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.

The scope of work of the Regional Programme and Policy Specialist requires strong knowledge and experience in developing and implementing political engagement policy and programming at national and international levels and an in-depth understanding of challenges facing the region in order to translate UN Women's Strategic Plan into effective programmes and results on women’s political participation and leadership. It also requires developing mutually reinforcing partnerships with relevant Government counterparts, UN organizations, and CSOs.

The programme and policy specialist is expected to have significant experience in developing and implementing political empowerment policies and research that support women´s leadership.. The specialist will be based in UN Women´s regional office in Cairo, Egypt. The regional office covers 18 Arab countries, including 4 country offices, 1 multi country office and several project presences, as well as providing coordination and policy support to member states.

Reporting to the Deputy Regional Director, the regional programme Specialist, womens´s leadership and political participation, will oversee the development of women´s leadership and political participation; programmes, provide capacity building to Un Women staff and country offices in the Arab States, establish and strengthen partnerships, and develop relevant knowledge products on women´s leadership and political participation

Duties and Responsibilities

Development of programmes on Women´s leadership and political participation in the Arab States

• Development of regional programme documents on Women´s leadership and political participation

• Provide technical inputs and contributes with drafting programme proposals for country offices

• Develop and maintain thematic analysis pertaining to Gender equality and Women’s leadership;

• Provide advice on contextualizing/ localizing programme documents, country strategies, global policies, and knowledge products;

• Coordinate proper monitoring and reporting in collaboration with programme teams.

  Provide capacity building support to country offices, teams and partners

• Provide substantive technical and policy support to the regional and country programme teams in developing and strengthening projects/ programmes to support the implementation of global norms and standards;

• Develop, implement and monitor regional capacity building initiatives;

• Provide technical support to partners on implementation of women´s political participation and leadership

• Provide technical policy advice to programme/ project managers/ specialists in the COs

   

Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with stakeholders, regional/ international actors and development partners

• Build and maintain alliances and strategic partnerships for the advancement of women´s leadership

• Build and maintain close liaisons with relevant donors and other actors supporting efforts towards women´s leadership

• Production of periodic updates and briefs on regional/country development situation to be used by stakeholders, CO and HQ;

• Maintain close contact with relevant units and staff in UN Women HQ.

   

Manage the resource mobilization strategy for women´s political participation in the region

• Participate in the implementation, monitoring and periodic updating of the resource mobilization strategy on women´s political participation in the region;

• Provide technical support to field based presences in the region in mobilizing resources for the implementation of women´s leadership and political participation;

• Research and analyze information on donors; prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation.

   

Oversee the design of women´s leadership and political participation in the region and the development of relevant knowledge products

• Provide policy recommendations and guidance to strategic planning and positioning on women´s leadership and political participation;

• Work closely with and provide advice to regional/ national bodies and interagency groups that influence national policies related to women´s leadership and political participation; and where necessary represent UN Women;

• Research, develop and present analytical reports, research papers, briefing notes, background papers, summaries, correspondence, and knowledge products on women´s leadership and political participation;

  Identify promising practices, technical expertise, and strategic opportunities in women´s leadership and political participation;

   

Oversee knowledge building and sharing for women´s leadership and political participation

• Identify and disseminate lessons learnt and good practices in collaboration with country offices;

• Ensure technical skills and knowledge are shared within and among COs

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues

Functional Competencies

• Excellent knowledge of Women´s leadership and political participation;
• 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
  Accountability
•  
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Key Performance Indicators

• Timely and quality technical advice and support

• Leadership in area of expertise in the region

• Quality reports and other strategic documents drafted and submitted in a timely manner

• Strong relationships with various partners and stakeholders

• UN Women is well represented in important meetings on topics related to expertise

• Contributions to resource mobilization

• Timely and quality knowledge products

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in development, economics human rights, international relations or other social science fields is required.

Experience:

• At least 7 years progressively responsible experience in designing and managing programmes and advocating for women´s rights ideally with some experience in developing countries;

• Experience in programme, policy analysis, and strategic planning;

• Experience working with, and building partnerships with governments, donors and civil society organizations internationally and in the field;

• Experience working with the UN is an asset;

• Experience working in the Arab region is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required;

• Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset;

• Knowledge of Arabic and/or French is an asset.