Gender & Development Specialist (GBV– Migration and Humanitarian Response) P-3, Panama City, PANAMA

Contract

This is a P-3 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 5 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 108,241 USD and 141,733 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

UNICEF is at an important turning point, with a new Strategic Plan and Gender Action Plan, aligned with the 2030 Agenda.

UNICEF’s work on gender equality is guided by the Gender Action Plan 2018-2022, which advances gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in key areas of UNICEF's work. The GAP identifies five targeted gender priorities – ending child marriage, promoting gender-responsive adolescent health, advancing girl's secondary education, addressing gender-based violence in emergencies and menstrual hygiene management, defines gender results within each of UNICEF’s Strategic Plan Goals (Every Child Survives and Thrives, Every Child Learns, Every Child is protected from violence and exploitation, every child lives in a safe and clean environment, every child has an equitable chance in life. Additionally, the GAP outlines institutional benchmarks to ensure a UNICEF fit-for-purpose to achieve gender equality, women’s, and girls’ empowerment. These benchmarks include capacity development, budget allocations and accountability, among others.

For every child, Equity

Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the world’s regions most vulnerable to a diversity of hazards such us armed conflict, violence and natural disasters, which have in parts been intensified by climate change: hurricanes in Central America and the Caribbean; torrential rains and flash flooding across the continent; prolonged droughts in Central and South America; cold waves in the mountainous regions; large scale fires in South America; and volcanic activity and earthquakes along the Pacific coast and in the Caribbean. These disasters result in forced displacements and expose children to increased risk of exploitation and abuse. The Region has further been impacted by increased migration flows, in particular from Venezuela and across countries in Central America and Mexico; indeed, almost all countries in the region serve as countries of origin, transit or destination for girls and boys on the move.

As one of the world’s most unequal and violent regions in the world, Latin America and the Caribbean has been especially hard hit by the global pandemic declared on 11 March 2020. Global1 and regional2 assessments of the gendered impacts of COVID-19 reveal increases in domestic violence due to containment measures, higher care burdens on women and adolescent girls (within households and in communities), increased risks for female front-line workers to both infection, stigma (as potential ‘vectors’) and gender-based violence (GBV), interruptions in access to sexual and reproductive health services and increased economic fragility for women and female-headed households leading to disempowerment and potentially survival sex to secure basic goods, loss of housing, food insecurity for themselves and children under their care, among other harmful outcomes. Indigenous, afrodescendent, migrant and rural women and girls, already carrying the highest burdens of gender inequalities, are projected to bear the socio-economic brunt of COVID-19.

In line with UNICEF’s area of work around Children on the Move, Gender in Humanitarian Response and heightened emphasis on GBViE (as reflected in the new Core Commitments for Children – CCC), UNICEF LACRO has increased its footprint, emergency preparedness and response capacities to monitor, assess, advocate, support coordination and respond to the specific needs and challenges faced by girls, boys and women who are on the move, or affected by humanitarian situations. The Gender Equality CCC, in coordination with other sectoral CCC, ensure a clear, measurable roadmap for humanitarian action. In addition, UNICEF has further prioritized five core programmatic and advocacy gender actions that address the public health, social and economic consequences of the pandemic and aligned with the CCC and the UNICEF Gender Action Plan. Together, these three frameworks guide due attention to gender within the COVID-19 response. In the Region, this also requires specific attention to pre-existing gender inequalities and an efficient leveraging of regional and national partners in immediate response, and long-term recovery, actions by UNICEF.

How can you make a difference?

Under the supervision of the Regional Adviser Gender, the incumbent will:

• Support senior programme colleagues and management of Regional and Country Offices to advance the implementation of the Gender Equality CCC with support from the Regional Gender Adviser.
• Play a key coordinating role with other sectors to ensure sector-wide responses to gender and GBV in humanitarian actions put forth by UNICEF.
• Ensure age-appropriate and gender-transformative responses for girls, boys, and adolescents – with a particular focus on adolescent girls’ vulnerabilities to GBV – in UNICEF and partners strategies for Children on the Move.

