UN WOMEN: CHIEF, RESEARCH AND DATA SECTION

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 Policy Division develops and implements the UN Women corporate programme of work on analysis, research and knowledge management that provides the evidence base for the advice and guidance UN Women provides to development practitioners, the intergovernmental process, the UN system, and to UN Women staff working at country and regional level on issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment. The Division identifies emerging issues and trends, including gaps and challenges, and develops and proposes new strategies for achieving the agreed goals through innovative approaches and lessons learned about what works in practice. It also designs and oversees the training and capacity development programs of UN Women, through the training facility in Santo Domingo. Based on UN legislative mandates and UN Women Strategic Programme Plan, the Policy Division undertakes and/or coordinates global or sectoral research and data analysis; advises on norms, policies and strategies for achieving the internationally agreed goals related to gender equality and women’s empowerment issues. It acts as a knowledge hub, collecting evidence on progress and emerging issues, identifying trends in implementation of global commitments; and sharing knowledge on innovative approaches and lessons learned in implementation. It designs tools for inter-regional capabilities building and institutional development programmes and fosters strategic substantive partnerships with academic and research institutions and UN partners, in close collaboration with the Intergovernmental Support and Strategic Partnership Bureau, the Programme division and UN Women Training Center (Santo Domingo). To successfully perform its mission/mandate, the Policy Division is organized into Sections, bringing together technical experts who undertake issues-based research; analyze data on country, regional or global trends; build a knowledge base on policy commitments and their implementation; propose evidence-based options for global policy, norms and standards and for UN Women programme strategies; and contribute substantive inputs to policy advocacy and technical cooperation programmes. The Research and Data Section in the Policy Division is responsible for leading UN Women’s research and data agenda. It produces knowledge products including UN Women flagship publications such as Progress of the World’s Women and The Survey of the Role of Women in Development, and includes UN Women’s knowledge management team., and includes UN Women’s knowledge management team. The Chief, Research and Data Section reports to the Director, Policy Division for strategic guidance and direction, and in collaboration with the other sections, is responsible for leading the development and planning of research and data analysis and the development, innovation in and dissemination of UN Women knowledge products to enhance its competence and credibility as a global broker of knowledge, experience, leadership and advocacy on gender issues and women’s empowerment.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of key functions: Strategic development and leadership of UN Women’s new research and data agenda. Spearhead the development of an ambitious, dynamic and innovative research and data strategy for UN Women, to position the organization as a global broker for knowledge on – and central player in – research and policy on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Identify, develop and manage the diverse range of partnerships that UN Women needs to achieve its research and data goals, both within and beyond the UN system. Position the organization to take leadership in consulting on, and identifying major gaps in research and data, spurring research institutions to take up the agenda and to contribute to filling identified gaps. Convene groups of key thinkers on gender to input, advise and steer UN Women’s research and data agenda. Provide strategic advice on research and data to the Executive Office and the rest of the organization, with a particular focus on forecasting emerging research and data issues and fostering innovation in research, data and knowledge management. Inter-agency collaboration, partnerships and advocacy: Convene or represent UN Women in UN inter-agency working groups and other high level academic and policy conferences and events to participate in strategic discussions and establish cooperation/collaboration on research and data analysis and dissemination. Develop and maintain relationships with academia, research and training institutes, civil society and thematic technical experts to gain and share knowledge, exchange views on current issues/trends and to incorporate cutting-edge thinking in research and data analysis on gender issues. Engage partners, stakeholders and other entities, including the UN Statistics Division, to advocate for improved harmonization and sharing of gender statistics. Commissioning, developing, managing and sharing research, and data and policy analysis, in collaboration with Policy Division sections and the Knowledge Management team, on key areas for gender equality and women’s empowerment, including emerging and cross-cutting issues: Commission, develop and manage research, and data and policy analysis on crosscutting issues, development trends, best practices, innovations, performance gaps and opportunities for UN Women development planning. Facilitate the translation of UN Women’s analytical work, including from flagship publications, into policy and programming practice. Oversee the preparation and dissemination of UN Women knowledge products and reports, including Progress of the World’s Women and The Survey of the Role of Women in Development. Working across the organization to promote and encourage the use of research and data in UN Women’s policies and programmes, to strengthen the evidence base for UN Women’s decision-making: Contribute to internal reviews of UN Women policies and programmes to ensure good use of evidence. Work with policy teams to build a high quality evidence base for their work, including action-oriented research to link academic and policy research with knowledge generated from practice at country level. Provide quality assurance of UN Women’s publications, through developing peer review processes, to guarantee the relevance, accuracy and appropriateness of content. Strategic leadership of UN Women’s knowledge strategy, to ensure it is championed and embedded throughout the organization and the codification of experience and lessons feeds into the research agenda: Oversee the finalization of UN Women’s corporate knowledge strategy and lead on the implementation of the strategy in relation to the Policy Division. Act as a champion for Knowledge Management across the organization and work with the Knowledge Management Team to ensure the full implementation of the Knowledge Strategy (including, for example, active membership on the Knowledge Management corporate board). Management of the Section, including strategic and management support for the teams within the Research and Data section that lead on Progress of the World’s Women and Knowledge Management: Promote teamwork and establish a working environment that is conducive to delivering results. Supervise and oversee the work of the team to ensure the delivery of quality results according to standards and goals established in the Section. Monitor the appropriate use and management of financial resources and take responsibility for the integrity of financial systems and consistent application of the internal control framework and/or UN Women/UN rules and regulations. Submit timely mandated reports. Identify and integrate efficiency gains and cost reductions in all operations. Build staff capacity through planned training, learning programs, mentoring and coaching. Use corporate monitoring and oversight tools such as the Balanced Score Card, Atlas Snapshop and Dashboard, Global Staff Surveys, audits, evaluation and other corporate reports to identify areas for improvement. Oversee the development and implementation of strategic evaluation plans, ensure that management responses to all evaluations are completed and followed up, and that learning from evaluations is fed back into UN Women initiatives and operations. Contribute to the rest of UN Women’s work, including in mobilizing resources for UN Women’s research and data work Impact of Results: The ability of the Chief, Research and Data to lead and manage the output of the Section to produce quality research and data and to introduce best practices, cutting edge approaches and innovative thinking in the area of research and data management, directly impact on the efficiency and efficacy of UN Women global/political interventions and advocacy on evidence-based options for global policy, norms and standards and technical cooperation.

