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.

There is increased recognition that solving complex development problems like gender inequality will require an innovative financing approach, one that leverages private capital for impact at scale. This recognition lay behind the UN-led Financing for Development (FfD) process: in 2015, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) laid out the global framework for FfD by seeking to align all financing flows (domestic and international; public and private; conventional and innovative) in support of the SDGs. Consistent with the UN’s renewed focus on Financing for Development (FfD) following the 2015 Addis Ababa Agenda, UN Women has launched a comprehensive set of important initiatives to ensure that SDG-aligned FfD embeds a gender lens. Through political engagement, technical assistance, capacity building, showcase transactions and partnerships, monitoring and reporting, UN Women has elevated the dialogue on gender-responsive climate action and economic recovery. UNW has deepened its relationships with Development Banks, signed targeted MOUs to improve results in specific countries, and raised the visibility of gender lens investing. Corporately, UN Women aims to establish a Financing for Gender Equality Hub which will drive funding towards a more equal future. UN Women is equally committed to the development of frameworks, guidelines, and standards, which are needed to make financing for gender equality accessible, transparent and lead to lasting impact. Given UN Women’s gender expertise, convening abilities and well-established partnerships with governments, UN entities, standard setting bodies, IFIs, and the private sector, UN Women, through the Financing for Gender Equality Hub, is strategically placed to directly increase the volume and quality of financing for SDG 5.

In China, sustainable financing for SDGs is one of the key priorities under the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2020-2025 and UN Women China office seeks to build on global momentum and efforts to translate corporate tools and resources for advancing sustainable financing for gender equality in close collaboration with multilateral financing institutions operating in China, relevant national and international banks, private sector entities, the UN and other relevant stakeholders in China. This will entail adaptation of UN Women’s global tools and resources, develop partnership with financing institutes, enhance advocacy, knowledge and mechanism for financing, including by influencing laws, policies, standards, and institutional strengthening, data analysis, and strengthened accountability by setting up robust monitoring, evaluation and reporting on gender financing practices and results.

Reporting to the Public Private Partnership Specialist with matrix reporting to the International Expert on Programme Management Support, the Financing for Gender Equality Analyst will contribute to advancing UN Women’s financing for gender equality portfolio in China and will provide relevant coordination, communication, and technical support to relevant stakeholders, particularly IFIs, investors, banks, etc., and contribute to the implementation of UNSDCF through interagency UN mechanisms. The Financing for Gender Equality Analyst will conduct relevant research and support the establishment of financing for gender equality programme unit in China office, support capacity development around the Financing for Gender Equality agenda, mobilize and manage partnership, and oversee programme development, management, and resource mobilization for the unit. They will assist with the socialization and consultation processes with internal and external stakeholders, task forces and working groups to build a support network for public finance management and new sustainable finance vehicles for gender equality.  S/he will closely coordinate with UN Women regional and HQ offices as relevant for translating global and regional tools, resources as relevant as well as seek guidance/technical support and provide inputs and knowledge from country office perspective.

Duties and Responsibilities

Lead technical support and management of sustainable financing for gender equality portoflio for UN Women China office

  • Lead the development of a multi-year innovative and sustainable finance strategy for UN Women China with clear goals, outputs and outcomes;
  • Build technical understanding and capacity of UN Women team to engage on innovative and sustainable finance discussions;
  • Advise on innovations and market solutions around blended finance models to promote women’s economic empowerment and ending sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse in work places;
  • Advise on structuring and deploying innovative and sustainable finance products/ proposals to fund gender equality & women empowerment, such as Gender Bonds, ESG investments, and other products;
  • Advise on structuring deals and financial instruments for various UN Women China Programmes.
  • Conduct research, and policy analyses on the innovative and sustainable finance to identify key thematic challenges and potential solutions;
  • Socialize the launch the gender bond guidelines developed by UN HQ for adoption and promotion in consideration of Chinese context;
  • Liaison with the UN Women Regional & HQ teams to seek technical support and share experiences, good practice, and information as relevant.

