UN WOMEN: POLICY ADVISER, ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT

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. The scope of work of the UN Women Economic Empowerment Advisor requires experience and in-depth understanding of gender equality and women’s empowerment issues, as well as management and programming expertise, to translate UN Women's strategic plans into effective development initiatives and results. It also requires developing mutually reinforcing partnerships with relevant Government counterparts, UN organizations, CSOs, and with bilateral and non-traditional donors in order to promote inter-agency partnerships, support for UN reform, and mobilization of visibility and resources to advance gender equality and women's empowerment. UN Women in West and Central Africa represent the most deprived slice of the population in spite of their paramount social and economic role in the community and in the family. They have little access to, and virtually no control over available resources, as the result of unfair social, cultural and economic norms. The vision of UN Women’ strategic plan in West & Central Africa is 'enabling a more secure world for African women'. The plan has adopted a national and sub-regional approach to advancing gender equality and women empowerment, and committed - among other strategies - to: Advancing gender mainstreaming into national strategies, policies, institutions, development finance, national budgets and statistics; Strengthening capacity of relevant actors in order to bridge gaps between normative advances and the limited 'know how' within governmental and non-governmental structures; Engendering PRS and national budgets to address feminized poverty, and support efforts towards women economic empowerment. Within the UN System, playing a leading role in Gender Theme Groups and Donor Gender Groups, and supporting UNDAF processes with a focus on human rights, governance, institutional frameworks, and domestication of international conventions and other relevant instruments that promote gender equity and equality. The Economic Empowerment Advisor portfolio of UN Women West & Central Africa consists of Economic Empowerment programmes related to women’s livelihoods, entrepreneurship, market access and other resource based initiatives, gender-sensible business legal environment, national Gender planning and Budgeting, New Aid Modalities, Gender Equitable Local Development, etc implemented in twenty five countries. The Economic Empowerment Advisor will support the Economic Empowerment programme portfolio and provide specialist advice and technical support to programme/project development, monitoring and coordination in the area of gender, poverty alleviation and economic rights at UN Women WACARO. The Economic Empowerment Advisor will work under the direct supervision and guidance of the UN Women WACARO Deputy Regional Director (D/RD) and in close consultation with the UN Women Programme Specialists with the overall aim to support UN Women Economic Empowerment Rights & Gender Budgeting programmes and donor commitments. The Economic Empowerment Advisor will effectively assume strategic and substantive leadership for the integration of UN Women's strategies and values in women's economic empowerment & gender responsive budgeting programmes throughout the Region. This covers supporting fundraising, communication and partnership-building, evaluation and knowledge management; and ensuring information flow and team-building across the diverse network of partners and stakeholders involved in various Economic Empowerment programmes.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions: Analyze macro-economic trends and opportunities; Programme development and technical support; Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with key stakeholders, regional and international actors and development partners; Knowledge management and reporting. 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 Director and Regional Programme Director; 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 WACARO region; Propose plan of action for immediate and long- range actions on women's economic empowerment in the WACARO region; Work closely with UN Women's policy advisors in the WACARO 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 West and Central Africa 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 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 West & Central Africa 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 the regional knowledge hub and propose plans to enrich its gender and economics coverage. Impact of Results: The Economic Empowerment Adviser impact on success of the efforts to formulate and implement the UN Women Economic Empowerment programmes and initiatives in the West & Central Africa Region 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: Demonstrated People Management Skills; Familiarity with the West & Central Africa 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; Substantive experience and record of accomplishment in the area of Gender and Economics. Language: Fluency in written and oral English & French. 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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