Key Functions and accountabilities:

1. Support CO and RO to fulfill gender and GBV CCC in Migration and Humanitarian Responses.

Gender in Humanitarian Planning and Monitoring: Gender and GBV are clearly included in the design, implementation and monitoring of UNICEF Emergency Preparedness and Response Plans.

• Support the inclusion of gender analysis and gender/GBV results in emergency preparedness efforts, assessment reports, situation reporting, Sitreps and HACs.
• Support the development of adequate emergency preparedness measures, updating of contingency plans and establishment of early warning mechanisms that reflect gender needs.
• Develop and implement capacity building programmes for RO, CO and partners on gender and GBV in migration and humanitarian responses.
• Provide continued support to on-going, protracted and/or complex emergencies.

2. Develop and implement tools GBV in Migration and Humanitarian Contexts with Country Offices and Partners, with a particular focus on adolescent girls.

Joint regional coordination, management and technical support to COs to implement activities to countries affected by migratory flows in collaboration with key partners (such as R4V, Quito Process, Government of Canada, ECHO, PRM, etc.).

• Develop a knowledge management strategy on gender and migration.
• Strengthen community engagement with adolescent girls on the move to ensure girl-centered programming.
• Develop and implement tools, protocols and capacity building programmes on girl-focused GBV prevention and response services.
• Provide technical support to country offices to ensure that migration policies, programs and services include gender equal and inclusive norms, promote girls’ agency and empowerment and address GBV.
• Enhance sector-wide and survivor-centered approaches to GBViE with UNICEF staff and partners.
• Participate in, and support CO to implement, global initiatives on GBViE for women and girls on the move.

3. Resource mobilization for Gender/GBV strategies in migratory and emergency contexts.

• Gender and GBV are included in key funding appeals, and elaboration of sector specific appeals as feasible.
• Liaise with Regional Emergencies Section and HQ gender and GBViE colleagues to mobilize HQ resources to support COs initiatives and programs.

• Track Emergency funding allocated for gender activities in CO to ensure effective use and reporting.

  4. Advocacy, coordination and partnership building (migratory and emergency contexts)

• Support effective GBV coordination with other UNICEF sectors as Child Protection, WASH, Education, AAP/C4D, Survive and Thrive, ECD and Communications.

• Participate and/or actively represent UNICEF in relevant coordination bodies at the inter-agency level in regional humanitarian and migration-related meetings, as required.
• Enhance partnerships with Gender/GBV regional/national actors (e.g. HIAS, UNFPA).
• Develop a B4R strategy around gender, migration and GBV.

5**. Support activities within the LACRO Gender Section and related Annual Work Plan**, in coordination with Regional Gender Advisor.

• Contribute to EVAC Flagship Priority in the development-humanitarian nexus.

Impact of Results:

Knowledge sharing among country offices on gender, GBV and COVID-19 and Migration responses established. Knowledge and information of regional trends and patterns common in gender, humanitarian and migratory contexts is generated, managed and shared with internal networks and with external partners to support programmes to shift gender disadvantage and discrimination.

Sectoral and cross-sectoral programmes/projects on gender, emergency response and migration are effectively and efficiently supported and implemented in alignment with the Gender Action Plan (GAP), Gender Equality CCC and regional/ sectoral priorities through the timely and systematic provision of coordination and technical expertise on gender.

The performance of the gender programmes are timely monitored, analyzed and evaluated, and the findings of the measurement and research are integrated into the planning and reporting. Programmatic financial resources allocated to gender programming and results are effectively planned and managed for cost-efficient utilization, and the progress on the gender programme expenditures are timely monitored and reported.

Knowledge, information and best practices on effective gender programming is generated, managed and shared within internal networks and with external partners to support programmes in changing gender disadvantage and discrimination. Gender needs for emergency preparedness (response and reconstruction, in the event of emergencies) are identified and integrated into the emergency programme planning and implementation.

