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.
Afghanistan is one of the world’s most complex emergencies, and one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. Afghan people are grappling with the impact of chronic, poverty, climate change, economic decline, and natural disasters. Afghan women and girls face unique and amplified vulnerabilities particularly the series of restrictions and bans that restrict their access to education, health, workplaces and public spaces. In this context, it remains urgent that Afghan women and girls are provided targeted support and that they can continue to shape the development of their country, and that their gains are protected. UN Women remains fully committed to supporting Afghan women and girls and to putting them at the center of the global response to the poly-crisis in Afghanistan.
UN Women has been in Afghanistan for two decades. UN Women’s programming approach is informed by analysis of the political, economic and humanitarian situation, risks to and capacities of partner organizations, and needs of Afghan women and girls. UN Women Afghanistan currently has five key programme priorities: (1) Integrated Programming and Localization, (2) Women’s movement building through core grant making; 3) Policy and Research; 4) Economic Resilience and Women’s Empowerment and 5) Coordination, Access and Humanitarian Response. UN Women Afghanistan operates through its main office in Kabul and five sub-offices located in the provinces of Balkh, Bamyan, Herat, Kandahar and Nangarhar.
Under the Gender in Humanitarian Action mandate, UN Women provides emergency life saving assistance to women and girls affected by crises – in Afghanistan this includes response to natural disasters and to forced returns from neighboring countries through leveraging UN Women’s coordination and programming mandate.
Reporting to the GiHA Coordination and Access Specialist, and working with the Coordination, Access and Humanitarian Response Team, the Crisis Response Specialist leads and supports sub-offices and other UN Women units during emergencies to scale up their work and provide lifesaving assistance to affected women and girls. The Crisis Response Specialist will be responsible for scaling up UN Women’s emergency response. The incumbent will represent UN Women in cluster meetings, gather information about humanitarian needs, coordinate response during crises and work closely with field offices to provide hands-on support for humanitarian preparedness and emergency response.
Key Functions and Accountabilities:
Develop preparedness measures for UN Women’s emergency response at national and field level:
Develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and plans of action in preparation and response to emergencies together with field offices, UN Women thematic units and operations colleagues Ensure preparedness measures such as retainers, purchase orders, standby partnerships are in place ahead of emergency response Provide technical advice related to emergency preparedness, including on programme management related issues. Provide hands on support and advice in the implementation of emergency preparedness measures in the field to strengthen preparedness and response mechanisms in sub-offices faced with impending emergencies. As part of preparedness, support the planning, organization and implementation of training for the office’s staff capacity building in emergencies preparedness and response. Lead emergency trainings for sub-offices and UN Women partners including introduction to the humanitarian system and cluster led response.Provide direct support to the implementation of UN Women programmes during emergency response:
Provide hands on support and oversight through in person missions to affected areas in the field during emergencies including to assess local conditions and monitor response progress Support the identification of resources to respond during emergencies, monitor budgets and support the establishment of plans to be implemented during crises, to ensure a timely and effective emergency response Support the deployment of tools and resources during crises Together with the sub-office in affected area, lead the planning, implementation and monitoring of emergency response during crises including cash assistance, the set up of women and girls’ safe spaces, distributions of cash and NFIs and the scale up and fast tracking of partners’ work. Working across the response, build, develop and nurture partnerships with partners to ensure implementation of principled humanitarian assistance, including through the deployment of women humanitarian workers during emergencies and advocacy in that regard for women’s participation in multi-sectoral and sector specific assessments Timely document and identify problems and gender related constraints preventing programme implementation, and flag these to management as appropriate Participate and assist with the assessment of gender dynamics in crises settings and understand the impact of crises on women and girls, working closely with the Gender Coordination Group leads Liaise and provide support for engagement with the de facto authorities as appropriateGather and share relevant information during emergencies:
Liaise with clusters and other key emergency actors and ensure the flow of information and communication for the planning and implementation of emergency preparedness and response Maintain continuous and effective coordination, communication, consultation, with key stakeholders, including international and external counterparts Participate in relevant humanitarian fora, and keep management informed on discussions and outcomes. Feed UN Women’s results and data into cluster response, working closely with the Information Management Specialist Gather information on emergencies as well as new restrictions on women and girls affecting their access to life saving assistance and impacting the humanitarian response Working with the Information Management Specialist, develop and coordinate inputs into UN Women humanitarian updates and appeals and provide situation reports to UN Women ACO management, UN Women Regional Office and headquarters Liaise with the communication team to ensure coverage of UN Women’s emergency response and impact of crises on Afghan women and girlsMainstream emergency response across UN Women ACO’s work and planning
Lead the mainstreaming of disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness, and response strategies in the country office's workplan Draft inputs to country strategy documents, briefs, policy dialogues and other documents related to Humanitarian response Coordinate the process of gathering information and preparing progress reports on programme implementation; prepare technical reports Provide briefing to donors during emergencies and contribute to proposal development on emergency responseThe incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation.
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:
Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats; Ability to manage data, documents, correspondence and reports information and workflow; Strong knowledge related to current policies and practices in the fields of gender equality, protection, and humanitarian action, including humanitarian coordination; Strong knowledge of programming in emergencies including humanitarian response coordination structures and gender in emergency programming Strong networking skills Ability to interact with donors, identify and analyze trends, opportunities, and threats to fundraising Strong knowledge of programme development, implementation, results-based management, and reporting.Recruitment Qualifications:
Education and Certification:
Master’s degree or equivalent in human rights, gender, international relations, international development, international law 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 5 years of progressively responsible experience in designing and managing emergency response programmes, with a particular focus on gender and protection in emergencies is required. Experience in humanitarian coordination and the cluster system Experience working with, and building partnerships with de facto authorities, governments, donors and civil society organizations internationally and in the field is required. Experience working in complex humanitarian and emergency contexts is required Previous experience working with UN Women in programme implementation is desirableLanguages:
Fluency in English is 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.