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 UN Women Egypt Country Office is based in Cairo, and works on the following main areas in Egypt: a) promoting women’s leadership and political participation; b) economic empowerment of women, especially in marginalized areas; c) ending violence against women;

Under the overall supervision of the Country Director and the direct supervision of the Deputy Country Director, the Gender Equality Specialist will provide advice on gender equality and empowerment of women in Egypt with the view of defining direction and substance of the Country Office programmatic and normative work. The person will  work in close collaboration with the programme and operations team, UN Women RO and HQ staff, contributing to the successful and results focused UN Women programme design and implementation and normative work, all guided by the corporate policies and frameworks for results-based management.

Impact area 1: Egyptian Women’s increased leadership and participation in the public sphere during the democratic transition The program is designed to assist the GOE in fulfilling its obligations to gender equality under the various international declarations, as well as respond to the challenges facing Egypt’s transition towards a democracy in which women are empowered as equal citizens, and engaged in all levels of decision making. It strengthens the capacity of women’s groups and civil society organizations to effect change at the legislative and social levels towards advancing the women’s rights agenda. UN Women Egypt’s “Citizenship Initiative” is a flagship programme that facilitates the national registration process for the issuance of ID cards for unregistered rural and marginalized women.

Impact area 2: Increased economic security and autonomy of Egyptian women, especially of those who are marginalized in upper, rural, and slum areas With a view of securing women’s equal rights and participation in the formal and informal economic sectors UN Women is developing a model for an integrated strategy for enhancing women economic participation, extending financial and non-financial services, and productive assets to the most vulnerable women enabling them to move out of poverty and provide for themselves and their families.

Impact area 3: women and girls live a life free from violence UN Women Egypt follows a holistic approach that stems from the understanding that VAW in Egypt is a multilayered problem that needs to be addressed at several levels. As such, and in close collaboration with sister agencies, UN Women works to support the government to create an enabling environment for legislative and policy reforms; to support the enhanced capacities of government and non-governmental bodies on gender-sensitive VAW legislation; and support for grassroots initiatives and youth groups for their advocacy and mobilization efforts. UN Women also works with the Ministries of Justice (MoJ) and Interior (MoI) to improve women victims’ access to and experience of the justice system.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:

• Provision of top quality advisory services for the programme and normative areas of UN Women work in the country;
• Inter-agency and Donor Coordination Support;
• Strategic partnerships and resource mobilization Support;
• Advocacy support and facilitation of knowledge building and management.

Provision of top quality advisory services for the programme and normative areas of UN Women work in the country:

• Thorough analysis and research of the political, social and economic situation in the country and the region related to the programming and normative areas and preparation of substantive inputs to the UN Women Egypt Country Office programme development and implementation;
• Continuous monitoring and analysis of the programme environment, and providing guidance for the timely readjustment of programme interventions;
• Identification of areas for support and interventions within the programming and normative areas;
• Contribution to design and formulation of programme initiatives within the area of responsibility, translating UN Women’s priorities into local interventions;
• Provision of programme advisory support to the Country Director and the Deputy Country Director a Management within the programming and normative areas.

Inter-Agency and Donor Coordination Support:

• Provide substantive support to the Country Director and the Deputy Country Directors in the inter-agency coordination related activities;
• Take part and support in region level Inter-Agency processes, e.g. Comprehensive Country Assessment (CCA)/UNDAF processes, and similar exercises related to the RC system ensuring that gender concerns are clearly reflected and mainstreamed in process;
• Prepare substantive inputs to CCA/ UNDAF and other documents thoroughly analyzing and researching the political, social and economic situation in the region;
• Prepare analytical and regular progress reports on UN Women’s program experiences in support of UN women inter-agency coordination role;
• Provide substantive support and representation (as assigned) for the UN Women participation in the Egypt Development Partner’s Group (DPG).

Strategic partnerships and resource mobilization support:

• Contribution to the design and implementation of the Egypt Country Office partnerships and resources mobilization strategies.
• Create and coordinate partnerships with the relevant UN Agencies, government institutions, bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors, private sector, civil society and other partners;
• Determine programmatic areas of cooperation, based on strategic goals of UN Women, 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 cost-sharing;
• Follow up on resource on mobilization activities for fund raising for new projects under the guidance of Country Director and in close collaboration with the Deputy Country Director.

Advocacy support and facilitation of knowledge building and management:

• Support the establishment of advocacy networks at national level and linkages to international networks related to the Egypt Country Office programmatic and normative areas of work;
• Proactively and substantively support and implement relevant, high-impact advocacy activities and campaigns with key partners;
• Identify and synthesize best practices and lessons learnt directly linked to Egypt Country Office programmatic and normative areas of work;
• Proactively contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice.

The post has an impact on the overall effectiveness and success of the Egypt country Office interventions in the programmatic and normative areas.  By providing the high quality advisory services the incumbent contributes to an effective design, planning, implementation, and partnerships with the key government, civil-society and international development partners and helps mobilize resources for the programmatic and normative areas of UN Women work, thus enhancing the organization’s capacity and credibility.

• Regular contribution to the UNCT and DPG working groups and other coordination meetings according to work plan;
• Substantive inputs and technical support  provided to the government officials and UN agencies on international initiatives and events related to gender equality;
• Production of High quality briefing notes, speeches and communication materials;
• Organization of advocacy events and initiatives;
• UN Women partners, including government, key civil society and donors provide good feedback on their working relationship with UN Women, based on evaluations and assessments;
• Regular information provision on funding opportunities and donor support.

Competencies

Core values and Guiding principles:

Integrity:

• Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Professionalism:

• Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work;

Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity:

• Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff;
• Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

Ethics and Values:

• Demonstrate and promote ethics and integrity by creating organizational precedents.

Organizational Awareness:

• Build support for the organization and ensure political acumen.

Development and Innovation:

• Take charge of self-development and support innovation and take initiative.

Work in teams:

• Build and promote effective teams;
• Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Communication and Information Sharing:

• Create and promote an environment for open and effective communication.

Self-management and Emotional Intelligence:

• Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others.

Conflict Management:

• Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.

Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing:

• Share knowledge across the organization and build a culture of knowledge sharing and learning.

 Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making:

• Fair and transparent decision making processes and manage risk.

Functional Competencies:

• Knowledge of UN system and understanding of inter-agency coordination processes;
• Demonstrated negotiating, cultural sensitivity and diplomatic skills;
• Familiarity with results-based programme planning and management;
• Well-developed people management skills;
• Strong interpersonal, communication and presentation skills;
• Team-player;
• Ability to take initiative;
• Strong planning, goal-setting and prioritization and organizational skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:  

• Master’s degree in international relations, development studies, communication, social sciences, gender or other social science field;
• Bachelor’s degree is acceptable with at least 7 years of relevant work experience.

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years of progressively relevant experience in programme management and in development projects in Egypt, providing management advisory services, hands-on experience in planning and design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development policies and programmes and establishing inter-relationships among international organizations and national governments specifically in the field of gender equality;
• Experience in coordination and advocacy and forming strategic partnerships;
• Familiarity with the United Nations System and UN Women is an asset;
• Previous experience with UN processes, including those related to women’s empowerment and gender equality is an asset;
• Experience in building and maintaining relationships with government institutions and donors.

Language:

• Fluency in oral and written English and Arabic is required.