Regional Humanitarian Specialist

Contract

This is a International Consultant contract. More about International Consultant contracts.

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 gender equality, considering women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security. As the humanitarian crises become more complex and challenging, it places bilateral and multilateral (UN) partners/organizations in a position to prioritize humanitarian assistance to meet the immediate needs of those impacted, and therefore a well-coordinated gender-responsive humanitarian response is critical more than ever. In line with this triple mandate, UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations system’s efforts to ensure that the commitments to gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action in humanitarian response plans. UN Women’s Regional Office for Arab States (based in Cairo, Egypt) works across the regional humanitarian and refugee response to ensure a gender-transformative response framework. UN Women ROAS works with national and international stakeholders to address gender inequalities and strengthen women’s empowerment in humanitarian response, in line with the UN Women’s Humanitarian Strategy key objectives: I) Increase Gender Accountability in the Coordination and the Implementation of the Humanitarian Response;

II) Strengthen Comprehensive Protection and Livelihood support to Crisis Affected Women and Girls III) Advance Women´s Voices and Leadership in Humanitarian and Crisis Response and Recovery. Objective of the Assignment Reporting to the Regional WPS-HA Advisor, the Regional Humanitarian Specialist will oversee the development of humanitarian programmes and support the implementation of regional existing humanitarian programmes, lead the advocacy of gender in humanitarian action through inter-agency coordination, establish and strengthen partnerships, and develop relevant knowledge products on gender and humanitarian action.

Duties and Responsibilities

Oversee the advocacy of gender in humanitarian action (GiHA) through inter-agency coordination

• Lead on behalf of UN Women the Regional GiHA Working Group for Arab States and MENA Region;
• Work closely with and provide advice to regional bodies and interagency groups on humanitarian action and where necessary represent UN Women, including under the Regional Syria Refugee Response Plan (3RP), the Regional Collaborative Platform Issue-Based Coalition (IBC) on HDPN, and the Regional GVB AOR;
• Advocate for the engagement and participation of local organizations and civil society networks in humanitarian coordination mechanisms and humanitarian policy fora.

Lead the development of humanitarian programmes

• Lead the development of regional programme documents on humanitarian action;
• Provide guidance and technical inputs to programme proposals from country offices;
• Advise on the development and implementation of signature interventions in line with the new UN Women's Humanitarian Strategy.

Support the management and reporting of regional components of existing humanitarian programmes

• Support the implementation of gender in humanitarian action components in existing humanitarian programmes;
• Coordinate proper monitoring and reporting for humanitarian action in collaboration with programme teams.

Provide technical and advisory support to the Country Office and partners in refugee and humanitarian response

• Provide substantive technical and policy support to the country office in developing and strengthening projects/ programmes;
• Lead specific efforts in mainstreaming gender and protection in humanitarian and refugee response and recovery efforts in support of Country Offices;
• Coordinate regular meetings with Humanitarian Focal Points on gender in humanitarian action interventions;
• Develop, implement and monitor GiHA capacity-building initiatives for UN Women personnel and partners.

Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with stakeholders, regional/ international actors and development partners

• Build and maintain alliances and strategic partnerships for the advancement of humanitarian action;
• Build and maintain close liaisons with relevant donors and other actors supporting efforts towards humanitarian action;
• Maintain close contact with relevant staff in UN Women HQ.

Oversee the design of humanitarian action in the region and the development of relevant knowledge products

• Provide policy recommendations and guidance to strategic planning and positioning on humanitarian action and refugee response;
• Research, develop and present analytical reports, advocacy papers, briefing notes, background papers, summaries, correspondence, and knowledge products on gender in humanitarian action;

• -During the emergency response, develop and implement communication and advocacy messages and contribute inputs to strategies on key gender and protection concerns.

  Deliverables Timelines Oversee the advocacy of gender in humanitarian action (GiHA) through interagency coordination.

ongoing Lead the development of humanitarian programmes.

ongoing Support the management and reporting of regional components of existing humanitarian programmes.

ongoing Provide technical and advisory support to the Country Office and partners in refugee and humanitarian response.ongoing Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with stakeholders, regional/ international actors and development partners.

ongoing Oversee the design of humanitarian action in the region and the development of relevant knowledge products.

ongoing

Competencies

Core Values

• Respect for Diversity;
• Integrity;
• Professionalism.

Core Competencies

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
• Accountability;
• Creative Problem Solving;
• Effective Communication;
• Inclusive Collaboration;
• Stakeholder Engagement;
• Leading by Example.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies

• Strong knowledge and experience related to current policies and practices in the fields of gender equality, protection, and humanitarian action, including humanitarian coordination;
• Strong knowledge of the region;
• Strong networking skills;
• Ability to interact with donors, identify and analyze trends, opportunities, and threats to fundraising;
• Ability to perform qualitative and quantitative policy research;
• Ability to advocate and provide policy advice;
• Strong analytical skills;
• Ability to write policy papers, speeches, and briefings;
• Strong knowledge of programme development, implementation, results-based management, and reporting.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• Master’s degree or equivalent in human rights, gender, international relations, international development, international law or other social science fields is required;
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible working on issues of gender and humanitarian action;
• At least 5 years of progressively responsible working on issues of gender and humanitarian action;
• Technical experience in inter-agency coordination;
• Experience in policy analysis and strategic planning; Experience working with, and building partnerships with governments, donors, and civil society organizations internationally and in the field;
• Experience working with the UN is an asset;
• Experience working in the region is an asset;
• Computer skills, statistics, internet communication, and command of MS Office.

Language Requirements

• Fluency in English is required;
• Knowledge of Arabic is an asset.

Application Information:

• 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;
• UN Women will only be able to respond to those applications in which there is further interest.

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.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity, and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel 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).