UN WOMEN Jobs - 74237- Women, Peace and Security Specialist

Women, Peace and Security Specialist

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Kabul, AFGHANISTAN

Type of Contract :

Service Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

06-Sep-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

SB-4

Duration of Initial Contract :

One Year (with possibility of extension)

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.

UN Women is dedicated to advancing gender equality and women’s human rights in Afghanistan. Staff and consultants of UN Women Afghanistan are expected to contribute to a professional working environment in which the strengthening of national capacities and human potential is prioritized. Respect for diversity and human dignity is required, as is the active pursuit of a collaborative and inclusive approach to both internal and external stakeholders, including colleagues and partners. UN Women is structured to ensure greater cohesion between the programme areas through: Eliminating Violence Against Women Programme (EVAWP), Coordination and Advocacy Programme (CAP) and Political and Economic Empowerment Programme (PEEP). The advertised position is part of the PEEP.

Women, Peace and Security is one of the priority area of work for UN Women globally, including Afghanistan. UN Women’s Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) programme aims to build the capacity of and strengthen opportunities for women to mobilize as political actors of change as a means of demanding accountability by state and non-state actors on the implementation of gender equality commitments, including provisions of women’s full and meaningful participation in peace and reconciliation processes at the community, sub-national and national levels. The programme operates within the framework of Afghanistan National Action Plan on UN SCR 1325 and subsequent resolutions, CEDAW, and the Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework (ANPDF).

The role of UN Women is to support national counterparts – including the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MoCI), Parliamentary bodies, Electoral bodies, and civil society in implementing the National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan (NAPWA), the Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework (ANPDF), the National Action Plan for UN SCR 1325, National Priority Programme Women’s Economic Empowerment in the areas of political and economic opportunities for women. UN Women builds on partnerships developed with MoWA, MoFA and Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD), the international community, the UN Country Team, et cetera, to promote women’s participation in peace processes, political and economic development.

UN Women is seeking to recruit a Women, Peace and Security Specialist who will be responsible for providing strategic input to the implementation and coordination of the programmes in women, peace and security. S/he works as part of the UN Women Afghanistan Country Office team, and also actively engages with colleagues across the region in knowledge sharing and peer support.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the supervision of Deputy Countru Representative (DCR), and in close collaboration with the regional WPS Advisor, the position will provide substantive support to the Afghanistan Country Office. The Women Peace and Security Specialist will further UN Women's mandate in ensuring the participation of women in all aspects of conflict resolution, fighting radicalization and promoting engendered peacebuilding and post-conflict recovery.
•   Advisory and technical support on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda
•   Coordination, policy development, and advocacy;
•   Strategic Partnerships, resource mobilization and programme management
•   Knowledge management and capacity building

1. Advisory and technical support on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda
•   Advise the UN Women Office on strategies and opportunities for building women's participation and influence in conflict prevention, resolution, and peacebuilding, with a particular focus on strengthening the ongoing collaboration with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other related implementing ministries.
•   Organize and coordinate the meetings of the Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, including setting agenda, finalizing meeting minutes and following up properly with relevant entities on the implementations of the decisions reached at the meeting. Also, ensure quality performance of the WPS Working Group
•   Prepare or assist the preparation of policy documents, briefs and other strategic papers and materials for use in the development and presentation of a coherent UN Women country perspective on women peace and security;
•   Provide strategic and specialized technical advice to the peace and security team on the development of systems, processes and mechanisms to support effective program planning, implementation, monitoring and timely progress reporting;
•   Review and provide feedback to ongoing peace and security project, strategies and documents, work-plans, case studies and related knowledge products and publications as requested and needed.
•   Lead on research and/or advocacy projects relating to WPS, focusing on preventing violent extremism and ensuring the final knowledge products are of the highest standard and quality.
•   Where needed, conduct literature and desk reviews on WPS related issues and produce brief papers for policy formulation and donor relations purposes.
•   Substantive monitoring of the programme activities, including tracking use of financial resources, identification of operational and financial problems, development of solutions.

2 Coordination, policy development, and advocacy;

•   Identify and strengthen coordination with the national and regional stakeholders related to Women, Peace, and Security
•   Identification of new areas for support and interventions for ACO within the WPS areas.
•   Substantially participate in design and formulation of programme activities, translating the priorities of the Country Strategy in the area of Women Peace and Security into local interventions.
•   Undertake capacity development of national stakeholders’ in the peace building process and collect and analyze good practices;
•   Work with civil society partners to conduct awareness raising and effective policy formulation and implementation on preventing and countering violent extremism
•   Closely work with the other UN agencies, national and regional stakeholders towards policy development and/or implementation related to WPS

3.     Strategic Partnerships, resource mobilization and programme management
•   Manage the day to day relationship with academia, research institutes, civil society in women peace and security matters
•   Wherever needed, represent UN Women in relevant national or provincial forums to enhance coordination and ensure that gender, and conflict prevention and resolution issues are incorporated;
•   Develop innovative programmes/ projects and assist the senior management to generate resource for its implementation
•   Advise, support, guide and provide input for the formulation of relevant, high quality, results-based and rights-based peace and security programmes and projects;
•   Review and evaluate proposals and oversee the preparation of donor proposals and reports;

4. Knowledge management and capacity building
•   Manage collecting and sharing of lessons learned on women, peace and security to build knowledge and capacity of partners and stakeholders;
•   Work with the management to identify and implement capacity building activities for staff and other stakeholders to enhance skills and knowledge on women’s participation in peace building and all related matters;
•   Contribute to the development and maintenance of county program knowledge practices and products.

Impact of Results:

The post has an impact on the overall effectiveness and success of UN Women interventions and activities in WPS area, which impact in turn on the overall effectiveness of the UN Women programme in Afghanistan. By helping ensure effective design, planning, implementation, and M&E of WPS activities, and building networks and helping mobilize resources for these areas, the incumbent enhances the organization’s capacity and credibility in implementation of highly effective programmes with strong impact.

Competencies

CORE VALUES / GUIDING PRINCIPLES

•   Integrity: Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.
•   Professionalism: Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.
•   Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity: Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

CORE COMPETENCIES

•   Ethics and Values: Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity
•   Organizational Awareness: Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment
•   Development and Innovation: Take charge of self-development and take initiative
•   Work in teams: Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
•   Communicating and Information Sharing: Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication
•   Self-management and Emotional Intelligence: Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others
•   Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing: Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge
FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES
•   Demonstrated experience in the WPS area, including advanced level of knowledge on 1325 and preventing and countering violent extremisms (P/CVE) efforts at national and international level.
•   In-depth knowledge of development issues of Afghanistan
•   Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting
•   Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback
•   Ability to lead formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes and projects, mobilize resources;
•   Consistently approaches work with a constructive attitude and strong inter-personal coordination skills.
•   Ability to advocate and provide policy advice.
•   Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills
•   Able to travel throughout Afghanistan as needed

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree in Political Science, Law, Management, International Development, Gender, Human Rights or any other related Social Sciences, with minimum 3 years relevant experience, or Bachelor degree in above mentioned fields with minimum 5 years of relevant experience.

Experience:

Relevant experience at the national or international level in design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects, preferably in the field of gender, human rights or Women, Peace and Security.
Strong experience addressing the socio-political situation in Afghanistan and its impact on women is essential.

Prior experience in the UN System will be an asset.

Women candidates are strongly encouraged to apply

Language Requirements:

Fluency in spoken and written English, and at least one of the local languages Dari/Pashtu is essential.