Background
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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 center of
all its efforts, UN Women 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 State’s
priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil
society and other relevant actors.
The role of the Regional Office (RO) is threefold:
- Empower and support country level capacity and processes to deliver on the UN Women mandate
- Oversee country and regional based mandate delivery across normative, policy, advocacy and UN Coordination roles
- Deliver
on the UN Women mandate at the regional level by leveraging regional
coordination mechanisms and liaising closely with other regional bodies.
The Regional Director reports to the Director of the Program Division who provides overall strategic direction and supervision.
The Regional Director is responsible for
leading and managing the RO and for providing leadership and managerial
oversight in the region on the direction, strategic design and planning
of UN Women regional initiatives as well as contribution to and
integration of UN Women interventions in the broader UN development
framework and reform. S/he is also responsible for providing managerial
support, guidance and oversight of the RO, Multi-Country Offices (MCO)
and Country Offices (CO) programme implementation and operations
(financial, human resources and administrative), and for political,
advocacy, strategic partnership, resource mobilization and
representation activities to promote UN Women goals, competencies,
interests and objectives.
The East and Southern
Africa Regional Office covers countries which are diverse and complex.
UN Women currently has Country Offices in 9 of these countries, with one
serving as a Multi-Country Office. While countries in the Horn and East
of Africa have experienced serious and protracted internal conflict
and humanitarian crises, the Southern African sub-region has enjoyed
relative political stability, with a number of countries in the middle
income category. The region as a whole is heavily impacted by HIV/ AIDs,
with Southern Africa the epicentre of the HIV and AIDs pandemic.
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Duties and Responsibilities
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Summary of key functions:
- Strategic program development, policy and normative support.
- Oversight, program and operational guidance and quality assurance.
- Managerial leadership and direction.
- UN inter-agency coordination and intergovernmental support.
- Representation and advocacy.
- Strategic partnerships and resource mobilization.
Responsibilities:
Strategic program development, policy and normative support:
- Assess
trends and development issues in the region and develop the regional
vision and strategy to advance the achievement of UN Women goals and
objectives within the region and submit strategic position papers and
briefs and/or recommendations to the Director, Programme Division.
- Identify
program opportunities, approaches and modalities and submit to the
Director, Programme Division, recommendations on regional program
strategies and plans in accordance with UN Women’s global policies, priorities and goals and in harmony with national development agenda, capacities and interests.
- Participate in UN Women senior management meetings to contribute to strategic planning and formulation of regional and global policy and strategies.
- Lead
and guide the RO’s consolidated and coordinated program, policy and
normative support and technical advisory services to MCOs and COs to
build capacity and to support achievement of objectives.
Oversight, program and operational support and quality assurance:
- Monitor
and oversee country programs to ensure the delivery of quality results,
timely and appropriate reporting and compliance with corporate
requirements. Take timely decisions to ensure objectives are met as
planned and allocated.
- Lead and
coordinate the regional program and project planning and review
processes to ensure the harmonization and integration of regional
programming with UN Women global and regional goals and strategy and to
ensure that financial resource allocations, organizational structures
and staff planning are line with program needs.
- Provide
direction and guidance in the formulation of high quality and relevant
regional and country programs and projects and oversee the appraisal and
approval of UN Women programs in line with corporate strategies,
policies and guidelines.
- Lead and manage the substantive program and operational support to MCOs and COs within the Region.
- Establish
the RO security strategy, plan and measures to ensure the protection
and security of UN Women staff, eligible dependents, property and
operations and to enable effective program planning, implementation and
delivery within the framework of all UN security policies and
procedures.
Managerial leadership and direction:
- Establish
the regional annual work plans in collaboration and discussion with the
regional team and set objectives, performance measurements, standards
and expected results. Ensure regular program monitoring and evaluate
results for timely action and intervention.
- Set
performance plans and evaluation standards. Regularly conduct
performance assessments, provide feedback and on going guidance to
ensure optimum performance and accountability according to UN Women
standards of integrity, ethics and accountability framework.
- Lead
and manage the regional budget preparation and submission processes to
ensure budget proposals are correctly presented and submitted in a
timely manner.
- Monitor the
utilization of allocated funds to ensure transparency and compliance
with UN Women financial policies and accountability framework. Decide on
the optimum and appropriate allocation and management of resources.
- Oversee
the design, collection, and dissemination of knowledge products and
promote knowledge sharing and building through networks and communities
of practice.
UN inter-agency coordination and intergovernmental support:
- Lead
and support the coordination and promotion of accountability within
the UN system to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment and UN
Reform.
