UN WOMEN Jobs - 72479- UN Women: Knowledge Management Specialist

UN Women: Knowledge Management Specialist

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

09-Jun-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-4

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 year

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

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.

This vision commits UN Women, particularly its Policy Division, to

establish its authority as a global center of, and gateway to, knowledge on gender equality, women’s empowerment and women’s rights;
deepen its work in analyzing its own and partner’s successes and lessons from programmes and advocacy efforts;
conduct, commission and compile relevant research;
analyze key development processes, trends and opportunities affecting gender equality and women’s rights;
publish research and other products that progress global knowledge on gender equality, women empowerment and women’s rights;
disseminate that analysis and related resources.

In line with its role as a provider of technical expertise on gender, the organization develops clear policy directions and evidence base for ‘what works’. This is done after effective reflection, learning, evaluation and documentation of results in order to translate knowledge through programming, policy and advocacy, and to systemize access and strengthen dissemination.

In line with the catalytic programming function outlined in the UN Women mandate, its Strategic Plan highlights the importance of strengthened capacities for knowledge management, i.e., to generate, document, share and apply knowledge for making change happen for gender equality and women's empowerment. UN Women’s corporate commitment to knowledge management is essential to enhancing the organization's development effectiveness and in fostering improved collaboration across the UN system and globally. UN Women hopes to systematize specific UN WOMEN experiences in capacity development into explicit and accessible sets of approaches, including in relation to South-South learning, and to make available adequate documentation and evaluation to stimulate interest in scaling up or replicating the catalytic initiatives on gender equality and the human rights of women that it spearheads or supports.

Under the guidance and supervision of the Director, Policy Division, the Knowledge Management (KM) Specialist will take a lead role in the strengthening the organization's KM function. The KM Specialist is responsible for managing relations with both internal and external clients and stakeholders on UN Women's KM function. The KM Specialist works in close collaboration with field offices, HQ Divisions, and the Evaluation Unit to ensure that the knowledge generated from UN Women’s programming, monitoring and evaluation functions is disseminated, used for institutional learning, shared with partners and implemented across the organization, as specifically defined in the duties and responsibilities listed below.

Duties and Responsibilities

Design, develop, and implement Knowledge Management strategy and tools:

Conduct a needs assessment to identify knowledge gaps by undertaking a comprehensive mapping of existing Knowledge Management activities, guidelines and tools within UN Women at the HQ and field level, as well as through consultations;
Conduct a desk review of existing good practices on Knowledge Management from UN Organizations and other relevant Stakeholders;
Develop a corporate KM strategy and its implementation plan in the context of the Strategic Plan, particularly in relation to the management results indicated above, and taking into account internal and external demand for knowledge on gender equality and women's empowerment;
Manage the implementation of the corporate KM Strategy, track progress made, raise issues and make recommendations to address those issues;
Assist the Policy Directorate with the development of specific Knowledge Management tools, their implementation and dissemination;
Advise the Policy Director on efforts in deepening coordination, collaboration, and synergy within the Policy Division and with other key stakeholders regarding program interventions, Monitoring and Evaluation, innovation and lessons learned.

Ensure the Knowledge Management is linked to key processes within the Policy Division and organization:

Liaise with all relevant sections of UN Women on Knowledge Management for quality and consistency assurance of the Policy Division Knowledge Management methodologies and activities;
Ensure that KM is strategically linked to key processes, e.g., programming, monitoring, reporting, evaluation and institutional development. Participate in the Programme Working Group to ensure that KM is linked to new policies governing such processes;
Ensure that KM approaches balance supply and demand considerations and are consistently integrated, aligned, coordinated and mainstreamed into the work of headquarters and sub-regional offices with partners;
Address impediments to sharing information and the flow of knowledge, facilitate demand and supply of knowledge; develop an incentive structure\system for knowledge for knowledge seeking and provision enshrined in accountability frameworks, including performance appraisal;
Liaise with the Evaluation Office on the dissemination and use of evaluation results including the transformation of lessons learned into knowledge products on gender equality and women's empowerment, ensuring that KM systems benefit from the evaluation function;
Liaise with DMA in ensuring that KM supports UN Women’s strategy for the development of staff capacities at HQ and the field. Assess opportunities and make recommendations for linking KM and staff development;
Liaise with relevant thematic advisors, geographic sections and field offices in developing knowledge products and in organizing learning platforms to promote the internal and external sharing of knowledge on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Coordinate with, and build strategic partnerships for the advancement of Knowledge Management:

Assist the Policy Director and work with the Special Advisor to organize, prepare and coordinate all activities of the Working Group on Knowledge Management;
Promote synergies between KM and communications across the organization through collaboration with key external as well as internal partners;
Build and engage with academic networks;
Represent UN WOMEN in key policy and management for and external groups related to KM, including the UNDG Working Group on Knowledge Management;
Promote and support UN system-wide KM efforts in the context of the "One UN".

Key Performance Indicators:

Quality corporate strategy on knowledge management which leads to consistent sharing of best practices and knowledge;
Design and implement effective tools which lead to increased capacity;
Timely and effective communication and liaison with different departments in the organization to ensure the integration of knowledge management in systems and processes;
Quality support to field offices to ensure a constant and consistent flow of information with HQ and other field offices.

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: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Functinal Competencies:

Ability to link Knowledge Management to key processes including programming, results-based management, monitoring, reporting and evaluation;
Ability to apply knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside of UN Women;
Substantive knowledge of issues on gender equality and women’s empowerment;
In-depth substantive knowledge of KM and development policy issues;
Ability to manage for results: translate strategy into achievable plans, with established priorities, monitors them, making periodic adjustments as required;
Ability to effectively represent UN WOMEN in, and contribute to inter-agency KM initiatives;
Builds strong relationships with, and focuses on results for clients and partners. Responds positively to feedback;

Outstanding networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree in International Development, Management, or other relevant field is required.

Experience:

At least 7 years of relevant national/international working experience with increasing managerial responsibilities in international development, management and/or related fields;
Experience working in the field of Knowledge Management; familiarity with different Knowledge Management approaches including the development of practice communities and the use of ICT/web-based systems
Experience in evaluation and results-based management is an asset;
Senior- level working experience in a governmental, multilateral or civil society organization in a developed or developing country is an asset.

Languages:

Fluency in English is required
Knowledge of the other 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 http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment 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.