UN WOMEN Jobs - 76384- UN Women: Policy Specialist

UN Women: Policy Specialist – Women’s Empowerment Principles

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

03-Jan-18 (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.

The Policy Division develops and implements the UN Women programme of work on analysis, research and knowledge management that provides the evidence base for the advice and guidance UN Women provides to the intergovernmental process, the UN system, and to UN Women staff working at country and regional level. It identifies emerging issues and trends, and develops and proposes new strategies for achieving the agreed goals through innovative approaches and lessons learned about what works in practice.

The Policy Division undertakes issues-based research; analyzes data on country, regional or global trends; builds a knowledge base on policy commitments and their implementation; proposes evidence-based options for global policy, norms and standards and for UN Women’s flagship programmes; and contributes substantive inputs to policy advocacy and technical cooperation programmes.

Under the European Union’s Partnership Instrument, UN Women is co-creating an innovative project on women’s economic empowerment in G7 countries that will be implemented over a period of three years. The project’s guiding platform are the Women’s Empowerment Principles, established by the UN Global Compact and UN Women. The project has two main objectives: (1) Facilitate dialogues and exchanges among G7 countries' public and private sector; and (2) Further engage with the private sector in the elimination of gender inequality faced by women in the world of work.

Under the direct supervision of the Policy Advisor –Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP) – the Policy Specialist is responsible for providing advice on normative and policy components and on overall project implementation, including advocacy efforts, multi-stakeholder policy dialogues, partnership building, capacity-building, and knowledge creation and learning on women’s economic empowerment. S/he will support the development of the project work plan and budget and the day-to-day management of project activities, and work closely with other team members.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide substantive policy advice on women’s economic empowerment and the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs):

Develop policy and guidance on the Women’s Empowerment Principles;
Develop tools, guidelines and manuals for the WEPs;
Provide thematic inputs and guidance to corporate strategic planning and positioning.

Manage advocacy on internationally agreed principles and guidelines:

Research, develop and/or present policy papers, practice notes/concepts and other knowledge based-tools for discussion in global and regional forums to help influence/advance policy dialogue;
Develop and update partner country fact sheets on women’s economic empowerment;
Develop knowledge products, tools and incentives for WEPs implementation.

Lead multi-stakeholder policy dialogues:

Provide technical and policy leadership when UN Women participates in, convenes, or leads interagency group on women’s economic empowerment policy-related areas;
Lead the development of policy advice for the multi-stakeholder policy dialogues;
Establish and lead advisory groups of thought leaders in business, government, parliament, academia and civil society in various sectors and industries;
Organize action-driven dialogues during key national and global summits;
Build a knowledge base for the effective work of the project’s advisory groups.

Lead initiatives and campaigns related to capacity building of companies on WEPs:

Lead the organization of the annual WEPs Forum;
Develop a comprehensive communication toolkit for the WEPs;
Manage the WEPs signatory process;
Carry out WEPs training and capacity building for companies;
Incentivize companies to publicly report on progress against WEPs implementation;
Manage the group of companies reporting publicly on an online platform;
Establish linkages between and promote EU and G7 women’s business associations and networks;
Incentivize companies by introducing reporting obligations, transparency and accountability.

Lead partnership building initiatives:

Mobilize resources from private sector partners and other donors;
Collaborate with relevant UN Women teams, including with UN Women National Committees in the partner countries;
Develop extensive networks and rosters of stakeholders for women’s economic empowerment, including with private sector, government, parliament, academia, research institutions, civil society and experts to expand and share knowledge, exchange views on latest findings, incorporate cutting-edge thinking into the project implementation.

Manage staff and budget:

Support the development of the annual workplans and budgets for the team;
Carry out day-to-day management of project activities;
Manage the preparation of donor and evaluation reports as required;
Work closely with other team members.

Key Performance Indicators:

The successful performance of the Policy Specialist of the key functions directly contribute to effective and strategic development, implementation and management of a high quality programme and achievement of high quality results which in turn directly impact on the credibility and image of UN Women as an effective and efficient partner and as the leading knowledge-based technical and advocacy organization for gender equality and the empowerment of women.

Implementation of workplan by team, on time on scope on budget;
Timely and quality implementation of the policy advocacy campaigns and multi-stakeholder dialogues;
UN Women is considered a reliable and trustworthy partner, providing substantive inputs to progress UN women’s mandate;
Timely and quality donor reporting;
Delivery of quality knowledge products;
Promote team work and team spirit.

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.

Functional Competencies:

Substantive knowledge related to current policies and practices in the area of women’s economic empowerment and the WEPs;
Ability to conceptualize and convey strategic vision of gender equality and women’s economic empowerment to different stakeholder groups, particularly the private sector;
Strong oral and written communications skills, with proven expertise in writing cogent and convincing policy and programme documents;
Proven analytical and problem-solving skills;
Ability to leverage information technology, executive information systems, management techniques and tools for optimal office performance;
Excellent planning, goal-setting and prioritization skills;
Demonstrated effectiveness in establishing and fostering good relations with representatives of government, corporations, academia, UN entities, donors, and civil society;
Ability to work independently as well as in a team environment;
Ability to undertake a diversity of tasks within a rapidly changing and demanding environment on short deadlines.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master's degree (or equivalent) in Economics or related field.

Experience:

7 years of extensive development experience that combines intellectual, strategic and managerial leadership in policy analysis, dialogue and advocacy, capacity-building and knowledge management on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment;
Demonstrated experience with private sector engagement for delivery of the gender equality agenda;
Experience conceptualizing and delivering knowledge exchange and capacity building activities, particularly for the private sector;
Familiarity with the WEPs is an advantage.

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.