UN Women: Policy Advisor, Intergovernmental Affairs

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.

The Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division provides global programming and policy support to allow UN Women offices at Headquarters and in all field locations to deliver effective and efficient initiatives to support the implementation of UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2018-2021 and internationally agreed goals on gender equality and women’s empowerment, including the Beijing Platform for Action and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Division provides intellectual and strategic leadership on normative support and the delivery of integrated policy advice, including through policy analysis and gender mainstreaming. The Division leverages innovation, knowledge management, and cutting-edge technical expertise to support UN Women programmes and to build the capacity of partners to deliver results on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The Intergovernmental Support Section is UN Women’s interface with intergovernmental bodies, including the Commission on the Status of Women, the Economic and Social Council, the General Assembly, as well as with other intergovernmental processes and events. Its functions are to:

• Support the smooth functioning of intergovernmental bodies, by coordinating and overseeing preparatory and reporting processes within UN Women and providing advice to, and sharing institutional knowledge with, Member States on intergovernmental working methods and programmes of work;
• Engage with Member States towards strengthening attention to gender perspectives in intergovernmental work, by gathering information, identifying challenges and creating opportunities for UN Women to help advance the global normative framework for gender equality;
• Drive the process of integration of normative frameworks into UN Women’s operational and coordination functions, for wider UN system action.

Under the supervision of the Chief of the Intergovernmental Support Section, the Policy Advisor will interact with all UN Women divisions, including the Offices of the Executive Director and Deputy Executive Directors, as well as with the field, as appropriate. The Policy Advisor will be responsible for (a) strategically engaging with a range of intergovernmental processes, Member States and other stakeholders to support the strengthening and deepening of the global normative framework for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls; (b) monitoring trends, providing policy analysis and technical advice and guidance on mainstreaming gender perspectives in sectoral areas; (c) building and strengthening collaboration and partnerships among stakeholders for accelerated gender equality results for women and girls.

Duties and Responsibilities

Strategically engage with a range of intergovernmental processes and stakeholders on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls:

• Provide strategic and technical advice and substantive guidance, and develop and present evidence and rationale for the integration of gender perspectives in select thematic and sectoral areas under consideration in an intergovernmental context;
• Engage with intergovernmental processes and advocate for the inclusion of gender perspectives in their preparatory processes, meetings and outcomes, including through key messages, good practices and lessons learned;
• Build and maintain effective interactions with Member States and mobilize their support for UN-Women’s mandate and priorities through briefings of delegates and other relevant partners, and provide advocacy for corporate positioning.

Monitor trends, provide policy analysis and technical advice and guidance on mainstreaming gender perspectives in sectoral areas:

• Review, assess and monitor trends in the integration of gender perspectives in the follow up and review processes at national, regional and global level of key intergovernmental results such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sendai Framework, the Istanbul Programme of Action, the SAMOA Pathway, and other outcomes;
• Develop guidance and tools on strengthening attention to gender perspectives in follow-up and review processes, and in support of implementation of the global normative framework at national level;
• Prepare and finalize briefing notes, statements and advocacy messages, and contribute to corporate reports in assigned areas of focus;
• Foster knowledge management and information flow on assigned areas of focus across UN Women Divisions and field presences.

Build and strengthen collaboration and partnerships among stakeholders for accelerated gender equality results for women and girls:

• Create opportunities for stakeholders to build alliances for accelerated progress towards gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, through the organization of strategic events, convening of stakeholders for exchanges of views and facilitation of consensus-building;
• Participate, and provide the intergovernmental perspective, in the development and implementation of select corporate strategies and strategic initiatives.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Timely and quality technical advice and support;
• Leadership in intergovernmental processes in support of gender equality and the empowerment of women;
• Quality reports and other strategic documents drafted in a timely manner;
• Strong relationships with various partners and stakeholders;
• Reflection of gender perspectives in sectoral areas measurably increased;
• Assessment of gender perspectives in follow up and review processes available and shared;
• Guidance notes and tools for integrating gender perspectives in national follow up prepared;
• Strategic events convened and UN Women presence and visibility expanded.

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/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Functional Competencies:

• Substantive knowledge related to Intergovernmental processes and the UN system;
• Substantive knowledge of gender equality issues, public policy and coordination;
• Ability to develop thematic programmes and projects aimed at promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment at national level;
• Ability to conceptualize and convey strategic vision;
• Excellent communications skills, with proven expertise in writing cogent and convincing policy analysis Ability to advocate and provide policy advice to senior officials;
• Excellent coordination skills;
• Excellent analytical and problem solving skills;
• Strong planning, goal-setting and prioritization skills;
• Ability to conceptualize, develop and use knowledge management strategies to promote effective decision-making and intra/inter-organizational collaboration;
• Effectiveness in establishing and fostering good relations with government counterparts, UN agencies, donors, and NGO partners.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree in gender studies, international relations, public policy, 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 gender equality, including in the context of development, policy analysis, or related areas;
• Experience in managing, facilitating and overseeing national and international policy-making, with a strong focus on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• Experience related to Intergovernmental processes and the UN system.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required;
• Knowledge of the other UN official language is an asset.

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/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-p11-personal-history-form.doc?la=en&vs=558. 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.