To qualify as an advocate for every child you will have

Education:

• An Advanced University Degree (Masters or higher) in social work, international relations, gender and development, women’s studies, child psychology, or relevant field.
• Academic credentials in gender and/or migration; A first level university degree in combination with two extra years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible professional experience and demonstrated track record of having undertaken and led substantive programming and research on gender programming in humanitarian contexts, with child migrants and refugees, and/or armed conflict contexts.
• Strong substantive, technical, programmatic and research skills in gender along with sectoral expertise in migration.
• Substantive knowledge and experience integrating gender into migration responses and programming, including needs assessment, programme implementation and monitoring, an asset.
• In-depth familiarity and experience with IASC Gender Handbook, GBViE Guidelines and relevant sectoral gender in emergencies tools.
• Strong gender analysis skills and experience (in first phase assessments, collection and use of sex and age disaggregated data, preparedness of project proposals).
• Wide knowledge and understanding of country /regional/global gender equality issues, specifically relating to children and women on the move.
• Experience working within the LAC region will be considered an asset.
• Experience with Humanitarian Migrant Crisis and Emergency Projects is highly desirable.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including an ability to write succinctly and clearly and speak in public forums compellingly and with confidence.
• High level of initiative and independence in ability to undertake complex tasks while proactively seeking relevant input, cooperation, and guidance from key constituents.
• Experience and demonstrated ability to motivate others and create and encourage a climate of teamwork and collaboration across sectors and in a multi-cultural environment.
• Ability to make effective use of political processes to influence and persuade others inside and outside UNICEF and negotiate a desired direction and/or outcome.
• Ability to think outside the box, generate new ideas, approaches, or insights and develop innovative ways to undertake projects and initiatives, shape solutions to problems.
• Experience in resource mobilization, the preparation of donor reports and budget management is highly desirable.

Language:

• Fluency in English and Spanish is required. Working knowledge of Portuguese and French is considered an asset.

Technical Knowledge:

• Strong substantive, technical, programmatic and research skills in gender along with sectoral expertise in Migration and GBV.
• Proven ability to connect sectoral issues and programmatic approaches on gender.
• Experience in emergency contexts highly desirable.
• Substantive knowledge and experience integrating gender into humanitarian and migration responses and programming, including needs assessment, programme implementation and monitoring, an asset.
• Proven rigor in analytical, conceptual, and programme /project design skills relevant to gender and development with an understanding of theories of change and path from intervention to results.
• Demonstrated experience in supporting or conducting rigorous research and analysis on gender, including quantitative research methodologies, and monitoring and evaluation.
• Wide knowledge and understanding of country/regional/global gender equality issues, specifically relating to children and women on the move.
• Ability to contextualize and be able to translate the approaches into practicable programme/project design in complex environments where gender issues are often sensitive to raise within certain national contexts.
• Strategic thinker who can pull disparate ideas into a cohesive vision, strategy, plan that is positive and compelling for other to join, collaborate, and implement.
• Proven ability to build rapport with individuals and groups and maintain an effective network of individuals across organizational departments as well externally.

For every Child, you demonstrate...

UNICEF's values of Care, Respect, Integrity, Trust, and Accountability (CRITA).

The UNICEF competencies required for this post are...

Core competencies

• Nurtures, Leads and Manages People (1)
• Demonstrates Self Awareness and Ethical Awareness (2)
• Works Collaboratively with others (2)
• Builds and Maintains Partnerships (2)
• Innovates and Embraces Change (2)
• Thinks and Acts Strategically (2)
• Drives to achieve impactful results (2)
• Manages ambiguity and complexity (2)

Functional Competencies:

• Analyzing (2)
• Deciding and initiating Action (2)
• Persuading and Influencing (2)
• Applying Technical Skills (2)
• Entrepreneurial thinking (3)

To view our competency framework, please visit here.

UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages all candidates, irrespective of gender, nationality, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of the organization.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Mobility is a condition of international professional employment with UNICEF and an underlying premise of the international civil service.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.