UN WOMEN: SENIOR GENDER ADVISOR TO THE RESIDENT COORDINATOR

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. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.  Under the overall guidance of the UN Resident Coordinator (RC), and in close coordination with UN Women’s Arab States Regional Director, Senior Gender Advisor to the RC will be responsible for providing strategic and technical support to strengthen the work of the United Nations in Yemen on gender equality across priority sectors. The scope of work of the Senior Gender Advisor to the RC requires experience and in-depth understanding of gender equality and women’s empowerment issues, regional political acumen, as well as programming expertise. The Senior Gender Advisor to the RC is responsible for ensuring effective execution of UN Women's mandate and responsibility with respect to the advancement of women in Yemen. The Senior Gender Advisor to the RC will provide technical and programme support services to the UN Country Team (UNCT) to strengthen the UN response to addressing national priorities for gender equality and women’s empowerment, in line with UN Women’s strategic vision. S/he is the first line of contact between UN Women and its partners and clients in-country, working in close collaboration with the UN Women Regional Office in Cairo as well as UN Women HQ in New York.

Duties and Responsibilities

Key Functions: Coordination, Programme and Technical Support Strategic Advice and Advocacy Representation and Partnership Building Coordination, Programme and Technical Support Advising and supporting the UNCT, national and local partners, in the development and implementation of laws, plans, policies and budgets, in line with international and national commitments on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls; and in support of mainstreaming national gender equality priorities into legal frameworks and government-led programmes. Provision of technical advice to the UN RC, and international partners as required, in the coordination of emerging technical and development assistance to the Government of Yemen and civil society, ensuring emerging development support responds to women’s needs and national gender equality priorities. Engage with National Government, including transitional bodies, local authorities, and non-governmental organizations in support of women’s representation and leadership in national and local decision-making processes Advise and support the UN, national and local authorities and civil society in ensuring the programme and actions in the transitional and reconciliation processes and community-based initiatives, are gender sensitive and support women’s access to necessary services and decision-making processes therein. Provide technical support to Government and non-governmental organizations  for the design and delivery of specific programmes and activities targeted at building national capacities for the promotion of gender equality, and women’s rights, including through support to South-South learning and exchange; Liaise with key national and local stakeholders from Government, academia, civil society at the national and communal level, private sector and key international actors to build up and strengthen strategic alliances and partnerships on women’s rights and gender equality initiatives. Strategic advice to the UN RC and UNCT in promoting women’s rights and gender equality in the country. Provide analysis and advise the UNCT on the gender dynamics and opportunities to support inclusive engagement of women in the transition and development assistance provided by the UNCT, and within programmes and actions targeting reconciliation and community based initiatives. Identify and advise on entry points for new initiatives for the UN to strengthen national and local capacities for gender equality and to support the advancement of women’s empowerment and gender equality in the country. Advise the UNCT on improved accountability tools and assets so as to ensure the UN’s commitments to gender equality and women’s empowerment are tracked and up-scaled as opportunities arise. Advise and support joint programming and coordination around gender equality, including support in forging strategic partnerships at the national and local level to promote gender equality, women’s advancement and women’s representation. Representation and Partnership Building Support UN system-wide inter-agency coordination on gender to contribute to strategic and policy discussion on gender equality, and women’s empowerment issues. Supporting gender equality advocates, both within government and non-governmental organizations, to have a stronger voice in decision-making processes that shape lives of women, including those relating to reconciliation support. Represent UN Women at inter-agency, intergovernmental, international, regional and national conferences and meetings and advocate UN Women's policy and initiatives in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment. At the request of the RC, represent the UN system on gender equality and women’s empowerment issues at conferences and meetings to present UN system efforts for the advancement of women in Yemen. Maintain active relationship/partnerships with National Government Counterparts, UN System, international community, inter-government and non-governmental organizations, institutes and academia on women’s issue to enhance collaboration, resource mobilization and share and influence agenda and priority setting. Impact of Results: Success of the efforts to formulate and implement the UNCT and UN Women Programme Strategy at the national level to promote and advance gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Competencies

Core values and Guiding principles:   Integrity: Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.   Professionalism: Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.   Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity: Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.   CORE COMPETENCIES:   Ethics and Values: Demonstrate and promote ethics and integrity by creating organizational precedents   Organizational Awareness: Build support for the organization and ensure political acumen   Development and Innovation: Support staff competence development, and contribute to an environment of creativity and innovation   Work in teams: Build and promote effective teams. Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.   Communication and Information Sharing: Create and promote an environment for open and effective communication   Self-management and Emotional Intelligence: Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others   Conflict Management: Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.   Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing: Share knowledge across the organization and build a culture of knowledge sharing and learning   Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making: Ensure fair and transparent decision making processes and manage risk   Functional Competencies: Substantive experience and record of accomplishment in the area of gender equality and women's empowerment issues; Proven ability to advocate and provide policy advice; Ability to lead strategic planning, programme development and implementation, results-based management and reporting; Ability to develop and maintain strong partnerships and mobilize resources; Knowledge of methodologies and best practices for promoting gender equality, equity and women empowerment in general and in the Arab States region in particular; Experience with implementing gender mainstreaming agendas across a variety of sectors, including experience gender mainstreaming in governmental bodies; Experience working with and building capacity of national women’s machineries or similar institutions; Experience working with the UN in transition contexts; Experience working with women’s movements, NGOs and civil society networks, and familiarity with women's rights organizations and networks in the region and globally; High degree of political acumen and sensitivity and demonstrated ability to achieve results in politically and operationally complex environments. Managerial Competencies Ability to plan work assignments, establish priorities and to meet strict assignment deadlines. Ability to build strong relationships with colleagues and to focus on impact and results. Demonstrated aptitude to build effective partnerships with a diverse group of stakeholders. Compelling communication (verbal and written) skills, including ability to prepare reports, formulate and defend sound recommendations and articulate options concisely conveying maximum necessary information. Negotiating skills and ability to work at all levels with others to reach mutually benefiting and lasting understandings. Excellent interpersonal skills; capacity to recognize and respond appropriately to the ideas, interests and concerns of others. Ability to establish and maintain effective working relations with people in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic environment with sensitivity and respect for diversity.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Master’s degree (or equivalent) in a social sciences, economics, gender issues, or other development-related fields. Experience: A Minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in development, focusing on gender programming, part of which has been in the field with experience on gender equality and women’s rights with an international organization. Strong familiarity with UN inter-agency cooperation would be an asset.   Knowledge of and experience in Yemen desirable. Good knowledge of UN Women and the UN system. Language Requirements: Fluency in written and spoken English. 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. 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.

Click here for important information for US Permanent Residents ('Green Card' holders).