UN WOMEN Jobs - 69258- UN Women: Policy Specialist

UN Women: Policy Specialist – Human Rights

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

TA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

03-Nov-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-3

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

6 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.

The Policy Division develops and implements the UN Women program of work on analysis, research and knowledge management that provides the evidence base for the advice and guidance UN Women provides to the intergovernmental process, the UN system, and to UN Women staff working at country and regional level on issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment. It identifies emerging issues and trends, and develops and proposes new strategies for achieving the agreed goals through innovative approaches and lessons learned about what works in practice. It also designs and oversees the training and capacity development programs of UN Women, working closely with the UN Women training facility in Santo Domingo.

The Policy Division staff is organized in Thematic Clusters, bringing together technical experts who: undertake issues-based research; analyze data on country, regional or global trends; build a knowledge base on policy commitments and their implementation; propose evidence-based options for global policy, norms and standards and for UN Women global programme strategies; and contribute substantive inputs to policy advocacy and technical cooperation programmes.

Under the supervision of the Policy Advisor - Human Rights, the Policy Specialist is responsible for undertaking human rights analysis and research on priority areas and assuming substantive and administrative responsibilities on priority themes. S/He provides support to intergovernmental processes dealing with human rights development issues and prepares inputs for reports to human rights inter-governmental bodies under the guidance and oversight of the supervisor.

Responsibilities will focus on the methodological development of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Indicator 5.1.1 “Whether or not legal frameworks are in place to promote, enforce and monitor equality and non-discrimination on the basis of sex.”

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide research and analysis support:

Conduct research and analysis of surveys on legal frameworks to promote gender equality;
Conduct research and prepare compilations on international standards in relation to legal frameworks that promote gender equality;
Conduct research and collect good practices and lessons learned on legal frameworks that promote gender equality at country level;
Draft briefs, talking points, speeches, inputs to reports, content on intranet and internet as required.

Provide support to policy development and intergovernmental processes:

Provide technical support to the development of processes relating to assessment/validation of legal frameworks under SDG indicator 5.1.1, including preparation of briefs and proposed strategies/protocols on indicators and legal frameworks that promote gender equality, coordination with partners and other stakeholders, and participate in events on SDGs;
Contribute technically to consultations and the preparation of reports to intergovernmental bodies.

Monitor and evaluate results of global surveys on legal frameworks:

Provide technical support in the assessment of survey results;
Advise on the application of international standards to survey results;
Advise on and prepare proposals for the revision of surveys.

Provide technical support to partnership development:

Establish linkages and facilitate engagement with UN human rights mechanisms in relation to SDG indicator 5.1.1;
Coordinate and facilitate meetings and events with UN human rights mechanisms and partners;
Coordinate and nurture relationships with partners in relation to SDG indicator 5.1.1.

Key Performance Indicators:

The key results expected will have positive impact on the overall effectiveness of UN Women’s work related to human rights, through contributing directly to achievement of the relevant Goals in UN Women’s Strategic Plan.

Quality research and inputs on Human Rights, laws that promote gender equality, and SDG indicator 5.1.1;
Quality written contributions;
Timely coordination of meetings and events.

Competencies

Core Values:

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.

Respect for 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 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:

Knowledge of gender related issues and human rights, including laws that promote gender equality;
Good knowledge and experience related to current policies and practices in the fields of Human Rights;
Good knowledge on issues relating to human rights mechanisms and the human rights based approach;
Good knowledge of intergovernmental processes and bodies;
Ability to undertake policy research and prepare quantitative studies, utilizing statistical methodologies, knowledge of database applications for statistical analysis;
Ability to organize and complete multiple tasks by establishing priorities;
Ability to handle a large volume of work possibly under time constraints;
Ability to establish, build and sustain effective relationships with clients, demonstrating understanding of client’s perspective; anticipates client needs and addresses them promptly.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master degree (or equivalent) in development related disciplines, gender issues, human rights, public policy/administration, or related social science.

Experience:

A minimum of 5 years of increasingly responsible professional experience in gender programming, policy research and gender analysis at the international level, at least 2 of which should be directly related to Human Rights;
Experience working with laws that promote gender equality is a distinct advantage;
Experience working with inter-governmental bodies and international human rights processes is a distinct advantage;
Experience with databases and in developing research papers.

Languages:

Written and oral proficiency in English is required;
Knowledge of another UN working language is desirable.

Application Information:

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;
UN Women will only be able to respond to those applications in which there is further interest.

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.