UN WOMEN: ADVOCACY AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST

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.  Placing women's rights at the centre of all its efforts, 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.  To ensure that the voice and experience, knowledge and expertise of civil society contribute effectively to normative intergovernmental processes, UN Women is engaging widely and comprehensively with civil society at all levels. UN Women is cognizant that its engagement with civil society must be consistent, substantive and strategic, so that it can leverage civil society’s political advocacy clout in addition to its knowledge and expertise to navigate the challenges of political positions that are detrimental to gender equality and women’s empowerment.  Under the supervision of the Chief, Civil Society Section, and in close collaboration with colleagues in UN Women Communications and UN Women Information Systems and Technology, the Advocacy and Knowledge Management Specialist will be responsible to carry out a wide range of advocacy, outreach and knowledge management activities. These activities, including the supervision and management of UN Women’s extranet collaboration spaces with Civil Society Advisory Groups and wider civil society, UN Women’s NGO database, and specialized online applications, will enhance partnerships with UN Women and facilitate civil society participation in intergovernmental processes, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, Post-2015 development and SDG processes and the Beijing+20 programme of work among others.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of key functions: Advocacy and outreach; Strengthening and supporting civil society participation in intergovernmental processes; Knowledge and information management. Advocacy and outreach: Support the Section Chief and Deputy in developing civil society advocacy strategies and initiatives; Conduct digital advocacy, outreach and knowledge-sharing efforts supporting UN Women’s strategic approach to civil society partnerships; Craft user-friendly and concise online communications and advocacy messages, including drafting new content and editing existing website/Extranet/Intranet content; Produce advocacy and knowledge products, e.g. fact sheets, brochures and reports; Manage an extranet platform for Civil Society Advisory Groups at global, regional, and national level and create and execute a plan to engage civil society and other stakeholders via extranet and social media; Develop a series of ongoing activities to facilitate dialogue on the extranet, including through webinars with users, and develop tools for increasing active participation of users; Coordinate the management of users, collect user feedback and analyze usage statistics to evaluate and improve outreach strategies and technologies. Strengthening of civil society participation in intergovernmental processes:  Support and manage catalytic projects that support civil society participation in intergovernmental processes; Create and share specialized knowledge relevant to civil society participation in intergovernmental processes; Coordinate the deployment of specialized online applications to facilitate NGO participation in the Commission on the Status of Women, such as web-based systems for registration of participants, submission of written statements, and scheduling of side events on UN premises; Liaise with UN Department for Safety and Security for sharing of registration data to streamline NGO participation logistics. Knowledge management and learning: Supervise the development and maintenance of a comprehensive UN Women NGO database and manage the process of collecting and updating relevant data; Address impediments to sharing information and the flow of knowledge; facilitate key stakeholders’ demand and supply of knowledge; Conduct research to find the knowledge and information products needed to prompt dialogue and propose development of new products where gaps exist; Advise the Civil Society Section Chief in outreach and knowledge sharing technologies to enhance the Section’s strategic interaction with partners; Develop new online tools, surveys and other pilot projects; As the Section’s knowledge and information management initiatives progress, conduct on-going assessments of the knowledge and information management activities, and adapt policies and project models to meet emerging needs in digital knowledge-sharing with civil society; Participate in writing reports and papers on systems-related topics, system requirements, and information/knowledge management strategy; and manage contracted resources both onsite and offshore in the delivery of online outreach and knowledge management systems; Train Civil Society Section staff in software and web-based applications used for digital outreach and knowledge management. Impact of Results: The key results have a major impact on the overall effectiveness of UN Women’s outreach to and strategic alliances with civil society, leading to enhanced impact of the Organization on gender issues and the achievement of equality between women and men.

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 safeguard ethics and integrity. Organizational Awareness: Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment. Development and Innovation: Take charge of self-development and take initiative. Work in 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. Communicating and Information Sharing: Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for 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: Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge. Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making: Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making. Functional Competencies: Excellent skills in applying cutting-edge knowledge management tools and strategies; Knowledge of gender issues and inter-governmental processes relating thereto; Excellent English language writing and editing skills; Excellent communication and advocacy skills; Thorough understanding of online communications needs and excellent attention to detail; Strong knowledge of web-based publishing technologies, content management systems and software platforms for online knowledge and information sharing; Expert knowledge of the United Nations CSO-net platform for online and onsite registration of meeting participants; Expert knowledge of civil society organizations dedicated to gender issues and women’s empowerment; Ability to organize and complete multiple tasks by establishing priorities; Ability to handle a large volume of work under time constraints; Establishes, builds and sustains effective relationships with civil society, demonstrating understanding of client’s perspective; anticipates client needs and addresses them promptly.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Master’s degree or equivalent in digital communications, educational technology, journalism, public relations, or related fields. Experience:  A minimum of 5 years of demonstrated professional experience in the field of online communications, web publishing, or electronic knowledge networks; Experience in working in a multicultural and web-based environment; Experience in partnerships with civil society; Demonstrated ability to develop and manage online applications using Sharepoint. Languages:  Fluency in English is required;  Knowledge of another UN working language is an asset. 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.

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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.