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’s East and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) covers 25 countries, including 13 where UN Women has a physical presence, and through the UN System in the remainder of the countries. The regional office plays a dual role of providing technical advisory and capacity development support to the country teams, regional entities such as the Regional Economic Commissions, the African Union and regional civil society organizations. A core part of ESARO’s work involves thought leadership, capacity building and evidence generation, including conducting and supporting research on women’s economic empowerment, with a focus on both structural and grassroots-level interventions that advance gender equality and economic justice across the region.
The Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) section at ESARO focuses on key priority areas such as transforming care systems, advancing women in the world of work, and promoting gender-responsive climate action, alongside cross-cutting issues including social norms, financing for gender equality, and gender-responsive macroeconomic policies.
Financing for gender equality is essential for achieving inclusive and sustainable development. Gender inequality remains a key barrier to economic growth, poverty reduction, and social cohesion, with women and girls often lacking access to education, healthcare, decent work, and financial resources. Without targeted investments in gender-responsive policies, programs, and services, these disparities persist, undermining human rights and the effectiveness of development efforts. Adequate and sustained financing ensures that commitments to gender equality translate into concrete actions, empowering women as agents of change and fostering resilient economies and societies that benefit all.
Consistent with the UN’s renewed focus on Financing for Development (FfD) following the 2015 Addis Ababa Agenda, UN Women has launched a comprehensive set of important initiatives to ensure that financing for gender equality is enhanced and financing for development embeds a gender lens. As we do this, UN Women seeks to maximize both the quality and quantity of financing to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and SDG 5. Through context-specific policy guidance, technical support and capacity strengthening on the mobilization, allocation and spending of high-impact financing aligned with gender equality objectives, UN Women aims to encourage and support the development and deployment of innovative financial instruments aligned with its vision for an equitable and just global economy. UN Women is equally committed to the development of frameworks, guidelines and standards, which are needed to make financing for gender equality accessible and transparent, and lead to lasting social change and positive effects for women’s economic and social rights, livelihoods, and wellbeing.
While international resources are important, a particular focus is to be paid on mobilizing domestic resources and ensuring that all resource are well utilized at national and sub-national levels. In particular, for countries in East and Southern Africa this includes broadening the domestic financing resource base through public and private systems. This would include providing technical advice to public and private sector partners to develop and strengthen policies and tools to mobilize resources for gender equality interventions. This can take a range of approaches from progressive taxation systems, to investments through financial instruments such as gender bonds and development of insurance and social protection systems among others.
In addition to mobilization of resources, the efficient utilization of both domestic and international resources remains a key opportunity ensure financing for gender equality interventions in both public and private systems. Interventions such as strengthened public financial management through utilizing initiatives such as gender tagging and the use of gender responsive planning and budgeting, or the utilization of gender transformative impact frameworks can be promoted.
Against this background, UN Women is recruiting a feminist economist. Under the supervision of the Regional Policy Specialist for Women’s Economic Empowerment, the Feminist Economist - Sustainable Finance Specialist will support the regional office and country offices in East and Southern Africa by providing technical and programmatic expertise, economic trends and policy analysis, capacity building and guidance to advance financing for gender equality within the WEE programme of work while favoring cross thematic and regional initiatives.
Key Functions and Accountabilities
Design and develop programme strategies in the area of Sustainable Finance at regional and country levels:
Design and formulate programme/ project proposals and initiatives; Draft inputs to country strategy documents, briefs, policy dialogue and other documents related to Sustainable Finance and GRBManage the implementation and management of the Sustainable finance programme
Finalize the annual workplan and budget and manage their implementation; Manage the technical implementation of the programme/project; ensure synergies with other teams; Manage the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports; Provide guidance to personnel and partners on Results Based Management tools and performance indicators; Organize Project Steering Committee, project review and/or evaluation meetings, as needed.Manage technical assistance and capacity development to Country offices and regional project/programme partners
Manage the implementation of evidence based, technical advice and guidance. Develop and implement technical tools, and initiatives Conduct periodic economic analysis to evaluate gendered impacts of economic policies at regional and country level Build and manage relationships with regional partners including technical organizations, RECs, IFIs and the UN, to support implementation and expansion of the Sustainable finance programme; respond to any potential problems; Identify capacity building needs of country offices and regional partners and lead the coordination of technical assistance, mentoring, training and capacity development initiatives to partners.Manage the monitoring and reporting of the Sustainable Finance components of the Regional WEE Portfolio
Manage the monitoring of programme/ project implementation and finances using results based management tools; Oversee field missions and review reports on monitoring missions; Write quarterly reports and donor reports, focusing on results, output and outcomes; Contribute to office donor and UN Women reports.Manage the people and financial resources of the Sustainable Finance programme
Manage the programme budget and draft financial reports; Supervise Programme Analysts and Technical Specialists; Mentor and coach personnel and conduct performance assessments if required; Oversee recruitment processes, as necessary.Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies
Develop and implement partnerships and resource mobilization strategies; Finalize relevant documentation on donors and potential opportunities for resource mobilization; Analyze and research information on donors, prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for cost sharing.Contribute to inter-agency coordination on WEE and/or Sustainable Finance to achieve coherence and alignment of UN Women programmes with other partners in the country
Provide technical support to the Regional Policy Specialist, and RO management on inter-agency coordination related activities by attending meetings, events, and participating in groups and committees as needed; Coordinate with other UN agencies, government departments, donors and NGOs to ensure the projects’ capacity development programme is harmonized and aligned with other in-country efforts.Manage advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts
Develop and review background documents, briefs and presentations related to the Sustainable Finance; Represent UN Women in meetings and policy dialogues on issues related to Sustainable Finance as necessary; Develop advocacy strategies and oversee their implementation; Identify best practices and lessons learned to guide programme improvement and strategy planning; Develop knowledge management strategies, products and methodologies on Sustainable Finance.The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.
Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: none
Competencies :
Core Values:
Integrity; Professionalism; Respect for Diversity.Core Competencies:
Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues; Accountability; Creative Problem Solving; Effective Communication; Inclusive Collaboration; Stakeholder Engagement; Leading by Example.Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework:
Functional Competencies:
Strong programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills Strong knowledge of Results Based Management Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making Strong knowledge of Women’s Economic Empowerment and/or Sustainable Finance Strong analytical skills Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising and develop strategiesRecruitment Qualifications
Education and certification:
Master’s degree or equivalent in (feminist) economics, sustainable finance or any other relevant field of economics or public policy 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. A project/programme management certification (such as PMP®, PRINCE2®, or MSP®) would be an added advantage.Experience:
At least 5 years of progressively responsible work experience at the national or international level in design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects in fields related to women’s economic empowerment and/or sustainable finance is required. Technical expertise in sustainable finance and Gender responsive budgeting/financing is required. Technical expertise in women’s economic is required. Proven experience working on technical support to governments and/or private sector on developing and implementing sustainable financing programmes/projects. Experience in policy analysis, and strategic planning is required. Experience working in East and Southern Africa is desirable. Experience working in the UN System is desirable. Experience in Gender Responsive budgeting and financing Working experience and expertise with the private sector Working experience with IFI and relevant government and regional institutionsLanguage Requirements:
Fluency in English required. Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).Statements :
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.
Diversity and inclusion:
At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.
If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.
UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)
Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.