Regional Coordinator (Eastern and Southern Africa region, Knowledge Gateway for Women’s Economic Emp

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’s Regional Office Eastern and Southern Africa in Nairobi supports and carries out work on (i) expanding women's leadership and participation; (ii) enhancing women's economic empowerment; and (iii) ending violence against women. 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. UN Women is currently establishing the Knowledge Gateway for Women’s Economic Empowerment. This online portal responds to demand for a multilingual and multi-dimensional one-stop platform that offer information and knowledge sharing solutions for evidence-based cutting-edge research, data, technical resources and good practices that are replicable and scalable. It will also provide mentoring and networking opportunities for women entrepreneurs and gender equality advocates practitioners and policy makers and programme managers from around the world. The ultimate goal of the Knowledge Gateway is to contribute to economic empowerment of women, including the most excluded groups of women. It is expected that this goal will be achieved through enhanced knowledge of what works so that women, practitioners and gender advocates may influence policies and strategies for women’s economic empowerment through the knowledge and information available on the Knowledge Gateway. The Knowledge Gateway will aim to achieve the following: Increased collaboration and networking on women’s economic empowerment by connecting users from developing and developed countries. Key user groups include: women and men development practitioners, policy makers, and parliamentarians, civil society groups, sectoral organizations (e.g. farmers organizations, trade-support organizations), workers and employers organizations and specific groups of women (e.g. women entrepreneurs, rural women, young women) among others. Increased access to, use of, and sharing of information, knowledge and resources on women’s economic empowerment by users from developing and developed countries. The Knowledge Gateway will both support the dissemination of existing knowledge and commission user-friendly knowledge products (e.g. case studies, issues and policies briefs, and fact sheets) on the basis of existing knowledge (e.g. research, published articles, discussion papers). Greater influence by women and gender equality advocates on policies and strategies to promote women’s economic empowerment. The Knowledge Gateway will consist of a number of communities of practice that offer stakeholders with opportunities to share knowledge and experiences horizontally, collaborate on practical and high-priority initiatives, and provide peer support and interaction with experts and leaders across regions. The Knowledge Gateway will also provide periodic and structured opportunities for learning through online initiatives, such as seminars, webinars and knowledge fairs. The Knowledge Gateway Project Management Team consists of the Project Manager and the Knowledge Management Specialist, based at UN Women HQ in New York, as well as six regional coordinators based in Bangkok, Cairo, Dakar, Istanbul, Nairobi and Panama. This position will work closely with and under the strategic direction of the Project Management Team. The regional coordinators will work closely with the UN country teams through UN Women country offices. The regional coordinators will ensure that the Knowledge Gateway remains relevant and provides on cutting-edge research, case studies and lessons learned. The Regional Coordinator will be supervised on a day-to-day basis by the Regional Economic Advisor in Nairobi and work under the strategic direction of the Knowledge Gateway Project Manager in New York.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions: Women’s Economic Empowerment Knowledge Management, Learning and Communication Monitoring and Accountability Partnerships and Sustainability Description of Functions: Women’s Economic Empowerment Contribute regional content to the Knowledge Gateway, including through compiling resources, and reviewing and documenting promising practices; Identify knowledge resources needed in the region to prompt dialogue or enhance the depth of the Knowledge Gateway products and services; Facilitate the access, creation, sharing, and application of specialized knowledge in the field of economic empowerment of women; Manage the process of collecting and disseminating lessons learned on women's economic empowerment in the region from the discussions generated on the Knowledge Gateway; Post daily updates on news emerging from the region that relates to women’s economic empowerment; Lead a pilot on one or several country-specific pages on the Knowledge Gateway, including by developing a country template, in collaboration with other regional coordinators and the Knowledge Management Specialist at HQ. Knowledge Management, Learning and Communication Contribute to the development and maintenance of the Knowledge Gateway community, promoting community collaboration around priorities, building relations with relevant institutions and individuals at the regional level; Facilitate or act as resource persons for the communities of practice; Filter regional messages, contributions and queries to determine the most relevant information and resources to be shared with the global Knowledge Gateway and with other regions/languages; Address impediments to sharing information and the flow of knowledge, facilitate demand and supply of knowledge; develop a system for knowledge seeking and provision enshrined in accountability frameworks; Oversee the translation of content from English into French and provide occasional translation of discussions on the Knowledge Gateway; Encourage active participation and communication on the Knowledge Gateway, capture knowledge generated and turn it into new knowledge resources; Ensure coordination and sharing with other knowledge hubs managed by UN Women in the region to maximize the efficient utilization of information and resources; Provide general communication support. Monitoring and Accountability Liaise with UN Women regional and country advisors and specialists on women’s economic empowerment on a regular basis to ensure their participation, contributions and commitments to the Knowledge Gateway at the country-level and regional level. Interact and collaborate with the other regional coordinators and the Knowledge Management Specialist at HQ on a regular basis. Contribute to the development of new online tools, surveys and other pilot projects; Contribute to the development of an incentive system that would keep staff of UN Women and UN Country Team actively engaged on the Knowledge Gateway. Support the monitoring and evaluation of the impact of the Knowledge Gateway on women’s economic empowerment. Partnerships and sustainability Build partnerships with regional organizations for effective uptake and sustainability of the Knowledge Gateway as a tool for all stakeholders to access knowledge, learn about and collaborate on women’s economic 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 safeguard ethics and integrity Organizational Awareness: Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment Development and Innovation: Take charge of self-development and take initiative Work in 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. Communicating and Information Sharing: Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for 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: Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making: Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES: Good Team player; Knowledge of the recent policy and advocacy trends in women’s economic empowerment; Interest and commitment to women’s economic empowerment; Substantive knowledge of issues on gender equality and women's economic empowerment; In-depth understanding of knowledge management for development; Working ability in Microsoft Word, Excel, e-mail, web-based applications and databases; Promotes knowledge management and a learning environment through leadership and personal example; Outstanding networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills; Capacity to work with diverse partners including governments, donors, UN country teams and civil society.

Required Skills and Expertise Education:

Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences or related field

Experience:

Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in the field of communication, social media tools and electronic knowledge networks. Good understanding of women’s economic empowerment issues. Good understanding of the Eastern and Southern Africa region. Experience in project management is an asset. Experience in working in a multicultural environment.

Language and IT Skills:

Fluency in English is required. Working knowledge in French is an asset. Understanding of Portuguese is an additional asset.

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