Competencies

Core Values and Guiding Principles: Integrity: Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct. Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity: Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity. Core Competencies: Ethics and Values: Promoting Ethics and Integrity / Creating Organizational Precedents Organizational Awareness: Building support and political acumen. Planning and organizing: Proven ability to plan strategic direction and ability to organize and service intergovernmental bodies and international technical meetings Developing and Empowering People / coaching and mentoring: Building staff competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation Working in Teams: Proven record of building and managing teams and creating an enabling and collaborative work environment, including the ability to effectively lead, supervise, mentor, develop and evaluate staff. Communicating Information and Ideas: Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication Self-management and Emotional intelligence: Creating an emotionally intelligent organization Conflict Management / Negotiating and Resolving Disagreements: Leveraging conflict in the interests of the organization & setting standards. Ability to interact and negotiate with high-level government officials are required § Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning: Sharing knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning. Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making: Fair and transparent decision-making; calculated risk-taking Commitment to continuous learning: Willingness to keep abreast of new developments in the field of gender equality thematic areas Leadership - Proven track record of excellent management and technical leadership skills and ability to delegate appropriate responsibility, accountability and decision-making authority. Functional Competencies: Ability to develop and implement research strategies, and develop and manage research partnerships. In-depth understanding of: quantitative and qualitative research methods, particularly in relation to gender; and knowledge management approaches. Ability to manage diverse teams, to maximize performance and results. Ability to conceptualize and convey strategic vision. Strong communication and public speaking skills, with proven expertise in writing for a range of audiences. Proven analytical and problem solving skills Ability to leverage information technology, executive information systems, management techniques and tools for optimal office performance. Excellent strategic planning, goal-setting and prioritization skills. Effectiveness in establishing and fostering good relations with government counterparts, UN agencies, donors, and NGO partners. Strong, proven commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Masters (or equivalent) in gender and development, or in related discipline, such as political science, public policy, or other social science fields with significant focus on gender equality. A PhD in any of these disciplines will be an asset. Experience: A minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible work experience carrying out research and analysis in a development policy and/or research context. Significant record of research and writing, including on gender and development. Proven experience of effectively managing teams. Language Requirements: Fluency in written and oral in English is required. Knowledge of another UN working language is very desirable. 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. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

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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.