UN WOMEN Jobs - 72442- Consultant – Strategic Planning for Gender Equalit

Consultant – Strategic Planning for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

12-Jun-2017

Application Deadline :

01-Jun-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

International Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

45 working days

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

TBD

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 United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) was established by General Assembly Resolution 64/289 of 2 July 2010 on system-wide coherence with the mandate to assist Member States and the United Nations system to progress more effectively and efficiently toward the goal of achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women. The 2014-2017 Strategic Plan, sets out the organization’s vision, mission and priorities in supporting Member States and the United Nations system.

UN Women is currently formulating its new Strategic Plan 2018-2021 for approval by its Executive Board in September 2017. One of the key elements of this process is the development of an overarching Theory of Change that will define the changes to be achieved at different levels (impact, outcomes, and outputs) and how such changes can happen through UN Women’s support and partnership with other UN agencies and development institutions.

Once approved, the new UN Women Strategic Plan will serve as a main guiding document for country/multi-country/regional offices in developing their Strategic Notes and Annual Work Plans. The country SNs/AWPs translate the UN Women corporate SP into plans/programmes that are relevant to the specific contexts of the countries, in line with the United Nations Development Frameworks (UNDAFs), and support the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. A number of UN Women offices whose SNs are ending in 2017 in line with the country UNDAFs will be developing their new SNs for the period beginning in 2018 – the first batch of new SNs to be aligned with the new UN Women SP 2018-2021.

The development of 2018 country SNs will be guided also by the new UNDAF guidance issued by the United Nations Development Group in early 2017. The UNDAF guidance is intended to support United Nations Country Teams to produce a new generation of UNDAFs that are aligned with the 2030 Agenda.

Duties and Responsibilities

Objective:

The overall objective is for UN Women to have a Strategic Plan 2018-2021 anchored on a strong Theory of Change, and Strategic Notes and Annual Work Plans for the different offices, that will establish its priorities and resources to promote the organization’s triple mandate on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Outputs and process:

The consultant will work under the overall guidance and direction of the head of the Planning and Programme Guidance Unit (PPGU). PPGU will manage this consultancy to ensure the satisfactory completion of the following tasks and outputs.

Output 1: Overarching Theory of Change (ToC) for UN Women Strategic Plan 2018-2021:

This will be an eight to ten-page paper (including a narrative and graphic representation of the ToC) that will be circulated to the Executive Board as a Conference Paper in September 2017. The main purpose of this paper is to clearly articulate the changes to be achieved by UN Women and through the support of other UN agencies and development partners, highlighting the conditions that need to happen for these changes to take place, i.e., “if…then… “. It will be used as a communication and advocacy tool to generate greater support for the organization to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Undertake desk review of key documents (e.g. draft SP including its narrative and Development Results Framework or DRF) and consult with key staff involved in the drafting of the SP and with senior management to obtain a clear understanding of UN Women’s thinking on the subject. Identify any significant issues, including diverging viewpoints, and be able to provide objective assessments and options towards reaching a consensus on the best way to articulate the ToC.
Draft the ToC for review by UN Women and finalize it based on feedback received.

Output 2 – Guidance on the Development of 2018 Strategic Notes and Annual Work Plans:

This guidance will take into account new developments that include the new UN Women Strategic Plan 2018-2021, the 2017 UNDAF guidance, Agreed Conclusions of the Sixty-First Session of the Commission on the Status of Women on “Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work”, as well as Agenda 2030, Beijing Platform for Action +20, etc.
Review previous guidance on the formulation of SNs/AWPs during the SP period 2014-2017. Consult with key staff and management. Identify key elements that remain relevant to the new guidance to be developed for 2018, including those that need to be modified. Identify new ones that need to be introduced considering new developments.
Draft guidance for review of UN Women and finalize it based on feedback received.

Output 3: Elaboration of New UNDAF Guidance:

This paper will provide more detailed guidance to enable UN Women offices better support the formulation of UNDAFs and the development of their SNs aligned with the UNDAFs. It will provide further explanation, among others, of the principles of integrated programming which include human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment; and how the different approaches to integrated programming may be applied in the context of gender equality and women’s empowerment and the work that UN Women does considering its triple mandate, including supporting development, humanitarian and peace-building efforts and results-focused programming. The narrative guidance will be accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation.
Review key documents (e.g., 2017 UNDAF guidance, UN Women-specific documents on Results-Based Management, etc.) and interview key resource persons.
Draft guidance for UN Women review and finalize it based on feedback received.

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

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

Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing:

Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.

Functional Competencies:

Strategic planning and programming
Results-based management
Capacity development

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced University Degree in social development, economics, business, philosophy, gender and development, cognitive science or other related field.

Experience:

Minimum 10 years’ professional experience in development work is required, including on gender equality and women’s empowerment, required
Experience in strategic planning and RBM required
Experience in capacity development in the context required in the context of strengthening capacities of governments, NGOs and other civil society organizations in the context of achieving development results preferred.
Experience in producing papers and reports, including those intended for high-level audience
Experience in working with the UN system essential. Familiarity with key UN processes including at the country level (e.g., UNDAF formulation) an asset.

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise:

Very good understanding of gender quality and women’s empowerment issues essential. Preferably in more than one of the following thematic areas: political empowerment; economic empowerment; violence against women; peace, security and humanitarian action; and gender-responsive planning and budgeting processes
Strong background and experience in strategic planning and programming
Strong background in results-based management

Strong background in capacity development
Very good understanding of the UN system, how it operates, its key processes (UNDAF formulation, etc.)

Communications:

Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English, including the ability to set out a coherent argument in presentations and group interactions;
Ability to communicate in a concise, clear and effective manner, verbal and written (through a combination of narratives and graphic presentations)

Task Management:

Proven ability to work under pressure and produce outputs that are accurate, timely and of high quality.
Ability to establish priorities and to plan, coordinate and monitor own work plan.