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 goal of UN Women´s presence in the region is to support the achievement of gender equality, women´s empowerment and the promotion and protection of women´s human rights.  Ending violence against women and girls has been identified by UN Women as a key primary focus area in the region.  UN Women is working to improve the quality of, and increase accessibility to, coordinated services and responses to violence against women.  UN Women works with partners to reach a shared understanding at the regional level on the range of services and responses required and the corresponding standards and/or guidelines for the provision of the services that are considered essential to meet the needs of women and girls subject to violence. In addition, UN Women actively participates and contributes to various UN inter-agency processes and collaborates with UN organizations around specific programme areas. 

The scope of work of the Policy Specialist on Ending Violence Against Women (EVAW) requires experience and in-depth understanding of gender equality and strategies to prevent and address violence against women, to translate UN Women´s strategic plans in the area of EVAW into effective programmes and results.  It also requires developing mutually reinforcing partnerships with relevant Government counterparts, UN organizations, and Civil Society Organizations.  The EVAW Policy Specialist will lead UN Women’s Regional Programme in the EU/UN funded Spotlight Initiative as well as provide in depth technical advice and programmatic guidance to Latin America and Carribean country offices.

Reporting to the Deputy Regional Director, the Policy Specialist, Ending Violence Against Women (EVAW) will oversee the development programmes and resource mobilization strategies on the thematic areas of gender equality and EVAW, provide capacity building to programme presence offices, country offices and multi-country office in the region, establish and strengthen partnerships, and develop relevant knowledge products on EVAW.  The EVAW Policy Specialist will also directly supervise EVAW Team members, including the Regional Spotlight Programme Coordination Team.

Duties and Responsibilities

Oversee the development of programmes on gender equality and ending violence against women to support Programme Presence Office (PPO)/Country Office (CO)/ Multi Country Office (MCO) teams:

  • Oversee the development of regional programme documents on gender equality and EVAW;
  • Provide technical inputs to programme proposals from PPOs, Cos and MCO;
  • Provide advice on contextualizing/ localizing programme documents, country strategies, and knowledge products;
  • Coordinate proper monitoring and reporting on gender equality and EVAW in collaboration with programme teams.

Provide capacity building support to Programme Presence Office (PPO)/Country Office (CO)/ Multi Country Office (MCO) teams and partners:

  • Provide substantive technical and policy support to PPOs, COs and MCO programme teams in developing and strengthening projects/ programmes;
  • Develop, implement and monitor capacity building initiatives;
  • Provide technical support to partners on implementation of gender equality and EVAW programmes and initiatives;
  • Provide technical policy advice to programme/ project managers/ specialists in the region.

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

  • Build and maintain alliances and strategic partnerships for the advancement of gender equality and EVAW;
  • Build and maintain close liaisons with relevant donors and other actors supporting efforts towards gender equality and EVAW;
  • Produce periodic updates and briefs on regional/country development situations to be used by stakeholders, CO and HQ;
  • Maintain close contact with relevant staff in UN Women HQ.

Manage the resource mobilization strategy for the thematic area of gender equality and ending violence against women in the region:

  • Participate in the implementation, monitoring and periodic updating of the resource mobilization strategy on EVAW in the region;
  • Provide technical support to field-based presences in the region in mobilizing resources for the implementation of EVAW initiatives;
  • Research and analyze information on donors, prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation.

Oversee the design of gender equality and ending violence against women initiatives in the region and the development of relevant knowledge products:

  • Provide policy recommendations and guidance to strategic planning and positioning on EVAW;
  • Work closely with and provide advice to regional/ national bodies and interagency groups that influence national policies related to gender equality and EVAW and where necessary represent UN Women;
  • Research, develop and present analytical reports, research papers, briefing notes, background papers, summaries, correspondence, and knowledge products on gender equality and EVAW; 
  • Identify promising practices, technical expertise, and strategic opportunities in EVAW.

Oversee knowledge building and sharing for gender equality and ending violence against women:

  • Identify and disseminate lessons learnt and good practices in collaboration with country offices;
  • Ensure technical skills and knowledge are shared within and among RO/PPOs/Cos/ MCO.

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.

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-valuesand-competencies-definitions-en.pdf.

Functional Competencies:

  • Excellent knowledge of gender equality and ending violence against women issues;
  • Knowledge of methodologies and best practices for promoting gender equality, equity and ending violence against women in general and in the Americas and the Caribbean region in particular; 
  • Strong knowledge of the Americas and Caribbean region;
  • Knowledge of the UN System;
  • 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 and problem-solving skills;
  • Ability to write policy papers, speeches, briefings;
  • Strong knowledge of programme development, implementation, results-based management and reporting;
  • Ability to detailed operational plans, budgets and deliver on them for development results;
  • Strong knowledge of UN programme management systems.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, human rights, international relations or other social science fields is required.  Specialized studies in gender is a distinct advantage;
  • A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree;
  • A project/programme management certification would be an added advantage.

Experience:

  • At least 7 years progressively responsible experience in designing and managing programmes and advocating for gender equality and ending violence against women, ideally with some experience in developing countries preferably in the Americas and Caribbean region;
  • 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 in coordinating, implementing, monitoring and evaluating development programmes and projects; specifically, with different UN agencies is an asset;
  • Experience working with the UN is an asset;
  • Experience working in the Americas and Caribbean region is an asset.

Languages:

  • Fluency in English and Spanish is required;
  • Knowledge of French and /or Portuguese is an asset;
  • Knowledge of other UN official working language is an asset.

Application Information:

  • 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;
  • UN Women will only be able to respond to those applications in which there is further interest.

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.