UNDP Jobs - 25012- Gender Advisor UNDP Country Office/Cross Practice

Gender Advisor UNDP Country Office/Cross Practice Unit VA-2011/08/192

Location :

Kabul, AFGHANISTAN

Type of Contract :

FTA Local

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

21-Aug-11 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

NO-C

Duration of Initial Contract :

One Year (with possibility of extension)

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

UNDP Global Mission Statement:

UNDP is the UN’s global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with national counterparts on their own solutions to global and national development challenges.

UNDP Afghanistan Mission Statement:

UNDP Afghanistan is supporting the Government to find innovative solutions to its development challenges based on the on-going Country Programme Document approved by the Executive Board for the period 2006 – 2009. A new Country Programme Document was approved by the Executive Board during September 2009 for the period 2010-2013. Key priority areas for UNDP assistance are in strengthening democratic governance, crisis prevention and recovery, and reducing poverty. UNDP is strengthening the institutional capacities of key national government and sub-national authorities which aim to enhance human security, human development, peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Organizational Context:

UNDP Afghanistan is supporting the Government to find innovative solutions to its development challenges based on the Country Programme Document approved by the Executive Board for the period 2010 – 2013, where the gender was identified as an important cross practice priority. Among the key UNDP priorities is to assist the Government of Afghanistan (GoA) to set coherent, and well-grounded interventions in achieving the goals (strengthening of democratic processes and institutions, and Promoting gender equality and empowering women) in line with Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS).

Under the overarching gender mainstreaming goals of the ANDS as well as the National Assistance Plan for Women in Afghanistan (NAPWA), the Gender Equality Project (GEP) was initiated to build the Government’s capacity for stronger policy formulation and gender mainstreaming to overcome deep-rooted gender inequalities in the country. GEP emphasizes the modeling of gender mainstreaming into its key government partners, developed gender-based knowledge-products and integrated gender into selected academic institutions programmes as well as mobilized religious and other community leaders to change the mindset of the people about women’s role in society and their contribution to national development.

Additionally within rapidly expanding UNDP overall portfolio it is imperative to have a dedicated gender component in each programme addressing gender and development issues in respective fields such as: gender and poverty reduction, gender and governance, gender and conflict. Overall UNDP sees Gender as a cross-cutting issue and an “integrating dimension” in UNDP’s development interventions for achieving inclusive, democratic, violence-free and sustainable development. To approach this challenging task in an organized fashion UNDP Afghanistan recently established a gender cluster. The overall objective of the Gender Cluster is to integrate gender as a cross-cutting issue into UNDP’s different interventions in line with the Government’s emphasis on gender mainstreaming in major national policies and strategies. Additionally UNDP Afghanistan recently established Cross Practice Unit focusing mostly on facilitation gender and other cross practice intervention across all programme in Afghanistan.

The core responsibilities of the Gender advisor will be:

a) Support with formulation and implementation of the new generation of the Gender equality project and provide oversight to it’s implementation;

b) Coordinate the newly formed UNDP gender cluster to consolidate programmatic interventions on gender and development in various fields: gender and poverty reduction, gender and democratic governance, gender and conflict etc. The Gender advisor will broadly support gender mainstreaming and empowerment activities.

c) To provide policy advice to UNDP management and projects on gender and development.

d) To support UNDP contribution to the UN Gender Working Group in Afghanistan and take proactive lead in development dimension of UN Gender Working group.

Under the overall guidance and supervision of the DCD programme the Gender advisor and as part of cross practice team is responsible for management of UNDP programme within the thematic/sectoral areas assigned. The advisor analyzes political, social and economic trends and leads formulation, management and evaluation of programme activities within his/her portfolio, provides policy advice services.

The Gender advisor supervises and leads programme support staff, coordinates activities of the projects’ staff. S/he works in close collaboration with the operations team, programme staff in other UN Agencies, UNDP HQs staff and Government officials, technical advisors and experts, multi-lateral and bi-lateral donors and civil society ensuring successful UNDP programme implementation.

