines;

Competencies

Key Perofrmance Indicators

  • Timely and quality contribution and leadership to the UNCT and DPG working groups and other coordination meetings;
  • Quality advice to RO and Senior Management;
  • Quality advice provided to the government officials and UN agencies at regional level;
  • Increased communication, collaboration and joint action on GEWE between agencies, including through dedicated UN GEWE coordination mechanism, as relevant;
  • Increased UNCT leadership and results in gender equality space;
  • Increased joint programming on GEWE;
  • Increased knowledge and strategic inputs provided to DCO RO;

Required Skills and Experience

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 general gender equality and women’s empowerment issues;
  • Excellent knowledge of UN system and understanding of inter-agency coordination and UNSDCF processes;
  • Ability to advocate and provide policy advice and interact with high level decision makers; 
  • Ability to envision, conceptualize and communicate strategic vision;
  • Strong gender-focused results-based management, programme implementation and monitoring and evaluation skills;
  • Excellent analytical and conceptual thinking skills;
  • Excellent negotiating, cultural sensitivity and diplomatic skills;
  • Strong planning, goal-setting and prioritization and organizational skills;
  • Familiarity with the region and women's rights organizations and networks in the region considered an asset.

Education and certification

Master degree in the social sciences (i.e. sociology, demography, psychology, political science and economics), public policy or international development. A specialization in gender is a strong asset.

Experience

  • At least  6 years of progressively responsible relevant work experience/ demonstrated track record that combines intellectual, strategic and managerial leadership in development programs. The majority of which should include having undertaken and led substantive programming and research/analysis on gender and development in key issue areas;
  • Experience with UN joint programming development and implementation in the area of gender equality and women’s empowerment;
  • Experience in UN coordination and joint advocacy and/or programming is required;
  • Experience in building and maintaining effective relationships with government institutions, CSOs and donors is desirable.

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.