UN WOMEN Jobs - 66168- Technical Adviser

Technical Adviser

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Harare, ZIMBABWE

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

01-Jun-2016

Application Deadline :

24-May-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

3 Months

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

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. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

In Zimbabwe UN Women supports implementation of the existing international commitments to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in line with the national priorities. In this regard UN Women is providing capacity development support to the Zimbabwe Gender Commission.

The Zimbabwe Gender Commission (the Commission) is one of the five independent commissions established in terms of Section 245 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Number 20 of 2013 (the Constitution) and the Gender Commission Act [Chapter 10:31].

The mandate and functions of the Commission are set out in Section 246 of the Constitution as follows:

Monitor issues concerning gender equality to ensure gender equality as provided for in the Constitution;
To investigate possible violations of rights related to gender;
To receive and consider complaints from the public and to take such action in regard to the complaints as it considers appropriate;
To conduct research into issues relating to gender and social justice and to recommend changes to laws and practices which lead to discrimination based on gender;
To advise public and private institutions on steps to be taken to ensure gender equality;
To recommend affirmative action programmes to achieve gender equality;
To recommend prosecution for criminal violations of rights relating to gender
To secure appropriate redress where rights relating to gender have been violated; and
To do everything necessary to promote gender equality.

The Gender Commission Act further provides for the power of the Commission to investigate violations of gender equality, gender equity and efforts at gender mainstreaming.

Nine Commissioners, drawn from different backgrounds, were appointed in June 2015 and sworn in, in September 2015 by His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe. As a newly established constitutional commission, the Commission intends to establish a framework to become operational in order to carry out its mandate effectively.

From 3-4 February 2016, the Commission held its first induction workshop, supported by UN Women with a view to increasing its capacity to carry out its mandate effectively. One of the resolutions of the induction workshop was for the Commission to subsequently, develop a Strategic Plan to carve its role and map out its activities. This Strategic Plan will run from 2016-2021.

It is against this background that the Commission, as a new institution, requires the services of a Technical Advisor to facilitate its organisational development processes.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Technical Advisor will be working with the Gender Commission for three (3) months. Under the overall supervision of the UN Women Deputy Representative, the Advisor will be reporting to the Chairperson of the Gender Commission.

She/he will provide technical advice to the Gender Commission and specifically, will undertake the following tasks and responsibilities:

Facilitate theimplementation of the Zimbabwe Gender Commission’s strategic plan to guide its work;
Support the Commission when needed in the recruitment of staff;
Coordinate and support the development, implementation and monitoring of the Commission’s programmes and activities;
Manage the implementation of UNWOMEN supported programmes to the Commission through developing work plans, budgets, monitoring and evaluation of plans;
Overall management and supervision of supported programmes;
Manage consultants and specialist advisors engaged to support the Commission including designing of TORs for consultancies in consultation with the Commission;
Develop specific activities including preparation of concept papers in consultation with the Commission;
Train and orient Commissioners on key gender and development issues to enhance their understanding and abilities to effectively discharge their responsibilities;
Build strategic partnerships with key stakeholders including CSOs, Parliament, Government Ministries and other Commissions among others;
Advise on and develop strategic initiatives to advance the Commission’s mission and objectives;
Support the programmatic and administrative functions of the Commission;
Conceptualise, develop and promote innovations in the Commission’s policies;
Draft and review activity reports and financial statements to determine progress and status in attaining the Commission’s objectives and revise objectives and plans in accordance with current conditions and needs; and
Undertake other duties as assigned.

Expected Outputs:

Growth in the breadth and depth of the Commission’s engagement with key partners;
Growth in the Commission’s reputation and visibility as the key institution tasked with oversight, monitoring and holding institutions accountable for the realization of national, regional and international gender equality commitments.

Deliverables:

Monthly progress reports on the implementation of the duties and responsibilities as listed above and based on an approved workplan. In addition to that, the consultant will deliver the following:
Written commentary and final versions of strategic , programme, planning, budgeting and monitoring documents and policies developed for the Commission;
Manuals or tools and techniques developed for training the Commission;
Monthly narrative reports of work done with the Commission;
Building of strong relationships between the Commission and its advocacy and alliance partners.

Competencies

Core Values / Guiding Principles:

Integrity:

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

Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity:

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

Core Competencies:

Ethics and Values:

Demonstrating / Safeguarding Ethics and Integrity.

Organizational Awareness:

Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Developing and Empowering People / Coaching and Mentoring:

Initiative-taking; coaching and mentoring ability.

Working in Teams:

Acting as a team player and facilitating team work.

Communicating Information and Ideas:

Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively.

Self-management and Emotional intelligence:

Creating synergies through self-control.

Conflict Management / Negotiating and Resolving Disagreements:

Managing conflict.

Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning:

Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others.

Functional Competencies:

Leadership skills:

Strong knowledge and experience in networking and communication, particularly with the government and civil society sector.
Ability to deal with multiple and diverse parties/partners;
Flexibility and ability to negotiate based on agreed upon goals;
Strong analytical skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Masters’ Degree or its equivalent in any of the following; Law, Sociology, Gender Studies, Anthropology or other social science fields.

Experience:

A minimum of 10 years’ experience in gender equality and women’s empowerment work;
Knowledge on the work of the Gender Commission;
Experience in programming on gender equality at a national level;
Experience in strategic planning and execution;
Knowledge of negotiating and change management;
Enhanced skills in examining and re-engineering operations and procedures;
Experience in formulating policy, and developing and implementing new strategies and procedures;
Ability to communicate and interact with officials at all levels of government and to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community;
Experience in research/analytical work in socio-economic related area;
Knowledge on Women’s rights including sub-regional, regional and international instruments on women’s rights;
Strong understanding of the functions of government;
Previous experience in providing technical support to high level government institutions;
Good planning, goal setting and prioritization and organisational skills;
Strong interpersonal and communication skills.

Language:

Proficiency in the English language.

Application submission package:

CV;
Duly filled Personal History Form (P11 Form) that can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment.
Only short-listed candidates will be contacted;
Please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows you to upload a maximum of one document.