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 Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECA RO) in Istanbul, Turkey, has coverage of 12 field offices concentrating its programming in three sub-regions: Western Balkans and Turkey, Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, and Central Asia.
Under the direct supervision of the Deputy Regional Director, and in close cooperation with the Political Participation team at UN Women Headquarters, the Policy Specialist, Political Participation and Governance will provide technical oversight for the development of governance and political participation programmes; support capacity and skills-enhancement of staff and partners in countries; establish and strengthen partnerships; and develop relevant knowledge products on political participation and governance.
As part of this portfolio of work, the Policy Specialist will provide the technical support and oversight required for the implementation of the thematic portfolio in the region and also provide integrated normative support for implementation, monitoring and reporting on global agreements norms and standards upon request, to UNCTs where UN Women is a non-resident agency.
The scope of work of the Policy Specialist for Women’s Political Participation and Governance requires experience in and in-depth understanding of gender equality and women’s political empowerment and leadership to translate UN Women’s strategic plan into effective programmes and results in the ECA region.
Duties and Responsibilities
Provide policy and programme advice to country offices, specific technical assistance and quality assurance:
- Provide technical policy advice to programme/ project managers/ specialists in country offices to support implementation of thematic programmes, aligned with corporate direction and messaging; and in compliance with UN System wide policy.
- Oversee the development of a regional programme documents on women’s political participation and governance in collaboration with programme teams and the Political Participation team in Headquarters.
- Lead thematic oversight of COs’ corporate planning and reporting processes ensuring corporate policy coherence (including thematic support to UNSDCF processes as needed).
Provide capacity building support to country office teams and partners:
- Provide substantive and policy support COs to implement and localize corporate guidance notes, knowledge products and tools ensuring policy and strategic coherence, and avoiding duplication.
- Develop, implement and monitor capacity building initiatives;
- Manage serge capacity deployments as needed, experts, practitioners, trainers, academics, etc.
- Work closely with and provide advice to regional/ national bodies and interagency groups that influence national policies related to women’s political participation and governance and where necessary represent UN-Women.
Manage the resource mobilization strategy in the area of women’s political participation in the region
- Undertake targeted resource mobilization in the area of women’s political participation and leadership
- Develop tailored concept notes, provide technical support to offices with resource mobilization efforts in this area
- Prepare and/or delivering presentations to the development partners on this topic).
Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with stakeholders, regional/ international actors and development partners
- Build and maintain alliances and strategic partnerships for the advancement of women’s political participation
- Produce periodic updates and briefs on regional/country development situation to be used by stakeholders, CO and HQ;
- Maintain close contact with relevant staff in UN Women HQ.
Oversee knowledge management on women’s political participation and governance:
- Conduct capacity building and substantive sessions on SP thematic areas through in-person trainings, induction, webinars, workshops etc.
- Provide quality assurance of COs’ knowledge products in line with corporate strategies.
- Codify lessons learned and good practices from the region and liaise with HQ focal point to contribute to the global thematic Community of Practice.
- Maintain up-to-date relevant thematic regional data; and integrate analysis to policy-oriented advocacy and corporate support (e.g. briefing notes, background papers, region-specific reports).
Key Performance Indicators:
- Timely and quality technical advice and support;
- Leadership in area of expertise in the region;
- A regional programme document for resource mobilization is developed;
- Quality reports and other strategic documents drafted and submitted in a timely manner;
- Strong relationships with various partners and stakeholders;
- Regular communication with colleagues at both country and global levels to ensure policy coherence;
- UN Women is well represented in important meetings on topics related to expertise.
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 knowledge of women’s political empowerment and leadership (including issues related to democratic development, electoral assistance, campaigns, legal frameworks, political parties, legislatures, local government);
- Strong knowledge of the region;
- Knowledge of the UN System;
- Excellent networking skills;
- Ability to interact with donors, identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising;
- Ability to perform qualitative and quantitative policy research;
- Ability to advocate and provide policy advice;
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills;
- Ability to write policy papers, speeches, briefings;
- Strong knowledge of programme development, implementation, results-based management and reporting;
- Ability to work collaboratively in diverse teams, as well as strong communication skills;
- Ability to undertake frequent travel within the ECA region
Required Skills and Experience
Education and certification:
- Master’s degree or equivalent in political science, gender studies, law, human rights, international relations or other social science fields 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 progressively responsible experience in developing programmes and advocating for women’s political empowerment and/or gender-responsive governance, ideally with some experience in developing countries;
- Experience in programmme development, policy research and analysis and resource mobilization;
- Experience working with, and building partnerships with governments, donors and civil society organizations internationally and in the field;
- Experience working with the UN is an asset;
- Experience working in ECA region is an asset.
Language Requirements:
- Fluency in English is required;
- Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset;
- Knowledge of Russian and any other language(s) pertinent to the ECA region are assets