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.

Through the regional office in Bangkok and a number of country and multi-country offices, UN Women builds on a long history of support to governments and women’s movements. UN Women’s programs in Asia and the Pacific focus on ending violence against women, humanitarian action and disaster risk reduction, women’s economic empowerment, CEDAW and women’s human rights, governance, peace and security, and HIV/AIDS. For more information about UN Women in Asia and the Pacific, please visit the official website.

The portfolio of Governance, Peace and Security in Asia-Pacific currently includes programming related to Women, Peace and Security, the Prevention of Violent Extremism, Access to Justice, law enforcement and Gender Statistics.  The Policy Advisor will have the opportunity to lead a team of specialists in these fields at regional level, promoting enhanced programme coherence and providing thought leadership to support the regional office and country presences to maximise UN Women’s results in support of gender-transformative governance in Asia-Pacific.

Reporting to the Deputy Regional Director, the Policy Advisor, Governance, Peace and Security will oversee the development of Governance, Peace and Security programmes, provide capacity building to Country Offices (CO) and Multi Country Offices (MCO), establish and strengthen partnerships, and develop relevant knowledge products on this thematic area.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Manage the development of quality programmes on Governance, Peace and Security at Regional and Country level in the Asia and the Pacific region.

  • Manage the development and implementation of an integrated strategy for the delivery of technical assistance, policy advocacy and programme support in the region;
  • Manage the development of regional programme documents on Governance, Peace and Security;
  • Oversee the contextualization/ localization of programme documents, country strategies, and knowledge products, and ensure proper monitoring and reporting in Governance, Peace and Security.

2. Lead the provision of capacity building support to Country Office/ Multi Country Office teams and partners.

  • Lead country office and multi-country office programme teams in developing and strengthening policies, projects/ programmes and modalities to support the implementation of global norms and standards in relation to GEWE and women’s human rights; and ensure proper monitoring;
  • Manage the identification of knowledge and implementation gaps and possible solutions;
  • Develop, implement and monitor capacity building initiatives;
  • Lead the provision of technical policy advice to programme/ project managers/ specialists in the CO and MCOs.

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

  • Build and strengthen strategic partnerships for the advancement of Governance, Peace and Security;
  • Build and strengthen relationships with relevant donors and other actors supporting efforts towards Governance, Peace and Security;
  • Produce periodic updates and briefs on regional/country development situation to be used by stakeholders, CO and HQ;
  • Maintain close contact with relevant staff in UN Women HQ.

4. Manage the resource mobilization strategy for Governance, Peace and Security in the region.

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

5. Lead and provide direction and coherence to the Governance, Peace and Security portfolio in the region and the development of relevant knowledge products

  • Lead the provision of policy recommendations and guidance to strategic planning and positioning on Governance, Peace and Security;
  • Lead and provide advice to regional/ national bodies; represent UN Women in interagency groups that influence national policies related to Governance, Peace and Security;
  • Contribute substantively to and lead existing thematic and gender equality networks to better connect UN Women and partners;
  • Lead the research, development, and presentation of analytical reports, research papers, briefing notes, background papers, summaries, correspondence on Governance, Peace and Security;
  • Identify promising practices, technical expertise, and strategic opportunities.

6. Manage knowledge building and sharing for Governance, Peace and Security.

  • Identify and disseminate lessons learnt and good practices in collaboration with country offices;
  • Ensure technical skills and knowledge are shared within and among CO/ MCOs;
  • Manage and monitor the regional knowledge platform and innovative approaches in Governance, Peace and Security.

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
  • Regular communication and information flow with other UN Women Advisors
  • Quality strategic documents delivered in a timely manner
  • Timely and quality knowledge products
  • Strong relationships with various partners and stakeholders
  • UN Women is well represented in important meetings on topics related to expertise
  • UN Women is recognized as a thought leader on gender, Governance, Peace and Security in the region
  • Increase in resources mobilized

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: 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

  • Excellent knowledge of gender aspects of Governance, Peace and Security 
  • Strong knowledge of 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
  • Excellent knowledge of programme development, implementation, results based management and reporting

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

  • Master’s degree or equivalent in Governance, Peace and Security, gender, 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 10 years progressively responsible experience in designing and managing programmes and advocating for gender, Governance, Peace and Security, preferably 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 system is an asset;
  • Experience working in the Asia and the Pacific Region is an asset.

Language Requirements:

  • Fluency in English is required;
  • Knowledge of another 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.