UN WOMEN Jobs - 80143- UN Women: Programme Specialist, Entrepreneurship a

UN Women: Programme Specialist, Entrepreneurship and Gender-Responsive Procurement

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Abu Dhabi, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

10-Aug-18 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-4

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 year

Languages Required :

Arabic 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.

UN Women’s flagship programme on Stimulating equal opportunities for women entrepreneurs aims to support women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses by: (1) creating demand for their products and services from the public and private sector (e.g. through affirmative policies and practices); (2) developing their capacities, knowledge and skills and access to markets information; (3) supporting financial institutions to be more gender-responsive. The programme will engage UN Women’s broad spectrum of partners, including governments, UN system entities, civil society, large corporations, business associations, women entrepreneurs and women-owned and women-led micro-, small- and medium-size enterprises. The flagship programme will initially be rolled out in South Africa and the United Arab Emirates as well as Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

UN Women will leverage the following platforms to host and disseminate capacity development materials:

WeLearn in its prototype phase, is the global learning community that will offer experiential, personalized and learning curricula to support women’s full participation in the economy. WeLearn will focus on equipping women with the skills needed for the jobs of the future (entrepreneurship and employment), including 21st century skills. It will provide access to customized, skills-based learning paths, a supportive community of learners and change-makers, and connections to real-world learning and employment opportunities that will empower women and girls and build a more gender inclusive society.

The Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) offer a holistic framework to ensure the business practices create an enabling environment for gender equality and women’s economic empowerment (WEE). The WEPs emphasize gender equality at workplace, marketplace and community, and women’s economic empowerment as a priority in global value chains.

EmpowerWomen.org is the global movement for women’s economic empowerment. It engages gender equality advocates and empowers women to achieve their full economic potential in more than 190 countries. Empower Women equips over a million women and men with resources, opportunities and a global platform to become change-makers and leaders in their communities.

Women’s Economic Empowerment Global Summit The signature activity of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) project is the Biennial Women’s Economic Empowerment Global Summit. Women’s Economic Empowerment Global Summit was held in 2017 to kick off the flagship and will be held again in 2019. Leading up to the Summit, focused trainings and workshop will be offered to both companies, as buyers, and women-owned businesses, as suppliers, to expand the knowledge based on gender-responsive procurement in the region.

Reporting to the Policy Adviser for WEE and WEPs, the Programme Specialist will be responsible for planning, implementing, and managing the UAE/GCC component of the flagship programme and for overseeing and quality assuring country-level implementation. S/he will also be responsible for contributing to and for preparing the global donor report. S/he will work in close collaboration with both HQ and field colleagues in a team and collaborative spirit, as well as with government officials, private sector partners, academia, international organizations, business networks and civil society to ensure successful flagship programme impact and results.

Duties and Responsibilities

Lead the development and implementation of the programme’s knowledge management and communication in UAE and GCC countries:

Carry out a needs assessment and policy analysis of the current economic and social context to inform the elaboration of a comprehensive country strategy.
Implement knowledge management and learning activities based on the findings of the needs assessment and policy analysis.
Lead the research, development, and presentation of analytical reports, research papers, briefing notes, background papers, summaries, correspondence on women’s entrepreneurship and gender-responsive procurement.
Coordinate advocacy strategies and their implementation across the GCC region.
Develop and implement knowledge management strategies, methodologies and products for the programme in the UAE in close collaboration with the Programme Manager at HQ.
Identify best practices and lessons learned, technical expertise and strategic opportunities to guide programme improvement, strategy planning and disseminate them regionally or globally.
Liaise with the Headquarters (HQ) team to set up and provide advice to the Strategic Advisory Committee and facilitate knowledge building and sharing for the Flagship Programme Initiative (FPI).

Provide technical advice on women’s economic empowerment to local, national and regional governments and large corporations in the GCC region:

Coordinate the development and strengthening of policies, projects/ programmes and modalities to support the implementation of global norms and standards related to women’s economic empowerment and ensuring proper monitoring.
Identify knowledge and implementation gaps and possible solutions to barriers women face to participate in the labour force, by working for a wage or starting and managing a business.
Develop, implement and monitor capacity building initiatives for women’s organizations and women by levering existing UN Women platforms such as empowerwomen.org, WeLearn and the WEPs, in consultation with programme teams as well as HQ teams.

Coordinate the organization of the Women’s Economic Empowerment Global Summit in consultation with the HQ Policy Advisor, HQ Programme Manager and South Africa Project Specialist:

Coordinate and organize with partners, the Women’s Economic Empowerment Global Summit in 2019.
Serve as the primary coordination focal point for the Women’s Economic Empowerment Global Summit in the UAE and GCC.
Oversee the identification of and communication with speakers.
Liaise with partners and HQ to develop details concepts notes, agenda and run of show.
Oversee logistics in coordination with partners.

Manage the people and financial resources of the Stimulating Equal Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs programme components implemented in the UAE:

Develop and implement the annual programme workplan and oversee the implementation, in close consultation with the HQ Programme Manager.
Monitor the programme budget for the UAE.
Lead the technical programme implementation for UAE, using a Results Based Management Approach.
Review and finalize financial reports.
Provide written updates and reports on a monthly basis to HQ and provide inputs to donor reports as required.
Manage project staff and consultants.

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

Represent UN Women in meetings and policy dialogues on issues related to women’s economic empowerment, especially as it pertains to the private sector, skills development, entrepreneurship, finance and procurement
Build and strengthen strategic partnerships for the advancement of women’s entrepreneurship and gender-responsive procurement, particularly for the WEEGS in 2019 but also to enhance programme implementation.
Build and strengthen close liaisons with relevant donors and other actors supporting efforts towards increasing sourcing of goods and services from women-owned businesses.
Regularly consult with relevant staff in UN Women HQ.
Organize periodic consultations with key stakeholders, women leaders, human rights experts and UN partners together inputs on project design and implementation.
Provide technical support to field-based presences in the region in mobilizing resources for scale up and replication of the FPI.

Key Performance Indicators:

Timely and quality technical advice and support and programme implementation;
Leadership in area of expertise in the region;
Quality reports and other strategic documents drafted and submitted in a timely manner;
Regular communication and information flow with other UN Women Advisors and quality strategic documents delivered in a timely manner;
Delivery of trainings to buyers and suppliers of goods and services from women-owned businesses;
Strong relationships with various partners and stakeholders;
UN Women is well represented in important meetings on topics related to expertise;
Increase in resources mobilized.

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:

Excellent knowledge of women’s economic empowerment, with a focus on entrepreneurship and gender-responsive procurement;
Strong knowledge of the MENA region, private sector engagement, and strategic partnerships;
Excellent networking skills;
Ability to interact with donors, identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising;
Ability to advocate and provide policy advice;
Excellent analytical skills;
Excellent knowledge of programme development, implementation, results based management and reporting.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree or equivalent in economics, human rights, international relations, business administration 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 economic empowerment ideally with some experience in developing countries.
Experience in programme management, 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 system is an asset.
Strong knowledge and experience in UAE and GCC countries.

Languages:

Fluency in English and Arabic is required.
Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset.
Experience working with stakeholders in the UAE 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.