UN WOMEN Jobs - 83936- UN Women: Policy Specialist

UN Women: Policy Specialist - Women’s Political Participation

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

29-Mar-19 (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

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 programme 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.

Women’s leadership and participation is a primary area of UN Women’s work, and it is guided by UN-Women’s strategic 2018-2021 corporate theory of change for Priority Area 1/Output 4 “More women of all ages fully participate, lead and engage in political institutions and processes. This area contributes towards achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals, namely Goal 5 on gender equality. UN Women works with a range of partners and stakeholders nationally, regionally and internationally to ensure more women of all ages fully participate, lead and engage in political institutions. The work includes supporting legal and policy reforms to promote women’s political participation and representation (including initiatives to address violence against women in politics); building capacities of women to engage in political life; promoting change of gender norms through advocacy and outreach initiatives; and supporting legislative bodies at all levels to deliver gender equality reforms. UN Women works with a range of partners and stakeholders nationally and internationally to ensure more women of all ages fully participate, lead and engage in political institutions.

Under the guidance and supervision of the Global Policy Advisor on Political Participation, the Policy Specialist on Women’s Political Participation is responsible for managing the global technical support unit at UN Women HQ to guide the implementation of UN Women Strategic Plan Output 4, support flagship programme development at the country level and the implementation of the UN Women-Sida Strategic Partnership Framework (SPF2) component on women’s political participation, providing corporate guidance and technical support to ensure policy coherence and compliance with corporate goals. She/he will oversee the development, implementation, monitoring and reporting of the HQ Women’s Political Participation Unit’s portfolio ensuring successful implementation, and support the implementation of global advocacy initiatives liaising with internal and external stakeholders, UN coordination and partnerships building.

Duties and Responsibilities

Oversee the implementation, monitoring and reporting of the HQ global technical support unit on Women’s Political Participation:

Oversee the preparation of workplans and budgets and ensure synergies with other teams in Leadership and Governance section;
Oversee the monitoring work plan implementation against agreed results frameworks and performance indicators, monitor financial situation to ensure adherence to delivery rates and utilization of resources to meet agreed upon targets and results;
Oversee the development of the budget and documentation required for the SPF2 component on women’s political participation (including constitutional reform), provide periodic narrative progress reports and expenditures status reports as needed and advise on actions needed to ensure optimal use of funds;
Ensure timely submission of corporate and donor reports in coordination with the SPF2 Programme Manager;
Act as focal point on publication production and manage production processes, including translations as needed;
Provide support to iKNOW Politics platform to ensure the results-based management and implementation of iKNOW Politics’ annual workplan in line with partner's decisions;
Support organization and/or preparations of meetings, donor consultations, etc. as needed.

Manage the global monitoring of UN Women country programmes on women’s political participation:

Manage the annual reporting review process on Strategic Plan Output 4, including desk review of country offices’ results reporting and drafting inputs for the annual report to the Executive Board;
Manage the annual peer review of regional and/or country office Strategic Notes and annual work plans and participate in peer review meetings;
Participate in and/or represent the team as needed in internal and external meetings related to global reporting and corporate processes on women’s political participation;
Monitor the global electoral calendar monthly and cross reference with UN Women country programmes on election;
Manage the database of electoral requests and UN Needs Assessment Missions processes;
Represent the team in the Programme Consultative Group of the United Nations Democratic Fund (UNDEF) and coordinate with UN Women regional offices the review of UNDEF’s shortlisted proposals;
Keep the Policy Advisor well-informed of activities and new developments on WPP and brief colleagues in the Leadership and Governance section as needed.

Provide direct technical assistance and capacity development to country offices and national partners on women’s political participation:

Provide timely and quality technical assistance and advisory services to UN Women regional and country offices to develop strategy and project documents on Women’s Political Participation, promoting coordinated programming and linking normative and technical work at global, regional and country levels;
Manage a seed funding mechanism for direct support to country programming to advance the implementation of Strategic Plan Output 4 through: i) review of country offices’ proposals; ii) ensure timely allocation of resources and; iii) monitoring implementation to ensure adherence to annual delivery targets and results-based management and reporting;
Review funding proposals and provide substantive advice and ensure compliance with UNW corporate strategies and UN System wide policies on women’s electoral and political participation;
Liaise with relevant thematic advisors and field offices to support programme development and implementation, planning and reporting corporate processes, UN coordination on electoral assistance and support the identification experts for deployment;
Convene and/or support in-person trainings and thematic webinars, facilitate peer-to-peer learning and promote a coordinated approach to women’s political participation priorities and implementation as needed;
Collect good practices and lessons learned on women’s political participation programming from the field and share with the team’s knowledge management specialist for dissemination.

Provide support to corporate and knowledge management processes:

Ensure timely contributions to corporate policy documents, briefs and other strategic papers/ materials for the use in the development and presentation of policy and programmatic positions and donor proposals;
Identify and disseminate lessons learned and good practices with UN Women HQ teams and country offices;
Provide support to the Leadership and Governance section on annual work planning process and other tasks as required;
Provide quality and timely contributions to partnerships and resource mobilization strategic documents identifying areas of cooperation, and opportunities for cost sharing;
Support partnerships across the UN System, and with donors, international organizations and civil society groups, to promote women’s electoral and political participation and leadership;
Participate and share information in Communities of Practice and the iKNOW Politics platform showcasing results and knowledge generated by UN Women regional and country offices.

Provide any other support as requested by the supervisor.

Key Performance Indicators:

Timely and quality programme delivery in line with budget, workplans and donor agreements;
Quality technical assistance to UN Women country offices provided on political participation;
Quality monitoring, tracking and reporting of UN Women country programmes strengthens corporate results reporting on women’s participation;
Quality and timely inputs to briefings, knowledge products, publications and other documents.

Competencies

Core Values:

Respect for Diversity;
Integrity;
Professionalism.

Core Competencies:

Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
Accountability;
Creative Problem Solving;
Effective Communication;
Inclusive Collaboration;
Stakeholder Engagement;
Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf.

Functional Competencies:

Excellent programme formulation, implementation and Results Based Management skills;
Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them;
Ability to synthesize programme performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making;
Sound knowledge on women’s political participation;
Ability to manage for results: translate strategy into achievable plans, with established priorities, monitor them, making periodic adjustments as required;
Outstanding networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, human rights, gender/women's studies, international development, or a related field is required.

Experience:

At least 7 years of relevant international working experience with increasing managerial responsibilities in gender equality and international development, and/or related fields;
At least seven years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level in design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluating development programmes and projects including on Women’s Political Participation;
Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors is an asset;
Experience working in the UN System is an asset;
Experience in leading/managing a team is an asset.

Languagues:

Fluency in English is required;
Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset.

Application:

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.

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.