Background

Instructions to Applicants: Click on the "Apply now" button. Input your information in the appropriate Sections: personal information, language proficiency, education, resume and motivation. Upon completion of the first page, please hit "submit application" tab at the end of the page. Please ensure that CV or P11 and the Cover letter are combined in one file.

The following documents shall be required from the applicants:

Personal CV or P11, indicating all past positions held and their main underlying functions, their durations (month/year), the qualifications, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate, and at least three (3) the most recent professional references of previous supervisors. References may also include peers.

A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) indicating why the candidate considers him-/herself to be suitable for the position.

Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns or other materials.

Office/Unit/Project Description

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels, forms a contiguous spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in the Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based, regional and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in the Strategic Plan. Within the GPN, the Policy Bureau guides UNDP’s corporate development-related strategies and vision for gender equality as a key component of sustainable development and ensuring no one is left behind.

As part of the efforts to implement UNDP Global Gender Equality Strategy, in 2020 UNDP’s Gender and Energy Teams commissioned a “Gender Analysis of UNDP Energy Portfolio and a Framework for Action” study to develop an evidence-based approach that can be used in future sustainable energy strategy, policy and planning documents, programmes/projects, initiatives, and investment frameworks.

More recently, in September 2021, the IEO undertook an Evaluation of UNDP´s support to energy access and transition. The report states that the energy portfolio has integrated positive elements of gender equality and women’s economic empowerment in the design of initiatives, but the majority of energy initiatives are too reliant on assumptions that women will automatically benefit if they are simply included in energy initiatives (1).

In addition, the Gender Team, together with UNDP’s newly established Sustainable Energy Hub will  support the implementation of the UN Energy Compact and commitment to?provide?energy?access to 500 million people; 1 billion to have gained access to clean cooking solutions; 30 million jobs in renewable and energy efficiency (all by the year 2025, i.e., the SDG 7 roadmap).

The Sustainable Energy Hub will build on UNDP’s existing Energy Portfolio, covering over 100 countries to harness clean energy and support the energy transition as well as on UNDP’s Climate Promise, UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub and UNDP’s Digital offer. The Sustainable Energy Hub will ensure that UNDP energy programming advances multiple SDGs and socio-economic indicators, including for gender equality.

The current work plan for the Sustainable Enery Hub includes a workstream on gender mainstreaming to ensure that a gender perspective is integrated as part of UNDP’s scaled-up energy offer and strategy. Key actions on gender, to be coordinated under the Sustainable Energy Hub, will include (1) Developing guidelines to support integration of gender-specific considerations and targets in energy project formulation and national energy plans/strategies; (2) partnering with internal and external gender experts, country-level consultations, and capacity-building exercises to ensure greater understanding of gender aspects in energy programming; (3) including gender-specific data points in the UNDP Data Futures platform to track links between energy access and improved safety and economic opportunities; and (4) ensuring that gender is considered in an integrated way across all projects deployed and supported under the Sustainable Energy Hub. The Gender and Energy Specialist will be critical to monitoring and coordinating progress on these actions.

(1) The report recommends UNDP to promote a greater integration of gender considerations and more targeted gender guidance for its energy programming and move away from the assumption that women will automatically benefit if they are simply included in energy initiatives; move beyond the pursuit of gender parity and greater participation, to a next echelon of programming that addresses also the social norms preventing women from fully and equally benefiting from improved energy outcomes; convert energy access into real changes to women’s economic status, by adequately considering and addressing, the associated social norms and impediments that limit female livelihoods and financial control and prevent them from taking full advantage of the opportunities offered by improved access to safe and clean energy; increase the level of consultation with users and ensure they are conducted by specialists with an understanding of gender aspects; guidance on the minimum steps needed in each project formulation and implementation, to recognize the perspectives of men and women, and provide prompts to overcome resistance and counter false assumptions that people automatically benefit from their involvement in an energy project or within a facility that has improved electrical supply. 

Institutional Arrangement

The Gender and Energy Specialist will work under the overall guidance of the Gender and Energy Teams (BPPS). He/she will report to the Director of the Gender Team (Primary Supervisor) and work in close coordination with the Director of the Sustainable Energy Hub (Secondary Supervisor).

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

The Gender and Energy Specialist will be responsible for providing advisory support to the Director of UNDP’s Gender Team in overall aspects of gender and energy. Additionally, he/she will:

a) Position Gender Equality in the work of the UNDP Sustainable Energy Hub (SEH) increasing UNDP's development impact. 

• Review hub offer and work plan, proposing means to integrate the GES 2022 – 2025 and developing appropriate Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and potential gender equality targets.
• Develop a Gender Equality Results-based Framework with targets, indicators and priority activities.
• Review of all other SEH products and flagship initiatives (CIP, DREI, Sahel, AMP).
• Define and establish links and synergies with NDC/gender support activities, including the Climate Promise.
• Review UN Energy Compacts to assess gender dimensions and linkages to country programming.

b) Provide technical insights, and support thought leadership on Gender Equality and Energy.

• Provide inputs to the overall strategy of the Sustainable Energy Hub, ensuring that gender dimensions are adequately captured and reflected.
• Provide technical or policy inputs to project documents, as requested by country offices or regional  hubs.
• Draft talking points on energy and gender issues, as requested by senior management.
• Contribute gender insights to policy briefs, technical papers or reports, as required by the Sustainable Energy Hub.

c) Provide support to regional hubs, country offices and project teams to mainstream gender into energy work through strengthened capacities, better knowledge management and strengthened partnerships.

• Review preliminary stock taking of Gender-energy tools and resources.
• Build, in coordination with the Communities of Practice on Energy and Gender,  a virtual resource portal or platform including most relevant knowledge products, tools, research etc., ensuring comments and recommendations from regional teams and country offices are fully considered.
• Coordinate and monitor the development of the energy-gender toolkit, ensuring recommendations from the gender assessment on the UNDP Energy Porfolio, feedback from the Sustainable Energy Hub and adequate resources for COs (e.g., policy guidelines, programming tools, energy checklist, guidance documents and model indicators) are included.  
• Contribute with recommendations and insights to the capacity building process to be lead by the RBLAC Gender team to ensure the process is well aligned with the targets and goals of the Sustainable Energy Hub.
• Support the forging/strengthening of partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders, including government, private sector, academia and CSOs, among other key actors.

d) Design a Global Gender Equality and Energy proposal associated to the Sustainable Energy Hub.

• Design and prepare a global gender and energy proposal to mobilize resources in accordance with the Energy Hub activities.
• Develop an advocacy strategy to promote an innovative policy dialogue on gender equality and energy with a broader constituency.
• Develop a resource mobilization strategy for the global gender and energy proposal.

Competencies

Minimum Qualifications of the Successful IPSA

Cross-Functional & Technical competencies 

Required Skills and Experience

Minimum Qualifications of the Successful IPSA