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.

Women’s leadership and political participation is one of UN Women’s primary areas of work as mandated in its inception, recognizing the integral role of women in strong and stable democratic processes. Through its Leadership and Governance section, UN Women works to implement Goal 1 of the Entity’s Strategic Plan 2014-17 “Women lead and participate in all areas of decision-making”. UN Women’s theory of change for women’s political empowerment and leadership, based on the achievements of women in politics and lessons learned to date, envisions a four-pronged strategy: (1) support development and implementation of robust legal frameworks and administrative arrangements that promote gender balance and facilitate women’s participation; (2) expand the pool of qualified and capable women to run for election; (3) transform gender norms so that women are accepted as legitimate and effective leaders; and (4) support women leaders in gender-sensitive political institutions to attract, promote and retain women leaders, and highlight the constructive contribution they make to decision-making.

In line with this strategy, UN Women in the Central African Republic is a major partner in the electoral process because of the considerable efforts made to improve the normative framework and to strengthen the capacities of those involved in the electoral process. As a member of the UN Task Force to Support the Central African Electoral Process of 2020/2021, UN Women intends to conduct a large program in partnership with UNDP and MINUSCA, and in close collaboration with Government stakeholders, multi and bi-lateral donors and civil society ,to increase the representativity of women in the electoral process. A key component of the Programme therefore involves the provision of technical support to political parties – the main vehicle for women’s election to office – to enhance their capacity to promote gender balance in politics and become more gender sensitive institutions by: nominating more women candidates to winnable positions; adopting voluntary, gender-sensitive reforms to internal party processes and statutes; devising and implementing gender-sensitive policies and strategic plans; and devising codes of conduct which sanction discriminatory behavior and harassment, among other strategies- Conducting training and coaching campaigns for women politicians

Reporting to country coordinator, the Gender and Elections Specialist exercises overall responsibility for planning, implementing, and managing UN Women interventions under their portfolio.  The Gender & Election Specialist works in close collaboration with the programme and operations team, UN Women regional advisor and the HQ policy team.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide programme development advisory services and develop programmes in the area of, Leadership and women political participation:

• Oversee and manage the design and formulation of programme proposals and initiatives; Identify programmatic areas for support and interventions within the Leadership and women political participation;
• Finalize country strategy documents, programme/ project proposals, briefs, policy dialogue and other documents related to leadership and women political participation; 
• Organize periodic consultations with key stakeholders, women leaders, human rights experts and UN partners to gather inputs on programme design, as necessary.

Manage the implementation and management of the Leadership and women political participation programme:

• Finalize the annual workplan and budget and manage their implementation;
• Provide programme advisory support to the Office Management within the, Leadership and women political participation;
• Manage the technical implementation of the programme/ project; provide technical advice; ensure synergies with other teams;
• Review the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports as required;
• Provide guidance to staff and partners on Results Based Management tools and performance indicators;
• Lead Project Steering Committee, project review and/or evaluation meetings.

Oversee technical assistance and capacity development to project/programme partners

• Provide technical advice to partners; oversee the provision of technical guidance by the team;
• Build, manage, and expand relationships with national partners to support implementation and expansion of the leadership and women political participation;
• programme; respond to any potential problems;
• Serve as an expert resource to partners on Leadership and women political participation;
• Implement and oversee capacity building opportunities and initiatives;
• Provide partners with advanced technical assistance, training and capacity development initiatives.

Manage the monitoring and reporting of the programme/ project:

• Manage the process of monitoring the programme/ project implementation of activities and finances using results-based management tools;
• Finalize quarterly reports and donor reports, focusing on results, output and outcomes;
• Write office donor and UN Women reports.

Manage the people and financial resources of the Leadership and women political participation  programme:

• Manage the programme budget and finalize financial reports;
• Manage Programme Analyst and Technical Specialists; mentor and coach staff and conduct performance assessments;
• Oversee recruitment processes, as necessary.

Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies:

• Develop and implement partnerships and resource mobilization strategies;
• Finalize relevant documentation on donors and develop potential opportunities for resource mobilization;
• Analyze and research information on donors, finalize substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for cost sharing.

Manage inter-agency coordination to achieve a coherent and aligned presence for the Leadership and women political participation:

• Provide substantive technical support to the Country Coordinator on inter-agency coordination related activities by attending meetings, events, and participating in groups and committees;
• Coordinate with other UN agencies, government departments, donors and NGOs to ensure the projects’ capacity development programme is harmonized and aligned with other in-country efforts;
• Take part in country level Common Country Assessment (CCA)/ United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) processes and similar exercises related to the RC system;
• Prepare substantive inputs to CCA/ UNDAF and other documents, as necessary.

Lead advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts:

• Represent UN Women in meetings and policy dialogues on issues related to leadership and women political participation 
• Manage advocacy strategies and their implementation;
• Identify best practices and lessons learned to guide programme improvement and strategy planning;
• Lead the development of knowledge management strategies and methodologies and products on Leadership and women political participation.  

Key Performance Indicators: 

• Timely and quality programme strategies and contributions to Strategic Note;
• Timely and quality of programme delivery in line with budget, workplans and the Strategic Note;
• Strong and clear leadership/ supervision of team;
• Partners and other stakeholder provide positive feedback on advisory and technical services;
• Quality reports and timely submission;
• Quality of advocacy, communication and knowledge management initiatives;
• Resources mobilized;
• Strong relationships with donors, partners and other stakeholders.

Competencies

Core values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

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:

• Sound practical knowledge on women’s political participation programming including on gender responsive electoral processes (i.e. you can list here some of the key areas of the EA Programme);
• Sound knowledge of international standards on human rights, women’s rights and related instruments;
• Excellent programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them;
• Excellent knowledge of Results Based Management;
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making;
• Excellent knowledge in Leadership and women political participation;
• Ability to lead formulation of strategies and their implementation;
• Strong networking skills;
• Ability to negotiate and interact with donors, identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising.

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.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• A project/programme management certification (such as PMP®, PRINCE2®, or MSP®) would be an added advantage.

Experience: 

• Minimum 7 years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level integrating gender equality and political participation and representation; including proven experience integrating gender equality and electoral cycle, women’s political participation, and gender based electoral violence mitigation;
• Experience with UN Intergovernmental processes including those related to women’s empowerment, gender mainstreaming and gender equality;
• Previous experience in field-based election in a variety of cultural and political contexts;
• Experience working with multi-stakeholder organizations is essential: governments, CSOs, and the UN/ multilateral/bilateral institutions. 
• Experience in programme design and results-based management;
• Experience with UN electoral assistance processes.
• Technical experience in leadership and women political participation;
• Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors is an asset;
• Experience working in the UN System;
• Experience in leading/managing a team is an asset.

Languages: 

• Fluency in oral and written French and English is required,
• Knowledge of other UN language is an asset;
• Knowledge of Sango 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.