Position description
Under the supervision of the Chief of PAPDU, the Programme Specialist is responsible for providing political and regional analysis, and supporting programme planning at field levels.
The position will support the work in the regions of the Arab States and West Africa, working in close collaboration with regional and country offices in Arab States region as well as West Africa in line with UN Women’s All-Africa strategy. The support to Africa will be implemented in close collaboration with the regional Africa specialist in the PAPDU team.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Lead political analysis, forecasting and horizon scanning on strategic, emerging and/or topical issues in Arab States region and West Africa to inform UN Women work and positioning in inter-agency initiatives and processes:
- Monitor and analyze development trends, political developments, gender equality issues across the regions to offer substantive recommendations to inform corporate decisions;
- Conduct desk research, track, and analyze emerging and evolving crisis and complex development situations, identify critical issues for UN Women programming and offer substantive recommendations to the PPID and UN Women Senior Management on corporate advice to country and regional offices in the development of strategies for positioning of UN Women;
- Contribute to crisis situation rooms for Arab States region and West Africa, including with pollical analysis and development of key messages;
- Stay abreast of the work and priorities of regional inter-governmental organizations such as the Arab League, African Union and regional strategies such as Agenda 2063 and the UN Integrated strategy for the Sahel (UNISS);
- Act as the focal point for Arab States and Africa (in coordination with the other Africa regional specialist) in HQ and respond to information requests and representation of UN Women in inter-agency meeting and processes when required;
- Participate in relevant external meetings, partnerships and advocacy activities with UN partners, Permanent Missions, and external stakeholders.
- Support effective representation of UN Women leadership on issues pertaining to Arab States region and North Africa - liaising and coordinating with CO/ROs and units across the organization:
- Prepare background analysis and briefing documents for UN Women senior management participation in the SG’s Executive Committee and other high level meetings as relevant for Arab States region and West Africa in close coordination with regional offices;
- Support political analysis in crisis contexts to support UN Women’s response, as well as the UN preventative mechanisms, such as the Regional Monthly Reviews (RMRs) for Arab States region and West Africa.
- Support country and regional SN planning, project development and oversight with a focus on Arab States region and West Africa:
- Support the implementation of the UN Women Strategic Plan 2022-2025 in Arab States region and West Africa through and technical support to offices in the CCA/UNSDCF and Strategic Note (SN) planning process;
- Support quality assurance processes for Strategic Notes and the projects from the region reviewed at HQ level and annual results reporting. Support CO/ROs integrate cross cutting programmatic principles such as leave no one behind and a human rights-based approach in its strategy and projects;
- Provide technical support to COs/ROs on the integration of normative and inter-governmental commitments (Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) Agreed Conclusions, Universal Periodic Review (UPR) General Assembly (GA) resolutions, High Level Political Forum (HLPF) voluntary reports) in field-level programming and advocacy to ensure an effective flow of information between HQ and field offices;
- Support the alignment of SNs and projects with Gender Equality Accelerators;
- Provide technical support along with UN Women’s UN System Coordination Division, to facilitate COs/ROs in carrying out their coordination function, to ensure their full contribution through the UN System Development Group (UNSDG) Regional Directors teams.
- Support partnerships, knowledge management and interagency collaboration with a focus on Arab States region and West Africa:
- Support the implementation of key recommendations from corporate evaluation linked to strategic programme development;
- Prepare synthesis of UN Women’s programmes and results in Arab States region and West Africa for internal and external communication and reporting;
- Support cross regional analysis and sharing of lessons learnt in different areas to support programme development;
- Strengthen and maintain partnerships with Permanent Missions and UN partners:
- The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization;
- Support corporate functions in line with the implementation of the UN Women Strategic Plan and mandate;
- Support to UN Women’s engagement in inter-agency work such as the UNSDG and related to development of guidance on UN reform and country level programming around the CCA/UNSDCF and related monitoring aspects.
Competencies
Core Values:
- Respect for Diversity;
- Integrity;
- Professionalism.
Core Competencies:
- Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues;
- Accountability;
- Creative Problem Solving;
- Effective Communication;
- Inclusive Collaboration;
- Stakeholder Engagement;
- Leading by Example.
FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:
- Excellent programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills;
- Knowledge in the thematic areas covered by the UN Women Strategic Plan 2022-2025;
- Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them;
- Excellent knowledge of Results Based Management;
- Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making;
- Ability to lead formulation of strategies and their implementation;
- Strong networking and coordination skills.
Required Skills and Experience
Education and Certification:
- Master’s degree or equivalent in political science, women studies, law, economics or a related field is required;
- A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
Experience:
- At least 7 years of progressively responsible work experience in political analysis, programmatic work in the area of gender equality and UN coordination;
- Experience working on emerging and/or topical issues in Arab States and West Africa is desirable;
- Experience in managerial roles is desirable;
- Experience in both field office and headquarters is required;
- Experience in the UN System is desirable;
- Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required;
- Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.
Languages:
- Fluency in English is required;
- Fluency in Arabic is desirable;
- Knowledge of French is desirable.
Application instructions
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