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. It also designs and oversees the training and capacity development programmes 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. Alongside the thematic clusters, the Research and Data section is responsible for leading UN Women’s research and data agenda. It manages a large global network of leading feminist researchers; produces high profile knowledge products including Discussion Papers, Policy Briefs, Position Papers and UN Women flagship publications, Progress of the World’s Women, SDG Monitoring Report and The Survey of the Role of Women in Development; and leads UN Women’s growing portfolio of work on gender statistics, including monitoring of the SDGs and cutting edge work to develop new statistical methodologies.

The Manager of Progress of the World’s Women reports to the Section Chief for strategic guidance and direction and is responsible for leading the development of UN Women’s flagship report. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Manage and lead the content development and production management of the Progress of the World’s Women reports:

• Lead the shaping of the substantive content of the report from topic selection, report structure, and chapter content; lead the production of the report;

• Lead internal and external consultations in order to determine research gaps and identify topics with a high policy and advocacy impact for UN Women;
• Conceptualize the structure and content of the report;
• Commission and manage background cross-national and country specific research and data analysis;
• Lead formation and management of Advisory or Review Board
• Research and write report chapters, and other specific content;
• Manage and review of data content including statistical analysis, tabular or graphic representation of material.
• Manage the work of the substantive editor of the report, and act as a point of liaison between the editor and chapter authors.
• Decide on key design elements and sign-off on page lay-outs and graphic components;
• Manage the sign-off process of the report with senior management.

Lead the Dissemination, outreach and monitoring and evaluation of the Progress of the World’s Women report:

• Devise outreach and influencing strategies, based on robust theories of change and taking into account political sensitivities and risks
• Based on a mapping of potential partners, develop outreach plans to include a high profile media launch and a programme of outreach and advocacy events in country and regional offices, and with key partners;
• Manage the production of communications and outreach materials, such as factsheets, draft speeches, press statements and press releases for launch events.
• Ensure that senior management are fully briefed on the reports’ key messages and media training is provided, as needed.
• Develop monitoring plans for the reports, and periodically manage independent evaluations of their reach and influence.
• Identify opportunities for the reports’ findings to be integrated into UN Women’s programming, policy and normative work.
• Identify and support opportunities to produce regional and/or national companion editions of the Progress report, to further enhance outreach and uptake.

Represent UN Women and lead advocacy initiatives:

• Represent UN Women at inter-agency meetings, seminars, etc. on issues related to Progress themes
• Represent UN Women as a media spokesperson for Progress.
• Participate in policy dialogue with governments, parliamentarians, UN actors (eg CEDAW Committee and members of UN Women’s executive board) and civil society, as part of the process of producing and launching the report.
• Establish and nurture relationship with academia, research institutes, civil society and experts to expand and share knowledge, exchange views on latest findings, and incorporate cutting-edge thinking into UN Women’s work.

Provide Programme support to the unit:

• Act as deputy of the unit, as needed
• Plan and oversee the management of activities undertaken by the section (including the UN Women Discussion Paper Series); ensure that substantive work programmes are carried out in a timely fashion, coordinating diverse projects in the section.
• Mobilize resources for the section, including initiating and building relationships with donor governments and private foundations; drafting programme documents and donor proposals; and ensuring that donor reports are completed in a timely fashion.
• Carry out programmatic/administrative tasks necessary including preparation of budgets, assigning and monitoring of performance parameters and critical indicators, reporting on budget/programme performance, preparation of inputs for results-based budgeting, evaluation of staff performance (RCA/PAS), interviews of candidates for job openings and evaluation of candidates.
• Prepare inputs for the work programme of the Unit, determining priorities, and allocating resources for the completion of outputs and their timely delivery.

Key Performance Indicators: 

• Timely development of high quality Progress of the World’s Women reports
• Wide and coordinated  dissemination of reports, leading to high visibility
• UN Women is well represented in meetings
• Timely development and monitoring of section plan

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: 

• Substantive knowledge related to current policies and practices in the field of women’s rights.
• Excellent research skills, with the ability to analyze, synthesize and organize a large range of research materials.
• Understanding and knowledge of key datasets on gender equality
• Strong writing skills, with proven expertise in writing cogent and convincing papers and chapters for policy reports, as well as communications focused outputs (key messages, factsheets, summaries etc)
• Excellent oral communication skills, the ability to present complex information convincingly to a range of audiences.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills
• Ability to leverage information technology, executive information systems, management techniques and tools for optimal office performance.
• Strong planning, goal-setting and prioritization skills.
• Effectiveness in establishing and fostering good relations with government counterparts, UN agencies, donors, and NGO partners.
• Strong people management skills and public speaking skills
• Excellent technical leadership skills and ability to delegate appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master degree (or equivalent) in development related disciplines, gender issues, economics, public policy, international relations or other social science fields.

Experience:

• At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience in development, policy analysis, sociological/gender equality or related areas and in managerial leadership.
• Substantial experience of producing major institutional/flagship reports.
• Proven record of writing and/or publishing on policy and programmatic aspects of gender equality thematic areas including conducting and directing research, data collection and publication.
• Familiarity with UN system gender architecture and strategic stakeholders/partners.
• Supervisory and management experience 

Languages:

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