UN WOMEN: ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT POLICY AND TECHNICAL ADVISOR - REGIONAL OFFICE

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.    UN Women regional Office for the East and Horn and Southern Africa in Nairobi has identified a number of sectors and issues as priority for the next years. As per the ESARO regional strategy, the priority areas of work include expanding women's leadership and participation; (ii) enhancing women's economic empowerment; and (iii) gender mainstreaming of national planning and budgeting processes. In addition to the above, UN Women also actively participates and contributes to various UN inter-agency processes and collaborates with UN organizations around specific programme areas.   The scope of work of the Economic Empowerment Policy and Technical Advisor requires experience and in-depth understanding of gender equality and women's political empowerment issues, to translate UN Women's strategic plans in the area of economic empowerment into effective programmes and results. It also requires developing mutually reinforcing partnerships with relevant Government counterparts, UN organizations, and CSOs.   Under the supervision of the ESARO Regional Director, The Economic Empowerment Policy and Technical Advisor, based at the Regional Office in Nairobi, is expected to engage proactively on women's leadership and economics issues with local and regional figures to help advance women's economic empowerment in the region and deliver on key functions working in close coordination with the Economic Empowerment section in the Policy Division at UN Women Headquarters.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions: Analyze macro-economic trends and opportunities Programme development and technical support with a particular focus on the Women’s Economic Empowerment regional flagship programme Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with key stakeholders, regional and international actors and development partners  Knowledge management and reporting Description of Functions:   Analyze macro-economic trends and opportunities: Analyze and understand the inter-relationships between macro-economic trends, household economic security, women’s rights and access to services and socio-economic resilience in different contexts Provide policy recommendations, strategic advice and proposed courses of action to the Regional and Deputy Directors and Country Representatives; Maintain up-to-date knowledge of economic events and integrate information and analysis in support of policy development, analysis, outreach and advocacy; Prepare analytical reports, briefing notes, background papers, summaries, correspondence and talking points; Represent UN Women at inter-governmental and regional meetings on Women's economic empowerment in the region; Propose plan of action for immediate and long- range actions on women's economic empowerment in the region; Work closely with UN Women's policy advisors in the region and at HQ to identify promising practices, technical expertise, and strategic opportunities for enhancing gender equality and women's economic empowerment. Programme development and technical support: Manage and be responsible for the overall development and implementation of the UN Women regional economic empowerment portfolio; Assist country offices in developing and strengthening policies to scale up efforts to increase women's access to decent work, social protection and economic empowerment; Work closely with UN Women field based presences in the Asia Pacific Region and provide programme guidance and support to develop and implement programmes at the local and national level to enhance women's economic empowerment; Promote coordination and participation in joint activities with various stakeholders such as UN agencies, women's national machineries, civil society, Inter-governmental organizations and regional women's networks, so as to work collaboratively in pursuit of the shared goal of increasing women's economic empowerment. Manage and supervise staff and Junior Professional Officers under the Women Economic Empowerment Program. Support to COs in preparation of program documents; oversight to ensure COs are programming within corporate policy. Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with key stakeholders, regional and international actors and development partners: Support the building of strategic alliances and partnerships for women’s economic empowerment related strategies and initiatives; Maintain close liaison with relevant donors and other actors supporting efforts towards women's economic empowerment in the region; Support regional and country offices in mobilizing resources for the implementation of women's economic initiatives and nurturing key partnerships; and Maintain close contact with relevant staff at UN Women HQ, and colleagues in other Regional Offices to foster south-south cooperation. Knowledge Management and Reporting: Manage the process of compiling indicators of relevant regional growth and economic development trends and women’s economic participation Manage the process of report preparation and lessons learned on women's economic empowerment and contribute to UN Women's knowledge management efforts and identify and communicate best practices in consultation with the M&E officer and the Communications Officer; Work with relevant UN Women teams to identify and disseminate lessons learnt and good practices in the area of gender and economics; Contribute to the development of the regional knowledge hub and propose plans to enrich its gender and economics coverage. Impact of Results: The Economic Empowerment Adviser will affect the success of the formulation and implementation efforts of UN Women's Economic Empowerment  programmes and initiatives, in the Eastern and Southern Africa Region, which seeks to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Competencies

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. Demonstrate 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: Substantive experience and record of accomplishment in the area of Gender and Economics. Demonstrated People Management Skills. Familiarity with the ESARO Region, women's rights organizations and networks the region and globally. Good knowledge of UN Women and the UN system. Proven ability to advocate and provide policy advice. Ability to lead strategic planning, programme development and implementation, results-based management and reporting. Ability to develop and maintain strong partnerships and mobilize resources

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Master's degree (or equivalent) in Economics or related field with specialization in rural development/informal sector/small business development. Experience: A minimum of 10 years' progressively responsible experience in gender and economics issues, preferably with 5 years' field experience in the area of Gender and Economics. Language: Fluency in written and oral English. Knowledge of other UN 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 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 Background: 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

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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.