UN WOMEN: ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT ADVISOR

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.  UN Women Regional Office for Arab States has identified a number of sectors and issues as priority for the next years.  Priority areas of work are as follows: Expand women's leadership and participation in the economy; Enhance women's access to economic opportunities and sustainable income, particularly marginalized women in rural communities; Engage with national partners, civil society, and private sector actors to advance gender-sensitive legislation and policies in support of women’s participation in the labour force and to address the structural causes of gender based inequality and discrimination; Support capacities of regional, national and local level actors to gender mainstream across economic sectors, strategies and plans; Contribute to the production of analytical data on gender gaps in economic and social participation as well as access to the job market; Support civil society in its advocacy work to remove cultural barriers facing women's entry into the labour force and address structural challenges to women’s access to income-generating opportunities and property as well as equality in inheritance; Support local NGOs working directly with vulnerable women’s groups contributing to the strengthening of women’s economic empowerment and the struggle against gendered poverty, especially in remote regions; 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 Adviser requires strong knowledge and experience in developing and implementing economic policy at national and international levels and an in-depth understanding of challenges facing the region in order to translate UN Women's Strategic Plan into effective programmes and results on women’s economic empowerment. It also requires developing mutually reinforcing partnerships with relevant Government counterparts, UN organizations, and CSOs.  The Economic Empowerment Advisor is expected to be an economist, with significant experience in developing and implementing economic policies and research that support inclusive growth. Under the supervision of the UN Women Regional Director of Arab States Regional Office, the Economic Empowerment Adviser, based in Cairo, will work in close coordination with the Economic Empowerment section in the Policy Division at UN Women Headquarters.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions: Analyze economic trends and Institutions and conduct research; Programme development and technical support; Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships; Knowledge management and reporting.  Description of Functions: Analyze economic trends and institutions and conduct research: Analyze and understand the relationships between economic trends, household economic security, women’s rights and access to services and socio-economic resilience in different national contexts; Analyze economic institutions and policies with a focus on job creation, employment of high-skill and low-skill women workers and access to credit and markets to identify the most relevant opportunities and challenges for women; Provide policy recommendations, strategic advice and proposed courses of action to the Regional Director 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; 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, research papers, briefing notes, background papers, summaries, correspondence and talking points; Work closely with regional bodies that influence national economic policies and 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: Support  the overall development and implementation of the UN Women regional economic empowerment portfolio; Assist country offices in developing and strengthening policies to increase women's access to decent work, social protection and economic empowerment; Work closely with UN Women field based presences in the Arab States 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. Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with key stakeholders, regional/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 country offices in mobilizing resources for the implementation of women's economic initiatives; 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; 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 a regional knowledge hub and propose plans to enrich its gender and economics coverage.  Impact of Results: The work of the Economic Empowerment Advisor will impact the success of the formulation and implementation of UN Women Economic Empowerment programmes, as well as initiatives in the Arab States Region to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment.

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. Core Competencies: Ethics and Values: Promoting ethics and integrity / Creating organizational precedents. Organizational Awareness: Building support and political acumen. Developing and Empowering People / Coaching and Mentoring: Building staff competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation. Working in Teams: Building and promoting effective teams. 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. 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. Functional Competencies: Substantive experience and record of accomplishment in the area of Gender and Economics; Additional expertise on labour markets and social protections, with broad knowledge of gender and development; Demonstrated People Management Skills; Familiarity with the Arab States 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 resource.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Master's degree in Economics with specialization in economic policy in developing countries. Experience: A minimum of 10 years' progressively responsible experience in gender and economics issues, ideally with some experience in developing countries in the area of Gender and Economics. Language: Fluency in written and spoken English; Working knowledge of another UN language will be an asset. 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. 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.

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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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