UN WOMEN: SPECIAL ADVISOR

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 (UNW) 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. The Office of the Assistant-Secretary-General (ASG)/Deputy Executive Director (DED) for the Policy and Program Bureau is responsible for providing the vision and leadership to the Bureau including the thematic areas and the geographic regions both at headquarters and in the regional and country offices. The Special Advisor reports to the ASG/DED, Policy and Program Bureau, for general guidance and direction and is responsible for providing advisory and specialized technical support to facilitate the DED’s management of the Bureau, including the development of work plans and monitoring of work progress. The Special Advisor is also responsible for the execution of a variety of key initiatives in the office of the ASG/DED on communications, policy development and partnership/advocacy.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of key functions: 1. Communications and specialized technical support to the DED 2. Advisory support on policy analysis and development 3. Partnership and advocacy 1. Communications and specialized technical support to the DED Develop and implement a communications plan to ensure the regular and timely flow of information and guidance from the office of the DED to the Program and Policy Division teams and field staff to support the achievement of goals on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Establish a system for the timely monitoring and analysis of feedback and synthesize results highlighting critical issues for the DED’s review and management action. Review and screen materials, requests for inputs, visits etc. to help determine priorities for intervention/action by the DED. Identify, research, analyze, prepare and/or organize information and briefing materials for the DED to facilitate decision-making and leadership in management strategic planning/review processes and/or to prepare the DED’s participation in meetings and missions/key events (including media relations, meetings with Member States, donors and other key partners) working in close coordination with the Policy and Program Divisions and colleagues in UN Women to consult on substance/content of materials. Provide specialized technical support to the DED in his/her leadership of various inter-agency groups, task forces, boards, including the UNDG Task Force on the MDGs. 2. Advisory support on policy analysis and development Review policy papers, inter-governmental reports and other substantive documentation produced by the Policy or Program Divisions to the DED for clearance/decision. Submit analysis and recommendations resulting from this review for the DED’s consideration/decision. Support the DED in promoting and leading change management by keeping abreast of and ensuring that the latest and most relevant knowledge, practices and capacities for change management are provided to the DED or communicated and/or disseminated to the senior leadership of the Policy and Program Bureau. 3. Partnership and advocacy Consult and collaborate with colleagues in the Inter-governmental, Coordination, and Strategic Partnerships team to exchange critical information and to monitor trends and development. Keep the DED advised on information received to ensure the harmonization and linkages with institutional messaging in interactions with Member States, UN inter-agency groups, donors and other partners. Draft speeches and/or design presentation materials (including multi-media) for delivery by the DED in key events, meetings and other external fora ensuring that UN Women thinking, goals, objectives, strategies and/or policies on gender issues and UN Women programs are appropriately reflected in these materials. Draft/write articles for respected professional and/or academic journals to communicate and promote the UN Women’s knowledge and competencies in program policies and practices. Participate, as appropriate/delegated, in meetings related to strategic discussions to collaborate/consult on issues relevant to issues managed in the DED’s office. Impact of Results The successful execution of the Special Advisor’s key functions, directly impacts on the ability of the DED to work efficiently in leading and managing the Bureau to deliver results expected and contributes to the successful implementation of the UN Women strategic plans and objectives.

Competencies

CORE VALUES / 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 Ethics and Values: Promoting Ethics and Integrity / Creating Organizational Precedents. Organizational Awareness: Building support and political acumen. Developing and Empowering People / coaching and mentoring: Building staff competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation. Working in Teams: Building and promoting effective teams. Communicating Information and Ideas: Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication. Self-management and Emotional intelligence: Creating an emotionally intelligent organization. Conflict Management / Negotiating and Resolving Disagreements: Leveraging conflict in the interests of the organization & setting standards. Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning: Sharing knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning. Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making: Fair and transparent decision-making; calculated risk-taking. FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES Demonstrated theoretical, intellectual and technical skills in aid development/programming particularly those that are pertinent to UNW strategic priorities on gender issues and women’s rights. Demonstrated political acumen and technical capacity to advocate and to promote organizational priorities, initiatives and strategic agenda. Proven ability to drive results. Ability to establish and maintain broad strategic networks and partnerships with UN agencies and other international partners to promote partnership and build alliances to advance organizational interests and competencies. Ability to go beyond established procedures and practices, introduce new approaches and strategic innovations. Good knowledge of Results Based Management principles and approaches.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in one or more of the following disciplines: gender analysis, international development, business management, public administration or other related fields. Experience: A minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in policy support (particularly with regard to gender equality and women’s empowerment), development programming, strategic planning, coordination support or change management at a relatively senior level, preferably in an international organization. Language Requirements: Fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of a second UN official language will be an added advantage. 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.