UN WOMEN Jobs - 86748- UN Women: Policy Specialist

UN Women: Policy Specialist - Ending Violence Against Women

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Dakar, SENEGAL

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

22-Aug-19 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-4

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 year

Languages Required :

English French

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 UN Women West and Central Africa Regional Office (WCARO) in Dakar, Senegal, through its regional thematic advisers, works to provide strategic guidance and support for mandate implementation to UN Women country offices and programs; analyzes regional trends and emerging issues related to the promotion of women’s rights and gender equality in West and Central Africa; facilitates UN regional-level coordination activities and partnership-building with regional organizations; and oversees knowledge production and knowledge management to inform policy direction. WCARO is also embarking in the implementation of the Spotlight Initiative, an EU/UN partnership to end violence against women/girls. The scope of work of the EVAW Policy Specialist requires experience and in-depth understanding of gender equality and strategies to prevent and address violence against women. It also requires developing mutually reinforcing partnerships with relevant Government counterparts, UN organizations, and CSOs.

Under the supervision of the Regional Director, and in close consultation with EVAW and other relevant Sections in HQ, the EVAW Policy Specialist, is expected to provide support for conceptualization and of flagships and joint programmes; strategic partnership-building, including with key regional inter-governmental and non-governmental partners working on issues of EVAW/G; resource mobilization support for country and regional level activities; coordination of regional knowledge-sharing and best practices exchanges; and commissioning of studies and research to highlight the gender aspects and women’s role. He/she provides technical advice on EVAW at country and regional level, through strategy development, thematic reviews, tools for capacity building and channels for knowledge sharing; prepares documentation for the Senior Management on the issue; prepares reports and content for policy advocacy; and establishes and strengthens partnerships. He/she will coordinate UN Women WCARO’s prerogatives pertaining to the Spotlight Initiative by providing oversight of Spotlight countries in West Africa. He/She will also supervise UN Women WCARO ’s area of prerogative within the Muskoka’s initiative on maternal newborn and child health and HIV/AIDS prevention & response.

Reporting to the Regional Director a.i, the Policy Specialist, Ending Violence Against Women (EVAW) will oversee the development of EVAW programmes, provide capacity building to Country Offices (CO), establish and strengthen partnerships, and develop relevant knowledge products on EVAW.

Duties and Responsibilities

Oversee the development of programmes on Ending Violence Against Women to Country Office teams:

Oversee the development of regional programme documents on Ending Violence Against Women;
Provide technical inputs to programme proposals from country offices;
Provide advice on contextualizing/ localizing programme documents, country strategies, and knowledge products;
Coordinate proper monitoring and reporting for EVAW in collaboration with programme teams.

Provide policy and technical support:

Lead the research, briefing notes, background papers and talking points on EVAW for the Regional office;
Identify promising practices, technical expertise, and strategic opportunities
Provide policy recommendations, strategic advice on EVAW to the Regional Director and Country Representatives;

Provide Programme Coordination support on the Muskoka initiative and provide technical support and guidance on HIV:

Ensure that the UN Women's global policies on HIV and their implications for the region are communicated to the selected country offices;
Provide technical support to the strengthening of the Joint UN Regional Team on AIDS (JURTA) for West and Central Africa in its contribution to engendered responses to HIV/AIDS and UN Women’s positioning;
Coordinate the overall Portfolio Muskoka work plan development and implementation according to UN Women’s area of responsibility in the Muskoka initiative;
Liaise with the Programme Boards, national counterparts, donors, UN Women and partners to ensure the Muskoka Programme results are achieved and resources are managed;
Prepare and present work-plans, periodic narrative progress reports and expenditures status reports to the Programme Board and UN Women and other stakeholders as necessary.

Provide capacity building support to Country Office teams and partners:

Provide substantive technical and policy support to country office and multi-country office programme teams in developing and strengthening projects/ programmes to support the implementation of global norms and standards;
Develop, implement and monitor capacity building initiatives;
Provide technical support to partners on implementation of Ending Violence Against Women;
Provide technical policy advice to programme/ project managers/ specialists in the CO and MCOs;
Participate in special projects and initiatives as requested by the Regional Director.

Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with stakeholders, regional/ international actors and development partners:

Establish and maintain close working contacts with national partners and regional actors, CSO, and international organizations in the region;
Act as Regional UN Women Spotlight Initiative Coordinator providing oversight and guidance for the 4 Spotlight countries in West Africa and the Spotlight Africa regional component;
Represent UN Women at policy making inter-agency, and international technical and advocacy for a as well as regional meetings;
Serve as a Member within the UN Task Force on Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse;
Build and maintain close liaisons with relevant donors and other actors supporting efforts towards Ending Violence Against Women;
Maintain close contact with relevant staff in UN Women HQ; Liaise with the communication unit in support to the contribution of the unit on implementation of EVAW related Campaigns (Orange Campaign, He for She Campaign, SG’s campaign UNITE to end violence against women).

Manage the resource mobilization strategy for Ending Violence Against Women in the region:

Participate in the implementation, monitoring and periodic updating of the resource mobilization strategy on Ending Violence Against Women in the region;
Provide technical support to field-based presences in the region in mobilizing resources for the implementation of Ending Violence Against Women;
Research and analyze information on donors; prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation.

Oversee knowledge building and sharing for Ending Violence Against Women (EVAW):

Produce periodic updates and briefs on regional/country development situation to be used by stakeholders, CO and HQ;
Identify and disseminate lessons learnt and good practices in collaboration with country offices;
Ensure technical skills and knowledge are shared within and among MCO/ COs.

Key Performance Indicators:

Timely and quality technical advice and support;
Leadership in area of expertise in the region;
Quality reports and other strategic documents drafted and submitted in a timely manner;
Strong relationships with various partners and stakeholders;
UN Women is well represented in important meetings on topics related to expertise;
Contributions to resource mobilization;
Timely and quality knowledge products.

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 knowledge of Ending Violence Against Women;
Strong knowledge of the region;
Excellent networking skills;
Ability to interact with donors, identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising;
Ability to perform qualitative and quantitative policy research;
Ability to advocate and provide policy advice;
Excellent analytical skills;
Ability to write policy papers, speeches, briefings;
Strong knowledge of programme development, implementation, results-based management and reporting;
Share knowledge across the organization and build a culture of knowledge sharing and learning;
Strong people management skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree or equivalent in International Development, Political science, Social science, Gender/Women studies, human rights, international relations or other social science fields is required;
A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

At least 7 years progressively responsible experience in designing and managing programmes and advocating for Ending Violence Against Women; ideally with some experience in developing countries;
Experience in programme, policy analysis, and strategic planning;
Experience working with, and building partnerships with governments, donors and civil society organizations internationally and in the field;
Experience working with the UN is an asset;
Experience working in the West and Central African region is an asset.

Languages:

Fluency in English and French is required;
Knowledge of the other UN official 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.

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.