UN WOMEN Jobs - 89431- UN Women: Head of Executive Office

UN Women: Head of Executive Office

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

17-Jan-20 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-5

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 integrated Executive Office (EO) brings together the Executive Director, her Deputies and their teams. The EO supports the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) in the delivery of their functions, especially that of providing overall executive direction and leadership to UN Women. The EO supports the ELT in providing vision, establishing priorities, fostering coherence amongst the senior management team, leading advocacy, ensuring overall management, oversight and accountability.

Under the direct supervision of the Executive Director, the Head of Office supports the implementation of the ED’s vision for the Entity, as well as organizational priorities internally and externally. She/he manages the day-to-day running of the EO and supports efforts to ensure coherence between the ED and her Deputies and with the rest of senior management. S/he also provides the ED with strategic advice on challenges, as well as internal and external issues requiring executive attention, and helps troubleshoot when necessary to avoid escalation of issues to the ELT. The Head of Office interfaces internally with all managers in the organization and externally with key stakeholders at a working level in support of the Executive Director and organizational priorities.

Duties and Responsibilities

Day-to-day management of the Executive Office (EO) and internal coherence:

Oversee the overall day-to-day functioning of the Office of the Executive Director;
Set priorities for the EO and its team in line with the ED’s priorities and develop and oversee the implementation of the annual workplan and budget;
Provide the EO team and functions with clear objectives, direction, guidance and appropriate tools to enable them to meet their responsibilities effectively and efficiently;
Facilitate alignment of day-to-day processes and decisions with UN Women’s Strategic priorities, including budget decisions, travel, scheduling, etc.;
Ensure that the ED and DED teams are aligned and coordinated; support coordination among other senior managers;
Ensure strategic alignment between SMT and ELT and coordinate decisions with the BRC;
Oversee the organization of ELT in consultation with the ED, ensuring that strategic agendas are developed based on ELT input, decisions recorded and appropriately communicated across the organization; act as Secretary of the ELT.

Provide strategic advice and substantive support to the Executive Director:

Support the ED in decision-making by providing strategic advice on internal and external issues requiring her attention;
Support the identification of key substantive issues requiring political outreach, related to trends, opportunities and challenges identified by Senior Management and bringing them to the attention of the ED;
Oversee the strategic engagement calendar for the ED and coordinate with the DEDs;
Ensure ELT meeting are calendarized in ED’s scheduling to ensure ELT meeting take place in with regular frequency;
Review for ED’s approval reports to legislative and oversight bodies on budget/programme performance and on programmatic/substantive issues as appropriate;
Ensure the quality of briefing materials for the ED;
Advise on the content of statements, messages, briefs and other documents for the ED;
Support internal communication efforts by ensuring active and open communication to and from the Executive Director’s office and keeps the Executive Director informed of critical issues requiring intervention, decision internally and externally;
Coordinate and support the implementation of horizontal and cross-divisional projects, as requested by the ED.

Provide Internal/External Representation support:

Engage with representatives of governments, civil society, private sector, academia and other partners to facilitate the ED’s engagement in support of UN Women’s strategic priorities;
Represent UN Women in key meetings to present UN Women’s priorities and positions as requested by ED;
Serve as a member of the Executive Director’s Senior Management Team and provides advice and counsel in UN Women strategic discussion and development and policy setting;
Participate in or lead taskforces, working groups and meetings in support and on behalf of the Executive Director;
Foster strong relationships with other UN agencies, including by liaising with Executive Offices of other UN Principals and with the Executive Office of the Secretary-General.

Manage EO operations:

Promote a healthy working environment and manage EO human resources, including by providing support to staff in the achievement of their career goals, ensuring appropriate learning, training and development, and actively participating in timely planning and assessing staff performance;
Manage financial resources assigned to the EO in coordination With DED’s and take responsibility for the integrity of financial systems and consistent application of the internal control framework and/or UN Women/UN rules and regulations. Submit timely mandated reports;
Identify and integrate efficiency gains and cost reductions in all operations;
Oversee security requirements for the team.

Perform any other duties as requested by the Executive Director.

Key Performance Indicators:

The ED receives substantive, managerial and operational advice and support to successfully deliver on her functions
The EO is effectively and efficiently managed and is recognized as a well-functioning team within the organization;
The ED’s vision and priorities are shared by the DEDs and the ELT is aligned in their messaging internally and externally;
The teams of the ED and DEDs are well coordinated;
The ED receives strategic advice, anticipate issues and effectively troubleshoots when required;
The ED’s external engagements are well prepared and strategic;
UN Women is good access to other UN Executive Offices and is well represented in relevant interagency and other external meetings.

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 Values and Competencies Framework: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Functional Competencies:

Substantive knowledge in gender equality and women's empowerment;
Excellent operational management skills;
Ability to analyze and interpret large amounts of complex information and translate them into simple messages and concise reports;
Excellent negotiating, cultural sensitivity and diplomatic skills;
Strong people management skills;
Ability to go beyond established procedures and practices, introduce new approaches and strategic innovations;
Ability to leverage information technology, executive information systems, management techniques and tools for optimal office performance;
Excellent Team building skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree (or equivalent) in one or more of the following disciplines: gender issues, social sciences, business administration or management, public administration or other related fields.
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:

A minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in policy support, particularly with regard to gender equality and women’s empowerment, development programming, strategic planning, or coordination support, preferably in an international organization;
Experience in management processes of an international organization;
Experience in managing a team;
Prior experience in an executive office is a strong advantage;
Prior experience in advising senior executives.

Languages:

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 https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-p11-personal-history-form.doc?la=en&vs=558. 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.