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.

 

In this role as the global voice and advocate for gender equality and the empowerment of women, UN Women must deliver to an ambitious agenda as a center of excellence on knowledge, partnerships, advocacy and social mobilization, as well as a convener, thought leader and champion of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

 

UN Women will take a lead role in helping to drive commitment and action on gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment as the imperative of our time. Such leadership is especially urgent at a time when Member States of the United Nations and all stakeholders have committed to accelerated implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, in the context of the fact that no country has fully achieved gender equality and the empowerment of women;  It is also urgent at a time when Member States are committed to implementing a transformative Sustainable Development Goals agenda with gender equality and the empowerment of women as a stand-alone goal and with gender-specific targets integrated across the entire agenda. 

 

In view of the crucial contribution of civil society organizations in the advancement of gender equality, women’s empowerment and women’s rights, the role of civil society and the women’s movement as partners, supporting UN Women’s leadership, is seen as fundamental in the full realization of gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment. UN Women’s unique and critical role in engaging civil society and partnership building with women’s organizations as stakeholders to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment will be key drivers in helping UN Women achieve its strategic goals and fulfil its organizational mandate.

 

UN Women works to strengthen civil society’s historically crucial role in leading global action on gender equality including promoting reform, influencing policies, monitoring and upholding accountability of duty bearers.

 

Under the general guidance and direction of the Deputy of the Civil Society Division, the consultant will be responsible for supporting the strengthening of partnerships with civil society organizations while also supporting advocacy and alliance building initiatives, and inter-governmental events.

  

 

 

Duties and Responsibilities

 

Provide strategic policy, coordination and management support to the Civil Society Division’s work on advocacy and partnership building

  • Provide strategic guidance on the Civil Society Division’s work on engaging youth populations on issues of gender equality and movement building, including to country and regional offices, as well as establishing partnerships with youth civil society organisations and individual activists;
  • Provide strategic guidance on the Civil Society Division’s work on engaging faith-based organisations on issues of gender equality and movement building, including to country and regional offices, as well as establishing partnerships with faith based civil society organisations and individual activists;
  • Provide conceptual, monitoring and coordination expertise to the Division’s work as required, including on planning  for the work at CSW 63 (2019), and the UNSDG Task Force on Civil Society
  • Collaborate on the development of high quality advocacy tools that emerged from  civil society engagement at CSW 62 (2018)
  • Timely attention and response to UN Women’s partners and donors
  • Quality inputs to civil society advocacy and mobilisation strategy around CSW 63, and timely support to Country and Regional Offices
  • Quality communication and advocacy products
  • Quality knowledge products and timely sharing of best practices to improve/ enhance donor relations 

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

 

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

  • Strong knowledge of gender equality and women's rights issues, with particular focus on youth work;
  • Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with partners, especially women’s right organisations and youth organisations
  • Proven networking skills, and ability to mobilize support on behalf of UN Women;
  • Excellent negotiating skills;
  • Knowledge and understanding of UN system and familiarity with inter-governmental processes;
  • Excellent IT skills, including databases, extranet and office software packages;
  • Strong analytical and interpersonal skills

Required Skills and Experience

 

Education and certification:

 

  • Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, international relations, communications, women's studies, or a related field is required.

 

Experience:

 

  • At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in civil society mobilization and communications/ advocacy;
  • Experience in gender equality and women's empowerment;
  • Experience working with civil society organizations, international institutions and donors;
  • Experience working in the UN system is an asset.

 

Language Requirements:

 

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