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.

Through the General Assembly Resolutions 75/233 on the Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review (QCPR) and 72/279 on UN repositioning, the United Nations Development System (UNDS) is presented with a mandate to transform in order to respond to the ambition of the 2030 Agenda. Indeed, the 2020 QCPR places strong emphasis on the fundamental importance of promoting gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls, noting the multiplier effect for achieving sustained and inclusive economic growth, poverty eradication and sustainable development. It calls upon all entities of the UNDS to continue to promote women’s empowerment and gender equality by enhancing and accelerating gender mainstreaming through the full implementation of the UNCT performance indicators for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) (the “UNCT-SWAP Gender Equality Scorecard”) and calls on UN entities to draw on gender expertise, including in UN Women, to assist with gender mainstreaming in the preparation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework. As also recognized by the UNSDG Guidance for the Cooperation Framework, gender equality and women’s empowerment should be mainstreamed through UN programming, and it is identified as a priority for the Decade of Action and as crucial to national responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

UNWOMEN and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) have signed a memorandum of Understanding In 2022 to ensure the advancement of Gender Equality and women’s empowerment in Central Africa region. Under this partnership a major normative milestone was achieved with the first Common Agenda for Women and Girls in Central Africa adopted by the Member States of ECCAS (in Libreville, Gabon, May 27th, 2023) during the Regional Conference of Gender Ministers from Central Africa. The Ministerial Agenda and Regional Conference has been the result of UN WOMEN WCARO’s partnership building and advocacy with the Economic Commission for Central Africa/ECCAS and UNOCA.

The Common Agenda for Women and Girls in Central Africa provides a set of recommendations and priorities for action on promoting women and girls ‘rights and empowerment in Central Africa in five main areas: (i) women’s participation in peace-building and peacekeeping processes; (ii) updating legal and policy frameworks in favor of gender equality; (iii) massive investment in women’s economic empowerment; (iv) universal access to quality education for girls and women; and (v) strengthening mechanisms to protect women’s rights and combat gender-based violence. For an effective implementation of the recommendation on gender based violence, it has been recommended to elaborate the first binding Regional Convention to Eliminate Violence against Women and Girls in Central Africa.

The Gender Equality Specialist will lead Inclusive resource mobilization efforts to ensure that gender interventions planned in the Common Agenda are funded sufficiently. The Gender Equality Specialist will also lead efforts to ensure that Member States, regional organizations, the UNCT, civil society, the private sector, the media and other relevant actors take gender concerns into due account, by coordinating the advocacy efforts of relevant organizations. This includes ensuring effective leadership and engagement of women’s Civil Society Organizations in the design, development and implementation of UNSDCF products to ensure that they are gender responsive and reflect the diverse priorities and needs of women and girls.

With a dual/matrixed reporting to the Head of the Resident Coordinator Office and to the UN Women Regional Director, the Gender Equality Specialist will work with the regional coordination specialist, to support the development and strengthening of a strategic vision for gender mainstreaming for UN joint programming and provide coordination and technical and policy advisory support on women’s rights and gender equality to the Resident Coordinator (RC) and the UNCT. The Gender Equality Specialist will also work closely with ECCAS commission to ensure the implementation of the Common Agenda for Women and Girls in Central Africa.

Duties and Responsibilities

Technical Advisory Support to ECCAS in the implementation of the Common Agenda for Women and Girls in Central Africa

• Provide technical inputs to research and analysis of the political, social, and economic situation in the region related to the programming and normative areas of the Common Agenda for Women and Girls in Central Africa as needed including supporting the development of Country Gender Equality Briefs/Profiles of ECCAS member states.
• Coordinate policy dialogues around the Common Agenda for Women and Girls in Central Africa and provide analysis and guidance to ECCAS on key gender issues and opportunities to support the Common Agenda for Women and Girls in Central Africa.
• Provide technical and substantive inputs to partnerships and joint resource mobilization strategies related to the Common Agenda for Women and Girls in Central Africa.
• Liaise with key stakeholders from Government, academia, civil society, the private sector and key international actors to build and strengthen strategic alliances and partnerships to support the implementation, monitoring of the Common Agenda for Women and Girls in Central Africa.
• Coordinate, and review the development of regional (Central Africa) briefs on possible areas of GEWE cooperation.