- Consult and/or engage
senior partners in the UN Development Group (UNDG)/UN system, and
Regional Development Team (RDT) and Regional Comission in Africa, in
programming, policy discussions, agenda setting and to actively promote
gender equality and women's empowerment issues and its integration in UN
programming processes such as Comprehensive Country Assessment (CCA)/
UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF), Country Programs, etc.
- Coordinate
and oversee the preparation of reports for presentation to
intergovernmental bodies such as the Commission on the Status of Women,
Economic and Social Council, the General Assembly and other
policy-making organs. Review and endorse reports prior to submission to
the Director, Programme Division, to confirm compliance with quality
standards and accountability framework for reporting.
- Provide direct support to regional inter-governmental bodies.
Representation and advocacy:
- Represent,
lead, coordinate and contribute to strategic and policy discussion on
gender equality, and women empowerment issues within the UN system,
Intergovernmental, international, regional and national conferences and
meetings and advocate UN Women's policy and initiatives in advancing
gender equality and women’s empowerment. These include engaging and
representing UN Women in senior level meetings at the African Union and
the Economic Commission for Africa.
- Represent
UN Women with governments, UN agencies, NGOs, academia, media and the
private sector to raise awareness and stimulate action to advance gender
equality and women's rights.
- Represent UN Women in the RDT to contribute to the mainstreaming of UN Women’s policies in joint programming and initiatives.
- Lead
the development and implementation of regional communication,
information and advocacy strategies to increase visibility for gender
equality and women’s human rights in the region and globally.
Strategic partnerships and resource mobilization:
- Work
with a wide array of partners, e.g. UN system, government institutions,
regional players such as the African Union, Economic Commission for
Africa and SADC, NGOs, academia, media and private sector to
forge/foster strategic alliances to promote gender equality and women’s
issues and enlist their support and contribution to the development and
implementation of UN Women programs and activities in the region.
- Maximize partnership opportunities to mobilize resources for UN Women programs and initiatives.
- Lead the development and manage the implementation of a regional resource mobilization strategies and plans.
- Oversee COs’ partnership agreements including cost sharing agreements in line with the corporate Delegation of Authority.
- Review
donor reports from COs for quality assurance and compliance with
commitment met and accountability framework established and to ensure
that donors are duly informed on a timely basis.
Impact of Results:
The
effective leadership and management by the Regional Director of the RO
and all services provided by the RO directly impact on the achievement
of program results, on the overall effectiveness of UN Women’s presence
at the regional and field level and consequently the visibility and
image of UN Women as an effective leader on gender equality and women’s
rights and empowerment.
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Competencies
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Core values and Guiding principles:
- Integrity:
Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN
Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.
- Professionalism: Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.
- Cultural
sensitivity and valuing diversity: Demonstrate an appreciation of the
multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff.
Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating difference in
values and learning from cultural diversity.
Core Competencies:
- Ethics and Values: Demonstrate and promote ethics and integrity by creating organizational precedents
- Organizational Awareness: Build support for the organization and ensure political acumen.
- Development and Innovation: Support staff competence development, and contribute to an environment of creativity and innovation.
- Work
in teams: Build and promote effective teams. Demonstrate ability to
work in a multicultural, multi-ethnic environment and to maintain
effective working relations with people of different national and
cultural backgrounds.
- Communication and Information Sharing: Create and promote an environment for open and effective communication.
- Self-management and Emotional Intelligence:
Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense
situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior
towards others.
- Conflict Management: Surface conflicts and
address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and
directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.
- Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing: Share knowledge across the organization and build a culture of knowledge sharing and learning.
- Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making: Ensure fair and transparent decision making processes and manage risk
Functional Competencies:
- Ability to conceptualize and convey strategic vision from the spectrum of development experience.
- Excellent
theoretical, intellectual and technical skills in aid development
particularly those on gender issues and women’s rights.
- Demonstrated
political savvy and intellectual capacity in representing the
organization effectively at high level in national and international
fora to advocate and to promote organizational priorities, initiatives
and to build consensus.
- Ability to establish and maintain strategic networks and partnerships with UN agencies and other international partners.
- Effective
leadership in fund raising strategies and activities and proactive
engagement with the multilateral and bilateral donor community.
- Effective
leadership in managing staff and resources, strengthening
accountability and results-based management in supporting organizational
priorities, policy and decision-making processes.
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Required Skills and Experience
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Education:
- Master’s degree or equivalent in development related disciplines, economics or public policy or other social science fields.
Experience:
- Over
15 years of extensive development experience that combines strategic
and managerial leadership in aid development cooperation at the
international level, preferably in developing countries within the UN
system, Agencies, Funds or Programs or UN Missions
Language:
- Written and oral proficiency in English is required.
- Fluency in another UN official language will be an asset .
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.
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Click here for important information for US Permanent Residents ('Green Card' holders).
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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.
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