UNDP Jobs - 34666- Knowledge Management Specialist, IKNOW Politics

Knowledge Management Specialist, IKNOW Politics

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

28-Jan-2013

Application Deadline :

03-Jan-13 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-3

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 year

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

1 year

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

The International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics (iKNOW Politics www.iknowpolitics.org ) is a joint Project between UNDP, UNWomen, International IDEA, IPU and NDI. The International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics, iKNOW Politics, is designed to increase the number and effectiveness of women in political life by utilizing a technology enabled forum to provide access to resources, expertise, dialogue, and knowledge creation on women’s political participation.

Despite some encouraging data and statistics on women’s participation in politics, women still lack access to political leadership opportunities and resources at local, national and regional levels. In order to provide a mechanism to share best practices on women’s political participation and leadership, UNDP, UNWomen, NDI, IPU, and International IDEA established a global knowledge network for women in politics (iKNOW Politics). iKNOW Politics brings together women involved in politics around the world in order to gain access to valuable resources and advisory services, share interests and experiences, participate in training and development, network and collaborate on issues of interest. Network members have access to a cadre of experts and practitioners that can advise candidates and elected officials on how to develop and implement successful campaign and lobbying strategies with the goal of getting more women involved in politics. The network also facilitates direct contact between women leaders to share relevant experiences, challenges and successes with one another. Additionally, the network provides an opportunity to the users to stay abreast of global events and news related to women’s political participation globally and regionally.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:

Knowledge Management and Organizational learning
Programme Coordination
Advocacy

Knowledge Management and Organizational learning, focusing on achievement of the following results:

Develop the iKNOW Politics community, promoting community collaboration around project priorities, building relations with relevant institutions and individuals, and assisting in setting the agenda of the project;
Conduct research for knowledge and information needed to prompt dialogue or enhance the depth of Network products and services;
Facilitate the access, creation, sharing, and application of specialized knowledge in the field of women and political participation by network members;
Manage the process of collecting and disseminating lessons learned on women’s political participation from the discussions generated in the iKNOW Politics portal, and contribute to the knowledge management efforts of all partner organizations;
Manage the membership of the network; encourage communication, capture knowledge and turn it into new knowledge resources;
Work with the language facilitators; cross-link expert contributions between regions and across languages;
Collaborate with the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Team to enhance, update, and assist in the development of the website, including identifying new technologies and managing long-term development requests;
Address impediments to sharing information and the flow of knowledge, facilitate demand and supply of knowledge; develop a system for knowledge seeking and provision enshrined in accountability frameworks.

Programme Coordination, focusing on achievement of the following results:

Build strong relationships with key staff of the five partner organizations at global, regional and national level in order to have a good understanding of partner’s nature, mandates, perspectives, and activities on women’s political participation;
Identify complementary areas of work, and potential opportunities for enhanced linking, collaboration and synergies among the five partners.
Develop a project monitoring and evaluation plan; monitor and maintain Network performance indicators and report on practice performance and Network utilization;
Coordinate between the ICT team and iKNOW Politics staff to establish quarterly ICT work plans, based on the long-term development requests;
Develop an internal communications strategy and ensure regular and relevant information is shared among all staff to better the performance of the network;
Provide substantive, technical and administrative support for the timely and effective implementation of project, such as managing project/programme resources, liaising with the relevant partners and facilitating linkages to global initiatives, monitoring, reporting and analysis of achievements, results and future directions of iKNOW Politics services;
Assist in the preparation of periodic progress reports to be submitted to partner organizations and donors, including preparing the monthly digest.

Advocacy, focusing on achievement of the following results:

Represent iKNOW Politics in interagency, intergovernmental, international, regional and national conferences and internal meetings and advocate the role of iKNOW Politics in increasing women’s political participation;
Maintain a watching brief on events and knowledge development in the arenas of women in politics and leadership. To this end, produce occasional updates or notes, attend relevant workshops, or organize gatherings (workshops etc) to advance learning in this field, or to promote better programming;
Liaise with relevant networks, organizations and partner offices in developing knowledge products and in organizing learning platforms to promote iKNOW Politics.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards
Advocates and 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:

Interest and Commitment to the advancement of women in politics;
Substantive knowledge of issues on gender equality and women’s empowerment;
In-depth substantive knowledge of Knowledge Management and development of policy issues;
Fluency in Microsoft word, excel, e-mail, web-based applications and databases;
Promotes Knowledge Management and a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example;
Outstanding networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills;
Capacity to work with diverse partners including governments, donors and civil society.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master Degree in Political Science, International Relations, International Development, Law or other related field.

Experience:

A minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience in the field of communication and electronic knowledge network; relevant professional work experience in programme design and management in the areas of women’s political development;
Project management is a plus.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English. Knowledge of additional UN language is a plus.