2. Contribution to Inter-Agency coordination and UN Women’s advocacy and communications efforts for sustainable financing

  • Provide technical inputs to the interagency relevant UN annual workplan and budget including in context of implementation of UNSDCF;
  • Provide substantive support on inter-agency coordination related activities related to development financing, including to provide expert support in preparation of analytical and regular progress reports on UN Women´s program experiences in support of UN Women inter-agency coordination;
  • Develop the professional platform for networking and partnership building with financing institutions and lead advocacy efforts to influence gender responsive financing;
  • Represent UN Women in relevant UN interagency working groups, and strengthen UN joint efforts through interagency programme and initiatives.
  • Mobilize gender financing champions/stakeholders to amplify the value-add of gender financing and develop joint advocacy
  • Keep track of important events requiring the presence of UN Women’s senior management as needed.
  • Lead the preparation of social media assets and support increased visibility of UN Women’s work on Financing for Gender Equality in close collaboration with the Communications and other relevant Sections
  • Draft related communications/social media documents and messages as relevant to the Financing for Gender Equality work of UN Women.

3.  Develop Strategic Partnership and resource mobilization for sustainable financing initiatives by UN Women

  • Identify and develop strategic partnerships with financing institutions for gender financing modality and programmes including lead the development of relevant concept notes for key engagements, initiatives and donor proposals for this area of work.
  • Organize stakeholder roundtables, initiate discussions, establish and strengthen partnerships within the UN System, Multilateral Development Banks, Commercial Banks, Regulators, Standard setting bodies, Government partners and other relative stakeholders to expand the social bond and its principles to include Gender Bonds encouraging the market to finance SDG5;
  • Lead substantive preparation of resource mobilization strategies; analyze and maintain information and databases including to prepare relevant documentation such as project summaries, conference papers, briefing notes, speeches, and donor profiles
  • Participate in donor meetings and public information events, as delegated, and maintain proper documentation of the same.
  • Support any other strategic activities relating to innovative and sustainable financing.

4. Manage team, knowledge building and gender financing portfolio within UN Women China

  • Establish gender financing unit within UN Women China office including recruitment and performance management of team members
  • Provide support to the development and dissemination of good practices and lessons learned;
  • lead programme planning to include development of work plan, targets and indicators
  • Monitor progress of implementation of activities and finances using results-based management tools. Draft reports on monitoring missions, programme results s, outputs and outcomes
  • Provide substantive inputs to the preparation of donor and UN Women reports.
  • Contribute to capacity development and awareness raising of relevant programme and operations team
  • Manage financing portfolio including partners relationship management, build knowledge and share information to increase visibility and communication about UN Women’s work in the area
  • Represent UN Women, as delegated, in key external meetings and events including in interagency results/working groups as relevant.

Key Performance Indicators

  • Timely and quality contributions to the CO’s coordination efforts
  • Quality inputs and technical support provided
  • Quality inputs to planning processes and reports, and quality support to the Country Representative
  • Increased awareness  and visibliy of UN Women’s work
  • Increased resources mobilized and interest in GEWE among partners and donors
  • Initiate a new portfolio, build partnership on gender financing

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/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies

  • Demonstrated development/programming skills particularly those that are pertinent to UN Women strategic priorities on gender issues and women’s rights;
  • Ability to lead implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programmes component;
  • Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them for development results;
  • Good knowledge of Results Based Management principles and approaches;
  • Ability to establish and maintain broad strategic networks and partnerships with UN agencies and other partners to promote partnership and build alliances to advance organizational interests and competencies.
  • Demonstrated strong coordination, facilitation, and communication skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

  • Master's degree (or equivalent) in business financing, international development financing, accounting, economics, international development, public administration, public policy, or other relevant social science 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:

  • At lease 3 year of Experience in sustainable finance, private sector and / or impact investing is required, preferably in China.
  • Relevant work experience in programme support, co-ordination, communication, partnerships building or related field.
  • Experience working with, and/or coordinating and liaising with a range of financial actors including asset managers, stock exchanges, financial institutions, investors, and issuers for is required.
  • Experience in policy analysis in related to gender lens investing and sustainable finance is desirable.
  • Prior experience working in programme development and management including monitoring and reporting is required.
  • Experience in the United Nations, international organizations, private sector, or multilateral cooperation programmes is desirable.

Language Requirements:

  • Fluency in Chinese and English is required. This includes being able to draft reports, concept notes and communicate clearly and concisely.

How to apply

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11).  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.

The Submission package includes:

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.

 

Inclusion Statement:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits employ, trains, compensates and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity, and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)