UN Women: Executive Board Secretary

Contract

This is a P-5 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 10 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 208,877 USD and 261,770 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.

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 (UNW) will lead and coordinate United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

The Executive Board Secretariat is part of the Executive Director’s Office. Under the overall guidance of the Executive Director and direct supervision of the Chief of Staff, the Executive Board Secretary will provide substantive and technical advice to the Bureau members on operational inter-governmental matters, support the President of the Executive Board in organizing the meetings of the Executive Board, brief the Executive Director and senior management of feedback from Member States, coordinate the meetings of the Executive Board with other UN meetings, work closely with the ECOSOC and CSW secretariats, coordinate follow-up to the Executive Board's actions, advise on politically sensitive matters, organize and assist in inter-governmental negotiations of the Executive Board Decisions, supervise preparation of documentation and manage UN Women's communications with the members of the Executive Board.

Duties and Responsibilities

Substantive and administrative support to the UN Women Executive Board:

• Work closely and be the interface between the President and the Vice Presidents of the Executive Board (called Bureau) on one hand, and the Executive Director (and the ELT) of UN Women on the other hand to outline and solve all matters related to the Executive Board.
• Ensure that the Executive Board meetings are effectively and timely organized as per the Rules of Procedure of the Executive Board, and reported by liaising with the UN Women Executive Director, and President of UN Women Executive Board Bureau to plan the three annual official sessions; receive agenda items from Executive Board members; circulates these agendas, documents, and reports; compile the reports of these sessions; circulate approved minutes; and manage follow-up and response to Executive Board recommendations. Also organize all informal briefings in between official sessions.
• Organize and coordinate Bureau regular Bureau meetings with the President, the Vice Presidents and the Executive Director, and the ELT as needed, where all matters related to the proceedings of the Executive Board are discussed and decided.
• Maintain effective records and administration including keeping up-to-date contact details (i.e. names, addresses and telephone numbers) for the Bureau members; file minutes and reports of sessions; compile lists of names and addresses that are useful to the Board, including those of appropriate officials or officers of inter-governmental bodies and voluntary organizations; keep a record of the Bureau's activities; and keep a record of future Bureau activities.
• Uphold legal requirements by acting as a custodian of the Board's governing documents; checks that the quorum is present during session.
• Ensure that ECOSOC receive regular update as needed of the Top Contributing Countries for elections at the ECOSOC.
• As requested by the Executive Board decision, maintain and regularly update a Matrix on the implementation of the Executive Board Decisions, for submission to the Board members before each official session of the Executive Board.
• Achieve effective communication and correspondence with the Executive Board members, share and disseminate information about the work of the Executive Board with UN Women staff and the general public; respond to all Bureau correspondence. Maintain and update in real time the website of the Executive Board by uploading documents for each session there in a timely manner, required by the Rules of Procedure.

• Be an active member of the UNGBS (United Nations Governing Bodies Secretariats), an informal group meeting annually to exchange lessons learned and best practices in managing UN Governing Bodies.

  Policy and Technical Advice:

• Advise the UN Women Executive Director on frequent inter-action with Executive Board members, and monitor information on Executive Board priorities and outcomes.

• Provide ongoing and up-to-date information and advice to UN Women on the Executive Board deliberations on all gender equality issues and on the policy implications of these debates on gender equality.
• Provide information and policy advice to UN Women colleagues on the key trends, opportunities and challenges related to UN Women's key areas of focus, e.g. strategies and action plans for promoting gender equality and strengthening the implementation of gender mainstreaming strategy, development, peace and security, humanitarian action and human rights economic security and rights; ending violence against women; HIV/AIDS; democratic governance.

Coordination:

• Liaise and coordinate with the Secretariats of ECOSOC and the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) to ensure that UN Women is delivering on its responsibilities e.g., the organization's operational activities based on policy directions set by the UN General Assembly, ECOSOC and the Commission on the Status of Women.
• Work closely with the Secretaries of the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board, UNICEF EB, and WFP EB to ensure cohesion and coherence in managing the horizontal governance of the UN Development System.
• Work together with the other UN agencies in organizing all the join activities of the Executive Boards of UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS, UNICEF, UNW and WFP, and coordinate these activities annually on a rotating basis.

Reporting:

• Undertake and/or oversee preparation of key reports/documents that UN Women Executive Board is committed to preparing for the organization's operational activities based on policy directions set by the UN General Assembly, ECOSOC and the Commission on the Status of Women.

Management the Executive Board Secretariat:

• Manage UN Women’s long-term documentation forecast and support corporate compliance with guidelines and timelines.
• Lead and supervise the preparation and implementation of the Secretariat’s annual work plan, establish financial and human resource needs, and identify capacity gaps and mitigation strategies.
• Manage, guide and oversee the team, create a positive and enabling work environment, encourage learning and development opportunities for personnel, and ensure all team members adhere to UN Women performance management processes.
• Manage and monitor financial resources including by drawing an annual budget for the Executive Board Secretariat covering all aspects of its functions. Submit timely mandated reports.

• Oversee security requirements for the team.

  Key Performance Indicators:

• Effectiveness and efficient functioning of the UN Women Executive Board.

• Quality of substantive support and advice provided to the UN Women Executive Director, senior management and the President of UN Women Executive Board and other members of the Bureau in the preparation and conduct of the UN Women Executive Board formal and informal sessions.
• Quality and level of engagement with the Executive Board members.
• Quality of reports, records and the Board's governing documents. Timely submission of reports.
• Strong collaboration across the Executive Office and with other HQ divisions and field offices.
• Strong and effective collaboration with the other UN Executive Board Secretariats
• Stakeholder engagement to advance support for gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.
• Performance of personnel, enabling work environment, in line with UN Women values and competencies.

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 Values and Competencies Framework: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

• Substantive knowledge and experience related to Intergovernmental processes.
• Substantive knowledge of gender issues, public policy and coordination.
• Ability to conceptualize and convey strategic vision.
• Strong communications skills, with proven expertise in writing cogent and convincing policy and programme documents for development practitioners.
• Proven analytical and problem solving skills.
• Ability to leverage information technology, executive information systems, management techniques and tools for optimal office performance.
• Good planning, goal-setting and prioritization skills.
• Effectiveness in establishing and fostering good relations with government counterparts, UN agencies, donors, and NGO partners.
• Excellent negotiating, cultural sensitivity and diplomatic skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in gender issues, political affairs, diplomacy, international relations or social science or related fields; 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:

• A minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in development, law, policy analysis, sociological/gender equality or related areas, including in the thematic area and in managerial leadership.
• Experience in UN intergovernmental processes, preferably with a focus on gender equality and women's empowerment and knowledge of UN system gender architecture and strategic stakeholders/partners is required.
• Proven ability to organize and manage knowledge management processes and tools.
• Managerial competencies/supervisory and management experience is a requirement, including proven strong people management skills and public speaking skills.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of the other UN official working language is desirable.

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc. 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.

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.

Diversity and inclusion:

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.)