Note: UNDP Afghanistan reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP Afghanistan at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and education requirements.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of key functions:

Implementation of gender focused programme strategies;
Management of the gender aspects of UNDP CO programme;
Creation of strategic partnerships and implementation of the resource mobilization strategy on gender;
Provision of top quality policy advice to the UNDP management, projects and Government and facilitation of knowledge building and management.
Manages and coordinates the UNDP gender cluster.

Ensures implementation of programme strategies in the area of gender–related support focusing on achievement of the following results:

Thorough analysis and research of the political, social and economic situation in the country and preparation of substantive inputs to Common Country Assessment, United Nations Development Assistance Framework, Country Programme Document, Country Programme Action Plan and other documents;
Identification of areas for support and interventions within the thematic/sectoral areas assigned;

Ensures effective management of the CO programme within the area of gender mainstreaming focusing on quality control from formulation to implementation of the country programme achieving the following results:

Effective application of Result Based Management tools, establishment of management targets and monitoring achievement of results;
Design and formulation of CO programme within the area of responsibility, translating UNDP’s priorities into local interventions. Coordination of programme implementation with the executing agencies. Introduction of performance indicators/ success criteria, cost recovery, targets and milestones;
Initiation of a project, presentation of the project to PAC, negotiation & finalization of contribution agreement; determination of required revisions; coordination of the mandatory and budget re-phasing exercises, closure of projects through review. S/he can perform functions of Manager Level 1 in Atlas for POs and vouchers approval, participates in recruitment processes for projects;
Financial and substantive monitoring and evaluation of the projects, identification of operational and financial problems and provide advice for development of solutions. Support the audit of projects and follow up on audit recommendations;
Aggregate reports are regularly prepared on activities, outputs and outcomes. Preparation of donor reports.

Ensures creation of strategic partnerships and implementation of the resource mobilization strategy in cooperation with the Management Support and Business Development Team focusing on achievement of the following results:

Development of partnerships with the UN Agencies, government institutions, bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors, private sector, civil society in the specific thematic areas based on strategic goals of UNDP, country needs and donors’ priorities;
Analysis and research of information on donors, preparation of substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for initiation of new projects, active contribution to the overall office effort in resource mobilization.

Ensures provision of top quality advisory and facilitation of knowledge building and management in the area of gender development with focus on achievement of the following results:

Identification of sources of information related to policy-driven issues. Identification and synthesis of best practices and lessons learnt directly linked to programme country policy goals;
Support to development of policies and institutions that will address the country problems and needs in collaboration with the Government and other strategic partners;
Sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice;
Organization of trainings for various audiences including operations and Project staff on programme issues.

Manages and facilitates the work of the Gender Cluster and support CO programmes with coordination of gender activities, provision of strategic leadership, advocacy, policy support and capacity enhancement, resource mobilization and gender budgeting- focusing on the following key results:

Develop a project/program-wide approach and methodology for gender mainstreaming;
Identify entry points and opportunities for establishing linkages between different project/programmes on gender specific issues.
Develop institutional capacity and knowledge to enable gender mainstreaming within UNDP project/programmes.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge Management and Learning

Promotes a knowledge sharing and learning culture in the office;
In-depth knowledge on development issues;
Ability to advocate and provide policy advice;
Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more Practice Areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills.

Development and Operational Effectiveness

Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
Ability to lead formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes and projects, mobilize resources;
Good knowledge of the Results Management Guide and Toolkit;
Strong IT skills;
Ability to lead implementation of new systems (business side), and affect staff behavioral/ attitudinal change.

Management and Leadership

Focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
Leads teams effectively and shows conflict resolution skills;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors;
Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.
Prince2 training and certification, RMG and knowledge of ATLAS would an advantage.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Economics, Political Sciences, Social Sciences or related field.

Experience:

Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience at the national or international level in providing policy advice on gender issues, management services, hands-on experience in design, monitoring and evaluation of development projects;
Female applicants with Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Economics, Political Sciences, Social Sciences or related field and 5 years of relevant experience at the national or international level in providing policy advice on gender issues, management services, hands-on experience in design, monitoring and evaluation of development projects will also be considered;
Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages, experience in handling of web based management systems.
Gender-related work experience;
Experience in developing gender mainstreaming strategies and action plans.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English language and Dari/Pashto.