UN WOMEN Jobs - 66977- UN Women: Programme Specialist, Disaster Risk Redu

UN Women: Programme Specialist, Disaster Risk Reduction & Humanitarian Action

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Geneva, SWITZERLAND

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

10-Jul-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-4

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 year

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

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women 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 center of all its efforts, the UN Women will lead and coordinate United Nations (UN) System efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

The scope of work of the Programme Specialist in Geneva requires experience and in-depth understanding of gender equality, humanitarian action, climate change and disaster risk reduction issues. It will involve translating UN Women's strategic plans into effective programmes and results and to successfully advocate UN Women’s position in global Humanitarian Action and DRR policy and inter-governmental processes, especially in the context of the recently adopted Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction Agreement (SFA) and the Paris Agreement on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as the UN Plan of Action of DRR for Resilience. It will also entail supporting the implementation of UN Women’s disaster risk management flagship programme initiative, entitled Addressing the Gender Inequality of Risk & Promoting Community Resilience to Natural Hazards in a Changing Climate. In addition, it will require developing mutually reinforcing partnerships with relevant Government counterparts, UN organizations, donors and CSOs. The Programme Specialist will act as the liaison officer between UN Women’s Unit for Humanitarian Action at Headquarter and Geneva based stakeholders.

Under the overall supervision of the Humanitarian Advisor in UN Women’s headquarters in New York, the Programme Specialist is expected to engage proactively with the relevant UN Women’s internal departments and regional and country offices, as well as other UN Entities, and inter-governmental bodies and processes to ensure gender issues are addressed in efforts related to humanitarian action, climate change and disaster risk reduction at the global level.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide strategic guidance and support to Regional and Country Offices on Disaster Risk Reduction programme development:

Oversee the roll out and implementation of the UN Women’s flagship programme initiative, Gender Inequality of Risk & Promoting Community Resilience to Natural Hazards in a Changing Climate at the Regional and Country office level;
Identify and explore funding opportunities and manage financial resources, for UN Women’s gender and climate change/DRR programming;
Provide technical support to the Regional and Country Offices in the development of strategic and thematic partnerships with regional and governmental agencies, UN agencies and other important actors in climate change/DRR;
Develop the capacity development of governments to programme gender and climate change-related resources and provide advice on the effective use and management of different climate financing mechanisms.

Provide policy support to Regional and Country Offices on Disaster Risk Reduction and Humanitarian Action:

Provide substantive guidance and support to Regional and Country Offices in climate change/DRR policy dialogues key partners, including key line ministries, donors, NGOs, private sector, and civil society;
Provide policy support and information to Regional and Country Offices in the context of multilateral negotiations/discussions on gender, climate change and DRR, including those associated with the SFA and the Paris Agreement;
Provide technical support to Regional and Country Offices and governments on gender-responsive national low-carbon, climate-resilient development strategies and plans and review of sector policies;
Develop and share technical and strategic position papers, presentations, advisory and briefing notes, as needed;
Provide technical support on humanitarian action as required.

Establish and strengthen partnerships and oversee resource mobilization strategies:

Explore strategic opportunities with Regional and Country Offices and governments that can maximize synergies between gender, climate change, DRR, poverty, and SDG-related activities, including south-south cooperation schemes and innovative clean technology options for energy access for the poor;
Liaise with relevant global and regional organizations engaged in climate change and disaster risk reduction to move forward UN Women’s vision;
Liaise and coordinate with regional development partners and donors, building strategic alliances on behalf the Regional Office and HQ to ensure a common approach;
Provide technical support to the building of strategic alliances and partnerships for gender and humanitarian action, climate change and disaster risk reduction related strategies and initiatives;
Maintain close liaison with relevant donors and other actors supporting efforts on gender and humanitarian action, climate change and DRR to monitor funding trends and identify new sources of support for UN Women’s initiatives;
Provide technical support to regional and country offices mobilize resources for the implementation of gender and humanitarian action, climate change and DRR initiatives in the region.

Represent UN Women and advocate for Disaster Risk Reduction and Humanitarian Action issues:

Represent UN Women at the global level in climate change and DRR policy dialogues and realization of commitments made in the SFA;
Represent UN Women in the implementation of the UN Plan of Action on DRR for Resilience;
Act as the liaison between UN Women’s Humanitarian Unit in New York and stakeholders in Geneva on issues related to humanitarian action;
Represent UN Women at inter-governmental and regional meetings as required.

Oversee Disaster Risk Reduction and Humanitarian Action knowledge management:

Secure a flow of information between the Country Offices, Regional Offices and UN Women headquarters to keep them abreast of climate change, disaster risk reduction and humanitarian action related developments and activities undertaken by UN bodies and major global and regional actors;
Capture the good practices and lessons learned from the field so that they can be more widely disseminated and utilized in alternative settings;
Promote the use and improvement of knowledge management mechanisms to share information about gender and humanitarian action, climate change and DRR related initiatives.
Promotion of awareness and understanding of the UN Women mandate, mission and purpose and focus on Sustainable Human Development with special emphasis on gender, humanitarian action, climate change and disaster preparedness.

Competencies

Core Values and 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:

Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.

Organizational Awareness:

Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Development and Innovation:

Take charge of self-development and take initiative.

Work in 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.

Communicating and Information Sharing:

Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for 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:

Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.

Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making:

Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making.

Functional Competencies:

In-depth knowledge and understanding of the global debate on gender, disaster risk reduction and climate change and experience in multilateral environmental debates and dialogues and processes;
Ability to apply knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside of UN Women;
Ability to advocate for gender equality and provide policy advice;
Ability to lead strategic planning, programme development and implementation, results-based management and reporting;
Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them for development results;
Excellent leadership skills;
Excellent conflict resolution and negotiation skills;
Ability to develop and maintain strong partnerships and mobilize resources;
Excellent communication and public speaking skills;
Very strong negotiation skills;
Proven analytical and problem solving skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree in climate sciences, environmental sciences, earth sciences, natural resource economics, political science, related social sciences or related discipline.

Experience:

Minimum 7 years of relevant work experience on issues related to climate risk, vulnerability reduction, humanitarian action and capacity development;
Proven expertise in the area of gender equality and the empowerment of women;
Strong experience in partnership building;
Experience in working with government, donors or the UN previously is an asset;
Proven track record in policy analysis, development work in the area of climate change/DRR and related issues.

Language:

Fluency in written and oral English is required.

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.

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment

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.