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UN WOMEN: CHIEF, ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT SECTION

8:46:00 AM

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 program 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 on issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment. 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. It also designs and oversees the training and capacity development programmes of UN Women, working closely with the UN Women training facility in Santo Domingo. 
Based on UN legislative mandates and UN Women Strategic Programme Plan, it undertakes or coordinates global or sectoral research and data analysis; advises on norms, policies and strategies for achieving the internationally agreed goals related to gender equality and women’s empowerment issues. It acts as a knowledge hub, collecting evidence on progress and emerging issues, identifying trends in implementation of global commitments; and sharing knowledge on innovative approaches and lessons learned in implementation. It designs tools for inter-regional capabilities building and institutional development programmes and fosters strategic substantive partnerships with academia and other UN partners, in close collaboration with the Intergovernmental Support and Strategic Partnership Bureau, the Programme division and UN Women Training Center (Santo Domingo).
The Policy Division staff is organised in Thematic Sections, bringing together technical experts who: undertake issues-based research; analyse data on country, regional or global trends; build a knowledge base on policy commitments and their implementation; propose evidence-based options for global policy, norms and standards and for UN Women global programme strategies; and contribute substantive inputs to policy advocacy and technical cooperation programmes. 
UN Women’s Strategic Plan addresses women’s economic empowerment as one of its main goals. The Section focuses its work in three key areas: Macroeconomics – promoting policies that are more responsive to women’s needs and priorities within the context of responses to crises; Economic Institutions – increasing the capacity of economic institutions to eliminate inequalities and generate economic wellbeing for all women; and Sustainable Development – legal, policy and programmatic frameworks to advance women’s economic empowerment within the framework of the Post-2015 development agenda. 
In the immediate future, the Economic Empowerment Section will work on agreed strategies to address women’s persistent poverty and exclusion by focusing on women’s access to and control over and over productive resources; and women’s rights and opportunities in the continuum of work from unpaid to decent work. 
The Section Chief, Economic Empowerment, reports to the Director, Policy Division for strategic guidance and direction, and is responsible for leading the development of thematic work within the mandates of the Division.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:
  • Guide implementation of scaled-up, high impact job creation and poverty reduction initiatives benefiting women;
  • Create partnerships for tangible advancement of women’s economic empowerment with partners within the UN system, private sector, civil society, member States and international organizations;
  • Provide substantive support to intergovernmental processes and policy development;
  • Lead the provision of advisory services and programme support;
  • Lead the ongoing advocacy efforts in the area of women’s economic empowerment;
  • Manage the Economic Empowerment Section.
Description of Key Functions:
Guide implementation of scaled-up, high impact job creation and poverty reduction initiatives benefiting women:
  • Lead provision of advice to regional and country offices to develop and implement high impact job creation and poverty reduction initiatives for women;
  • Build strategic partnerships to implement initiatives which reduce women’s poverty and create sustainable employment;
  • Introduce innovation and cutting edge practices to enhance the development of policy and programme.
Create partnerships for tangible advancement of women’s economic empowerment with partners within the UN system, private sector, civil society, member States and international organizations:
  • Contribute to the development of strategic approaches to policy dialogue, resource mobilization, partnerships, and outreach for women’s economic empowerment;
  • Build and maintain public-private and private sector partnerships;
  • Guide the development of concrete programmes with partners to advance women’s economic empowerment;
  • Leverage partners’ resources and programmes in order to create jobs for women and reduce poverty.
Provide substantive support to intergovernmental processes and policy development:
  • Lead the review and development of global policies in the area of economic empowerment to enhance understanding of gender issues and dimensions, meet UN Women mandates and support its programmes and that of other partners;
  • Provide inputs in international fora to help shape development of global and regional policies, norms and standards and implementation strategies;
  • Lead the production of studies, reports and background papers on a range of gender equality issues relating to women’s economic empowerment in accordance with mandates provided by relevant intergovernmental bodies, highlighting progress and challenges in critical areas and emerging issues as well as preparing options and recommendations for action;
  • Lead and implement a research agenda on the linkages between global commitments on women’s economic empowerment and their implementation at global, regional and national levels;
  • Develop, test and roll out tools and methodologies in the area of women’s economic empowerment to provide standards and guidelines for programming and management; and ensure that lessons learned are incorporated into programmes and activities.
Lead the provision of advisory services and programme support:
  • Provide thematic policy advice and technical guidance to and collaborate substantively with Member States, UN Country Teams, UN Theme Groups and staff of UN Women programme countries to ensure the integration of gender perspectives and attention to global commitments in all policies and programmes;
  • Contribute to strategic discussions on programme design, oversight and evaluation to support implementation and capture best practices and lessons learned for policy development and adjustment;
  • Provide policy and technical advice in the area of women’s economic empowerment for UN Women’s programmes at country level to enhance operational performance from programme development to delivery .
Lead the ongoing advocacy efforts in the area of women’s economic empowerment:
  • Represent UN Women in international fora to encourage greater commitment to, collaboration on the implementation of gender equality policies;
  • Lead UN Women’s advocacy efforts in the area of women’s economic empowerment;
  • Establish and nurture relationship with academia, research institutes, civil society and experts in the area of women’s economic empowerment to expand and share knowledge, exchange views on latest findings, incorporate cutting-edge thinking in UN work on gender equality .
Manage the Economic Empowerment Section:
  • Supervise, guide and oversee the work the work of the team to ensure the delivery of quality results according to standards and goals established in the Section;
  • Monitor the appropriate use and management of financial resources and take responsibility for the integrity of financial systems and consistent application of the internal control framework and/or UN Women/UN rules and regulations. Submit timely mandated reports;
  • Oversee the development and implementation of strategic evaluation plans, ensure that management responses to all evaluations are completed and followed up, and that learning from evaluations is fed back into UN Women initiatives and operations;
  • Lead the development/expansion of knowledge management strategies and methodologies in the area of women’s economic empowerment;
  • Build and facilitate internal and external Communities of Practice on women’s economic empowerment. Contribute to the development and maintenance of global and regional knowledge networks activities and practice.
Impact of Results:
The Section Chief impacts on success of the efforts to develop and implement UN Women’s strategies in the area of women’s economic empowerment. The Section chief is responsible for developing and implementing the organization’s policies in this thematic area of expertise to achieve gender equality and advancement of women.

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.
      Functional Competencies:
      • Previous and proven experience in leading and participating in successful job creation and poverty reduction initiatives;
      • Effectiveness in establishing  and fostering good relations with government counterparts, UN agencies, donors and NGO partners, the private sector and international bodies such as the World Bank;
      • Substantive knowledge of current policies and practices in the area of women’s economic empowerment.
      • Ability to conceptualize and convey strategic vision from the spectrum of development experience;
      • Strong communication and advocacy  skills, with proven expertise in writing cogent and convincing materials;
      • Managerial Competencies/ Supervisory and management experience is a requirement including proven strong people management skills;
      • Proven analytical and problem solving skills.

      Required Skills and Experience

      Education:
      • Master degree (or equivalent) in development related disciplines, gender issues, economics, public policy, law or other social science fields.
      Experience:
      • A minimum of 15 years of progressively responsible experience in  development, policy analysis, economics or related areas;
      • Proven experience in advocating for women’s economic empowerment and rights;
      • Proven experience in implementation of large scale job creation and poverty reduction initiatives;
      • Previous experience in successfully collaborating with the private sector, international bodies, governments and civil society;
      • Field experience in developing countries is an advantage.
      Language:
      • Written and oral proficiency in English is required;
      • Knowledge of another UN working language is desirable.
      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).
      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.

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