Gender Affairs Officer

Org. Setting and Reporting

These positions to be filled through this rostering exercise will be located in UNHQ as well as in United Nations Field Peacekeeping Operations, Special Political Missions, Service Centres and Offices as applicable. The Gender Affairs Officer will report to the Senior Gender Adviser or senior official as applicable.

Responsibilities

Within delegated authority, the Gender Affairs Officer will be responsible for the following duties: • Supports and guides the implementation of the UN Security Council’s resolutions on the women, peace and security (WPS) agenda, and related General Assembly resolutions and other relevant frameworks and policies, including departmental WPS policies and the utilization of United Nations tools for gender equality. • Collaborates and coordinates with UN systemwide partners, member states, stakeholders from national, regional and civil society organizations (CSOs) for the promotion of gender equality and the WPS agenda as appropriate; advocates and supports targeted measures on women’s participation in peace and political processes. • Leads the development and implementation of mission-wide strategies and action plans on gender equality and WPS in all aspects of mission mandate implementation. • Provides and supports leadership and colleagues with strategic, political or otherwise tailored advice to ensure gender and WPS is fully integrating into all aspects of analysis, planning, budgeting, implementation, reporting and efforts towards measuring impact, including accountability measures for mission leadership. • Reviews, monitors, collects data and analyzes relevant contexts to identify trends of relevance to the gender and the WPS agenda for reporting and decision making. • Drafts analytical inputs and, where needed, reports and papers on sensitive matters of concern, including to the UN General Assembly, Security Council, and other bodies in a national, regional or thematic context; drafts gender-sensitive notes, background papers, talking points, speeches and other correspondence for senior UN officials in the field or HQ. • Coordinates with other UN agencies through participating in and leading, as appropriate, relevant coordination mechanisms on gender-based violence such as the Protection Cluster and Gender-Based Violence sub-cluster/working group, as well as with relevant national institutions and NGOs. • Supports efforts aimed at enhancing capacities through the development and delivery of gender training for all levels of personnel, including for civilian, police and military components in peacekeeping contexts. • Manages staff and the substantive work of gender units, as needed. • Performs other duties as required.

Competencies

Professionalism: Shows pride in work and in achievements. Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter. Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results. Is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns. Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of peace and security work. Possesses in depth knowledge of the work of the United Nations and expertise in the field of Human Rights, International Relations and/or Women’s Rights, together with a thorough understanding of the concepts and practices related to the WPS agenda, gender equality and women’s empowerment including sexual and gender-based violence. Experience in supporting the mainstreaming of gender and WPS, including sexual and gender-based violence perspectives in peace and security efforts; excellent drafting, monitoring and reporting skills. Conceptual and strategic analytical capacity, ability to formulate options, draw conclusions and make effective recommendations, particularly in relation to addressing the needs of women in post-conflict situations; ability to formulate policy advice, position papers and reports for the attention of senior managers. Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals. Solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others. Places team agenda before personal agenda. Supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position. Shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings. Planning and organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies. Identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required. Allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work. Foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning. Monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary. Uses time efficiently.

Education

An advanced university degree (Master’s or Doctorate degree, or equivalent) in Political Sciences or other international relations or law, gender studies or related fields is required. A first-level degree (Bachelor’s degree or equivalent) in the specified fields of studies with two additional years of relevant work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Job – Specific Qualification

Not available.

Work Experience

A minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience at national or international levels in international relations, law, gender and at policy and operational levels is required. Experience providing guidance and support for senior management or senior officials in implementing the women, peace and security agenda is required. Experience integrating gender perspectives into political analysis, policies or programmes is required.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another official United Nations language, oral and written, is desirable.

Assessment

Evaluation of qualified candidates will include an assessment exercise which may be followed by structured interview.

Special Notice

The United Nations Secretariat maintains rosters of qualified and available candidates to fill anticipated job openings in peacekeeping operations, special political missions, and other field operations. The purpose of this job opening is to generate a list of qualified candidates for inclusion in the Gender Affairs Officer roster at the P-4 level. The entire assessment process takes an average of four months; all applicants will be notified in writing of the outcome of their application (whether successful or unsuccessful) within 14 days of the conclusion of the process. Successful candidates will be placed on the roster and subsequently will be invited to apply for field mission vacancies open only to roster members. Roster membership does not guarantee selection. The United Nations Secretariat is committed to achieving 50/50 gender balance and geographical diversity in its staff. Female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for this position. At the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the recruitment and employment of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to geographic diversity. All employment decisions are made on the basis of qualifications and organizational needs. The United Nations is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. The United Nations recruits and employs staff regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, race, religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds or disabilities.

United Nations Considerations

According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment. Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to applicants with disabilities upon request, to support their participation in the recruitment process. By accepting a letter of appointment, staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). Further, staff members in the Professional and higher category up to and including the D-2 level and the Field Service category are normally required to move periodically to discharge functions in different duty stations under conditions established in ST/AI/2023/3 on Mobility, as may be amended or revised. This condition of service applies to all position specific job openings and does not apply to temporary positions. Applicants are urged to carefully follow all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira, and to refer to the Applicant Guide by clicking on “Manuals” in the “Help” tile of the inspira account-holder homepage. The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application. Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.