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 in West and Central Africa represent the most deprived group of the population in spite of their paramount social and economic role. They have limited access to, and control over critical resources, as a result of social, cultural and economic norms. The new Women’s Economic Empowerment Strategy launched in 2024 articulates UN Women’s vision for enabling women’s economic agency, autonomy and well-being. Anchored in UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2022–2025 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, its objective is to provide a framework that galvanizes internal and external stakeholders to work together at the local, national and global level through transformative solutions that improve the lives of women and girls with no one left behind. It identifies three key priority areas, or Gender Equality Accelerators (GEAs), where UN Women can make the most progress: (i) women and the world of work, (ii) gender-responsive climate action and (iii) transforming care systems.

In line with the new Women’s Economic Empowerment Strategy, UN Women’s Cameroon, with its Strategic Plan, addresses women’s economic empowerment as one of its key outcomes with work in three main areas: Rural women, Development and Climate Change, and Employment and migration. Rural women are key agents for achieving the transformational economic, environmental, and social changes required for sustainable development. But social norms, unpaid care work, limited access to inputs, credit, health care, social protection, and education are among the many challenges they face, which are further aggravated by the global food and economic crises and climate change. Empowering them is key not only to the well-being of individuals, families, and rural communities, but also to overall economic productivity, given women’s large presence in the agricultural workforce worldwide.

Sustainable development requires action on three fronts: social, economic and environmental. Women are central to progress in each area, as reaffirmed by the RIO + 20 Agreement, which makes commitments to ensuring women’s equal rights and opportunities. This requires the alleviation of discriminatory barriers in diverse areas, among them agriculture, energy, health, education, employment and disaster risk reduction. Climate change disproportionately impacts the poorest and the most vulnerable, especially  women in rural areas. They spend more time collecting essential resources like wood and water due to deforestation and land degradation. Additionally, frequent droughts and heat waves exacerbate food insecurity. moreover, rural women lack access to opportunities for transitioning to a green economy and accessing green finance.

Women’s participation in the labor force remains unequal. Many women operate in informal employment with . underpaid, poorly protected jobs without decent work and social protection benefits.

UN Women advises national and local governments institutions in developing gender responsive economic policies and supports the capacity building of multiple actors to advocate for, formulate, and implement gender responsive economic policies. UN Women Cameroon country office is seeking to recruit a feminist economist to lead its country programme on gender and economics.

Reporting to the Programme Management Specialist, the National Feminist Economist works in close collaboration with the regional feminist economist in the UN Women’s WCARO Regional Office and the WCA Feminist Economist Taskforce, UN Women’s program and operations teams in the Country office.     

Duties and Responsibilities

Key Functions and Accountabilities

1. Contribute technically to the development of gender responsive economic programmes

• Conduct research on new areas to promote Women Economic Empowement and gender responsive economic reforms to support GEWE in Cameroon
• Provide technical support in formulating strategies to scale up reform in key areas such as unpaid care, women’s participation in the green economy, women entrepreneurship and other relevant areas of economic policy to achieve GEWE in the Country
• Contribute to the coordination and implementation of flagship policy initiatives in the area of gender and economics in the Country
• Coordinate the production of knowledge, and communications products in the areas of gender and economics at the regional leve

2. Manage the implementation and management of the gender and economics programme

• Formulate the annual workplan and budget of Women Economic Empowement and Gender and economics programme and manage their implementation;
• Manage the technical implementation of the programme/project; ensure synergies with other teams;
• Manage the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports
• Provide guidance to personnel and partners on Results Based Management tools and performance indicators;
• Organize Project Steering Committee, project review and/or evaluation meetings, as needed.
• Lead the coordination of the call/request for proposals, including the organization of technical review committees, and capacity assessment of partners;
• Review, coordinate and monitor the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports;
• Train partners on Results Based Management and monitor implementation.

3. Provide substantive technical inputs to the management of people and finances of the Gender and economics programme

• Monitor budget implementation and make budget re-alignments/ revisions, as necessary;
• Provide substantive inputs to financial reports;
• Supervise field personnel, Programme Associates and Assistant.

4. Provide technical expertise and assistance to partners

• Support in the provision of technical advice to Governments, civil society and national institutions to formulate, implement and monitor gender-responsive economic reform
• Provide support in the development of national strategies to integrate gender in key economic policies and reforms

5. Provide capacity building support to Country Office and partners

• Provide substantive technical and policy support to country office and UN Country Teams in developing and strengthening programmes to support the implementation of GEWE global norms and standards;
• Develop, implement and monitor capacity building initiatives, by identifying capacity-building needs and support of the country office through technical assistance, mentoring, training and capacity development initiatives, as needed
• Develop and deliver training modules, tools, and other capacity building activities and strategies on gender and economics targeting key national and local stakeholders (Ministries of Economy, Finance, Women empowerment & Family, MPs, local municipalities, civil society, women networks)
• Design and deliver capacity building events for UN Women staff, Government counterparts, and civil society partners on key economic reforms to advance the GEWE agenda in the country

6. Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with stakeholders, national/local actors and development partners and provide substantive inputs to resource mobilization strategies

• Support building and maintaining alliances and strategic partnerships for the advancement of gender responsive economic policy at the national level
• Implement advocacy strategies to influence agenda of key national and local institutions  to promote gender responsive economic policy.
• Provide substantive inputs to resource mobilization strategies; analyze and maintain information and databases;
• 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.

7. Oversee knowledge building and sharing for Gender responsive economic

• Actively participate in the WEE Community of practice and the WCA Feminist Economist Taskforce to disseminate national lessons learnt and good practices

8. The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities:. The incumbent leads a team in the same Unit

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/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values

Functional Competencies

·       Excellent knowledge of gender and economic policy and women’s economic

·       Ability to design and deliver training and other capacity building strategies in the area of gender and economics to a variety of audiences

·       Strong drafting skills and ability to produce a variety of knowledge products for different audiences and purposes

·       Experience using and applying macroeconomic technical tools.

·       Ability to produce impactful communications materials and knowledge products 

·       Strong knowledge of the 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;

·       Strong knowledge of programme development, implementation, results based management and reporting

Required Skills and Experience

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/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc. 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.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, 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.