Provide guidance and coordinate with gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE)

• Substantially support the development of a rigorous gender analysis in the Common Country Analysis (CCA) to explain immediate, underlying and root causes of gender inequalities and gender-based discrimination, and differentiated impacts (including through an appreciation of social, legal, political, economic and cultural dynamics that underpin gender inequality), and contribute to regular updates;
• Review and provide technical guidance and inputs to each step of the UNSDCF to ensure the integration of gender equality considerations: Strategic prioritization, results matrix, joint programmes, monitoring and evaluation;
• Provide technical guidance and coordinate the UNCT to strengthen monitoring and reporting on GEWE in the context of the Cooperation Framework;
• Coordinate the preparation of analytical and regular progress reports on gender index through UN Info;
• Provide technical guidance and advice to the RC, UNCT, development partners and national counterparts on implementation of key UN frameworks and conventions on gender equality;
• Provide technical advice to the RC and UNCT for national GEWE policy and legal framework development and monitoring.

Coordinate the fostering coherent inter-agency planning, analysis and action for enhanced accountability to GEWE:

• Support the provision of technical advice to Resident Coordinator (RC) and the UNCT on the gender dynamics and opportunities to support inclusive engagement of women in the development assistance provided by the UNCT;
• Coordinate with the UNCT on improved accountability tools to ensure the UN’s commitments to gender equality and women’s empowerment are tracked and up-scaled as opportunities arise : coordinate the UNCT-SWAP Gender
• Equality Scorecard exercise and implementation of its Action Plan, and provide coordination and technical advisory support to the application of the UNCT Gender Equality Marker;
• Provide technical inputs to joint programmes related to gender equality and empowerment of women and girls priorities highlighted in the Cooperation Framework, such as Spotlight programmes where relevant;
• Coordinate the implementation of system-wide UN strategies and frameworks at the country level, such as SG Parity Strategy and Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) strategy, and lead related monitoring and reporting;
• and Actively participate in the Gender Thematic Groups / Gender Results Groups.

Provide technical support to strategic partnerships building and resource mobilization:

• Provide technical and substantive inputs to partnerships and joint resource mobilization strategies related to GEWE and the Cooperation Framework;
• Liaise with key stakeholders from Government, academia, civil society, the private sector and key international actors to build and strengthen strategic alliances and partnerships on women’s rights and gender equality initiatives as needed
• Coordinate, and review the development of interagency briefs on possible areas of GEWE cooperation, including identification of opportunities for cost sharing.

Provide coordination support to GEWE intergovernmental and normative work with UNCT and national partners

• Coordinate initiatives related to the Commission on the Status of Women, including contributions to relevant global/regional reports and background documents;
• Provide technical support gender related SDG consultations;
• Facilitate regular review of the progress on implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action;
• Coordinate CEDAW, Voluntary National Review and Universal Periodic Review reporting on gender equality and women’s empowerment;
• Engage with women’s Civil Society Organisations with respect to the above.

Advise the RC and UNCT in the analysis and monitoring of trends, opportunities and challenges around gender equality and women’s empowerment:

• Provide technical inputs to research and analysis of the political, social, and economic situation in the region related to the programming and normative areas of gender equality, including supporting the development of Country Gender Equality Briefs/Profiles;
• Coordinate accountability in policy dialogues around gender equality and the empowerment of women;
• Provide analysis and guidance to the RC and the UNCT on key gender issues and opportunities to support women engaging in and benefitting from the assistance provided by the UNCT;
• Advise and lead on entry points for new initiatives for the UN Systems to strengthen capacities for gender equality and to support the advancement of women’s empowerment and gender equality.
• Develop capacity development initiatives on gender-related issues and priorities as needed;

Coordinate interagency advocacy and facilitation of knowledge building and management:

• Coordinate interagency efforts to establish advocacy networks and linkages to international networks related to gender equality, women’s empowerment; including those relating to reconciliation and humanitarian support;
• Develop capacity development initiatives on gender-related issues and priorities as needed;
• Provide technical inputs to the development of interagency advocacy strategies and their implementation;
• Oversee the process of identifying and synthesizing best practices and lessons learnt, according to priorities set by the UNCT; and contribute to their dissemination.

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

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:

https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

• Strong knowledge of general gender equality and women’s empowerment issues;
• Strong knowledge of UN system and understanding of inter-agency coordination and UNSDCF processes;
• Ability to advocate and provide policy advice and interact with high level decision makers;
• Ability to envision, conceptualize and communicate strategic vision;
• Strong gender-focused results-based management, programme implementation and monitoring and evaluation skills;
• Excellent analytical and conceptual thinking skills;
• Strong negotiating, cultural sensitivity and diplomatic skills;
• Strong planning, goal-setting and prioritization and organizational skills;
• Familiarity with the region and women’s rights organizations and networks in the rCentral Africa region considered an asset.

Required Skills and Experience