Head of Office, Japan Liaison Office – D1  

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.

Japan has a steadfast relationship with the UN, and has strengthened its focus on Gender Equality, serving as an Executive Board member since the establishment of UN Women. Recognizing the importance of the political and financial partnership with Japan, a UN Women Japan Liaison Office (JLO) was established in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo in 2015. UN Women’s presence in Japan provides a strategic entry point and an opportunity to liaise and partner with the key decision makers among the Government of Japan, parliamentarians, the private sector, media, academic institutions and civil society organizations. UN Women also works closely with the UN Women Japan National Committee which supports in national advocacy, public awareness building and resource mobilization. UN Women works in close coordination with other UN entities based in Tokyo to promote the gender equality agenda.   

The UN Women Japan Liaison Office leads on partnerships development, policy engagement, public advocacy and awareness, and resource mobilization with government actors, private sector entities, civil society and foundations, to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment under the overall guidance of UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2022-2025. 

The Head of Office works under the supervision of the Chief of the Public Partnerships Section (PPS) within the Strategic Partnerships Division (SPD) and will work with the Chief on prioritization of tasks. The Head of Office also works in close coordination with Partnerships and RM Specialists located at UN Women HQ in New York, and with Country Representatives and Regional Directors as well as other relevant offices across the organization.

Key Functions and Accountabilities: 

Design and oversee the resource mobilization strategy and donor relations:

• Develop innovative strategies for increased resource mobilization with Japan in both public and private sectors.
• Establish and nurture positive partnerships with the Government of Japan (GOJ) and secure GOJ’s high-level rating of UN Women in its International Organization Evaluation; through such partnerships, initiate and organize evidence-based annual-high-level policy dialogue with GOJ to help increase its regular/core contributions to UN Women.
• Maintain and increase the level of Regular and Other Resources by ensuring visibility of Japan-funded projects and showcasing impacts of ODA; Increase access to additional funding schemes. 
• Act as a strategic interface between funding partners and SPD/PPS in particular with respect to the provision of strategic and timely analysis of the changing policy and resource mobilization environment, and the impact on UN Women.
• Provide strategic and timely guidance and substantive advice to programme and result reporting sections and Regional/Country Offices in support of their partnership and resource mobilization efforts from Japanese funding partners.
• Coordinate with and advise the UN Women National Committee, which is a Japanese civil society organization in its resource mobilization efforts and related advocacy activities. 
• Coordinate closely with the Partnerships and RM Specialist in New York to ensure alignment with and support of corporate priorities, and to further ensure coordinated outreach to the Japan Permanent Mission to the UN in New York. 

Lead strategic partnership building for advocacy and awareness building:

• Enhance, expand and nurture existing relations between the Government of Japan and UN Women HQ to help promote the UN Women mandate, taking into account Japan’s position as a leading contributor to the global agenda on gender equality and women’s empowerment, and women, peace and security.
• Position UN Women at the centre of the gender equality architecture in Japan, including on Women, Peace and Security; further strengthen the partnership including on Japan’s policy and programming engagement, through different initiatives. 
• Participate in speaking engagements with Japanese policy makers and civil society actors, including in discussions of Japan’s Development Cooperation Charter (updated in 2023), Basic Plan for Gender Equality and the annually published Intensive Policy for GEWE, and Japan’s Third National Action Plan on WPS (2023-2029). 
• Engage in and stay abreast of relevant cutting-edge policy dialogues in Japan, and provide substantive, succinct and well-informed feedback to HQ.
• Advance strategic engagement with the Japanese private sector for awareness building and positioning of UN Women in the broader society through focused efforts, such as promoting UN Women’s campaigns such as HeForShe, Unstereotype-Alliance, and the Women’s Empowerment Principles.
• Design and develop innovative strategies for new enhanced and sustainable relationships with the media, NGOs, networks and think tanks, and use such relationships to advocate for stronger focus on gender equality and women’s rights in all development work.
• Lead on the development of comprehensive, succinct and sharp briefing material for UN Women’s leadership team in preparation for all bilateral meetings and events.
• Provide expert policy advice across relevant sectors, advocating for stronger integration of gender equality and women’s rights into Japanese development, foreign and security policies, and develop an appropriate risk-management strategy for UN Women’s operation in the Japanese political and societal environment.

Promote UN Women’s mandate in UN Coordination:

• Provide strategic coordination within the UN entities in Japan on gender equality and women’s rights.
• Collaborate with other UN agencies in Japan to promote and influence on gender equality and women’s empowerment. 

Manage the Liaison Office

• Lead the office in the delivery of operational goals.
• Finalize the annual work plan and budget; and oversee the implementation, including providing direction, guidance and technical support.
• Manage the performance of personnel under supervision; provide managerial direction, guidance and leadership to staff and provide performance feedback and coaching to personnel, ensure performance assessment are implemented on time and ensure personnel are fully aware of UN Women workplace relations policies.
• Promote teamwork to ensure harmonization, linkages, collaboration and synergy.
• Ensure a respectful, inclusive safe and healthy work environment for personnel.
• Identify learning and development opportunities of staff under her supervision and ensure support is provided to build their capacities.
• Lead the management of assets and financial resources of the office, in line with UN Women policies, rules and procedures;
• Finalize terms of reference for new staff, consultants and contractors and oversee recruitment processes;
• Manage, coach/motivate and guide staff, consultants, interns and other personnel as applicable and provide timely performance feedback;
• Provide support to the development of the Office security strategy and plan as required, in coordination with the Bunkyo City Government as well as relevant units in UN Women HQ.
• Provide timely situation analysis and recommendations to UN Women HQ with regards to JLO operations.

Other areas of emerging priorities in partnership with Japan

• Support Regional Offices and Country Offices including those where Japan-funded projects are being implemented, for example on visibility and access to humanitarian funding. 

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities:

The incumbent leads a team of 3 personnel, as well as occasional consultants and interns.

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:

• Substantive knowledge or gender equality and women’s empowerment issues;
• Excellent track record of partnerships and resource development, or similar business development expertise;
• International development expertise, preferably in UN Women or the UN system;
• Excellent knowledge of the Japanese political system and key stakeholders;
• Excellent negotiation skills and ability to mobilize support from a wide range of partners (public, including parliamentarians, private, academic, civil society, business community leaders);
• Strong oral and written communications skills, ability to convey complex concepts to different stakeholders;
• Ability to advocate and provide policy advice;
• Ability to interact with high-level decision-makers;
• Ability to lead strategic planning, change processes, results-based management and reporting;
• Analytical and problem solving skills;
• Strong leadership skills, ability to create and enabling work environment;
• Outstanding leadership skills;

Recruitment Qualifications: 

Education and Certification:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent degree) in a development-related area of study, communication, or international relations, business administration is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with additional two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience: 

• At least 15 years of progressively responsible experience in strategic partnership development, resource mobilization and communications/advocacy is required.
• Experience working with the Government of Japan is desirable.
• Experience working with and knowledge of the rules and regulations of the United Nations system is desirable.
• Experience leading and coaching staff in international settings is required.
• Experience with supporting and overseeing development policy-making, programme and operations management is desirable.
• knowledge of gender equality and women’s human rights is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Fluency in Japanese is desirable.
• Knowledge of another official UN language is an asset (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.)

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