UN WOMEN: HUMAN RIGHTS SPECIALIST

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women (UNW) will work 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. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women will lead and coordinate United Nations System efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. Thematic clusters will bring together specialists supporting the normative and operational aspects of UN Women’s mandate. Given UN Women’s limited resources in its start-up phase, the initial set of thematic clusters will include: Elimination of Violence against Women; Peace and Security; Economic Empowerment/MDG Issues and Governance/Participation/Leadership. The thematic cluster on Governance/Participation/Leadership includes the Human Rights section. Under the direct supervision of the Human Rights Advisors, the Human Rights Specialist will be responsible for undertaking human rights analysis and research on priority areas, and assuming substantive and administrative responsibility, for a range of the section’s activities under its 2012 work plan.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of key functions: Human Rights Knowledge Management and Analysis Support to Intergovernmental and Normative Processes Technical Cooperation UN Inter-Agency Coordination Key Responsibilities: Human Rights Knowledge Management and Analysis Research good practices within UNW and other UN agencies re: support at country level for the implementation of Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Produce preliminary drafts of guidelines and tools to assist UNW country offices in supporting national efforts to implement CEDAW Manage and provide inputs into the human rights sites of UNW’s internet and intranet Conduct research and analysis of different human rights issues, as necessary Support to Intergovernmental and Normative Processes Provide on-demand assistance to the CEDAW Committee’s Working Group on the finalization of its General Recommendation on the application of the Convention to conflict and post-conflict contexts Support the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) communications procedure, including preparing the Secretary-General’s report on the confidential list of communications and the Addendum to the report, and drafting relevant correspondence and notes Support the convening of an expert group meeting in relation to women’s economic and social rights, including preparing background documents, working with administrative officers and OHCHR on the logistics, drafting correspondence, and researching and finalizing the report of the meeting Contribute to UNW corporate reports to intergovernmental bodies Technical Cooperation Provide on-demand guidance and assistance to all UNW country offices regarding the CEDAW reporting process Provide technical support to and liaise with UNW country/sub regional offices to support countries emerging from conflict to implement the CEDAW Convention, including in respect of preparation of reports under article 18 of the Convention and follow up to the Committee’s concluding observations. UN Interagency Coordination: Represent UNW on the UN interagency working group on UN Country Team reports to CEDAW Impact of Results The Human Rights Specialist delivers high quality contributions to reports and projects, to include analytical inputs and advice that contribute to improving institutional capacity and ability to articulate human rights-based policy. The Specialist supports further development of UNW’s knowledge base on human rights, and assists UNW country offices to deliver technical assistance to Members States in relation to CEDAW. Takes action to identify issues/problems and develops creative approaches to problem resolution. Delivers assigned outputs in a timely manner. Develops partnerships and interacts effectively with colleagues internally and externally.

Competencies

Core Competencies and Guiding Principles: Integrity: Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct. Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity: Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity. Core Competencies: Professionalism - sound knowledge of global gender equality issues, including the gender equality dimensions of strategic issues, and gender mainstreaming tools and methodologies. Experience in inter-agency collaboration an advantage. Communication: excellent communications skills; strong interpersonal skills; ability to prepare succinct, analytical reports. Teamwork: excellent interpersonal skills and ability to establish and maintain effective partnerships and working relations, both within the UN system and externally; ability to work in a multicultural and multiethnic environment with respect for diversity. Ethics and Values : Demonstrating / Safeguarding Ethics and Integrity Organizational Awareness : Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment Self-management and Emotional intelligence : Creating synergies through self-control Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning : Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of others Functional Competencies: Ability to undertake policy research and prepare quantitative studies, utilizing statistical methodologies, knowledge of database applications for statistical analysis. Good knowledge of gender issues and human rights Ability to organize and complete multiple tasks by establishing priorities Ability to handle a large volume of work possibly under time constraints Establishes, builds and sustains effective relationships with clients, demonstrating understanding of client’s perspective; anticipates client needs and addresses them promptly.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Master’s degree or equivalent in Human Rights, gender studies, development studies, law or other related disciplines. Experience: A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in human rights at a national or international level. Experience with UN, in particular the human rights system, highly desirable Language: Fluency in English (written and oral) Knowledge of another official UN 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. .

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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.