Gender Specialist

UNDP is the knowledge frontier organization for sustainable development in the UN Development System and serves as the integrator for collective action to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNDP’s policy work carried out at HQ, Regional and Country Office levels, forms a contiguous spectrum of deep local knowledge to cutting-edge global perspectives and advocacy. In this context, UNDP invests in the Global Policy Network (GPN), a network of field-based and global technical expertise across a wide range of knowledge domains and in support of the signature solutions and organizational capabilities envisioned in the Strategic Plan. 

Within the GPN, the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) has the responsibility for developing all relevant policy and guidance to support the results of UNDP’s Strategic Plan. BPPS’s staff provides technical advice to Country Offices, advocates for UNDP corporate messages, represents UNDP at multi-stakeholder fora including public-private dialogues, government and civil society dialogues, and engages in UN inter-agency coordination in specific thematic areas. BPPS works closely with UNDP’s Crisis Bureau (CB) to support emergency and crisis response. BPPS ensures that issues of risk are fully integrated into UNDP’s development programmes.  BPPS assists UNDP and partners to achieve higher quality development results through an integrated approach that links results-based management and performance monitoring with more effective and new ways of working.  BPPS supports UNDP and partners to be more innovative, knowledge and data-driven including in its programme support efforts.

UNDP has achieved significant progress in making gender equality and women’s empowerment integral to its work on human development and the achievement of the SDGs. The new UNDP Gender Equality Strategy 2022-2025 builds on the lessons of the previous strategies and has established as its main goal to help governments to shift systems and power structures that generate gender inequalities and women’s disempowerment. It will work through its six signature solutions on poverty and inequality, governance, resilience, environment, energy and gender equality; and promote integrated approaches in each thematic area, stronger investments in data and analysis, and the implementation of innovative solutions to transform social norms, and stronger partnerships with UN agencies and with civil society.

Within the Regional Bureau for Africa, UNDP is committed to accelerating progress towards closing the gap on gender equality and women’s empowerment, this includes in both crises and development contexts.  UNDP works to place gender equality at the core of political, economic, social and environmental policy dialogues with governments; and to ensure that laws and policies are put in place to eliminate gender discrimination and that more women are proactively participating and making decisions over political, environmental, social and economic aspects of their lives, their communities and societies. UNDP promotes opportunities for gender equality in crisis countries for the restoration of government functions, the rebuilding of social structures, and economic recovery. Addressing gender stereotypes and discriminatory social norms, perceptions, and practices also continues to be an important element of UNDPs work; as well as offering unique data, analytics, and evidence, in partnership with UN Women, other UN agencies, IFIs and other partners. UNDP is also expanding the scope for supporting networks of women activists and local civil society organizations to influence policy processes, constitutional and legislative reforms. Moreover, UNDP is working with relevant regional institutions to improve gender data and statistics and achieve national ownership for policy options to improve gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Position Purpose

The Gender Specialist, under the direct supervision of the Gender Equality Team Leader (Addis), will work in close collaboration with specialists from Country Offices, the Regional Hub and HQ (BPPS, CB and RBA) to reduce gender inequalities in the region, in line with the new Gender Equality Strategy 2022-2025. The incumbent will be responsible for supporting policy development; programme integration and coordination; partnerships and resource mobilization; and knowledge management, learning and innovation.

UNDP adopts a portfolio approach to accommodate changing business needs and leverage linkages across interventions to achieve its strategic goals. Therefore, UNDP personnel are expected to work across units, functions, teams, and projects in multidisciplinary teams to enhance and enable horizontal collaboration.

Duties and Responsibilities

Policy Development:

• Provide advice and technical support for the development of the Regional Gender Equality Strategy 2022-2025 and/or Action Plan and the updating/alignment of COs strategies to the new global and regional frameworks.
• Provide quality assurance to ensure corporate alignment to global gender equality policies, including system-wide frameworks and corporate accountability and reporting mechanisms (GSIC, IWP, ROAR).
• Provide advice and technical support for policy dialogues and to help the Regional Hub and Country Offices to place gender equality at the core of political, economic, and environmental policy dialogues and decisions, including in fragile and crisis settings.
• Provide advice and technical support for the design of global and regional policy initiatives to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment, ensuring perspectives from the different country contexts are represented.
• Identify and support opportunities for cross-regional collaboration, including through the design and resource mobilization for new initiatives/proposals.

Programme Integration and Coordination:

• Provide substantive technical support to ensure the integration of gender equality within each thematic portfolio of the RBA regional hub including the RBA regional programme, and other regional flagship initiatives such as regional reports and/or events.
• Provide substantive technical support for RBA Country Offices to strengthen their programmatic (CCA, UNSDCF, CPD, PRODOC and funding proposals), human, and financial architecture for gender equality, including virtual and in-person support (e.g., technical support missions).
• Contribute to the implementation of corporate standards and flagship programmes such as the Gender Equality Seal, and comprehensive portfolio reviews.
• Contribute to strengthening the capacity of the Regional Hub for the development and update of a regional gender analysis to identify opportunities and anticipate future challenges, including data and analysis on socio-economic structures that generate gender inequalities in the region, and other dimensions such a backlash against women’s rights, and potential allies to counter them.
• Provide advice and technical support to monitor the Regional Hub’s and Country Office’s financial investments – using the gender marker- and to follow up of the corporate targets, promoting accuracy of the tracker and increase of resource allocations for GEWE, especially in crisis contexts.
• Support the development of a network of gender experts, especially feminist economists and experts on gender and nature, climate, and energy, to provide additional on-call support to CO and regional teams.

Partnerships and Resource Mobilization:

• Provide substantive advice and support to strengthen strategic partnerships with UN entities (particularly UN Women but also other specialized UN organizations with complementary skills and capacity), to improve interagency coordination and maximize impact on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• Provide substantive advice and support to strengthen strategic partnerships with governments, civil society (particularly women’s organizations) and businesses, among other key actors, to address gender inequalities in the region.
• Collaborate with the Gender Equality Team Leader in the pursuit of new partnerships to bring innovation, change and influence social norms, behaviors, and power relations, including with partners such as faith-based organizations or networks of young innovators, etc.
• Provide advice and technical support resource for mobilization efforts, to strengthen UNDP’s regional and country office portfolios and results in gender equality, including identifying funding opportunities, supporting the preparation of funding proposals, donor briefings, etc.
• Provide advice and technical support to implement RBA Regional Gender Equality Strategy/Action Plan, including allocation of internal resources and external resource mobilization.

Knowledge Management, Learning and Innovation:

• Engage and proactively participate in the RBA regional network or Gender Community of Practice composed by gender specialists and colleagues leading and implementing GEWE portfolios in country offices; support the identification of priorities and needs, the coordination of periodic meetings and the co-creation and sense of ownership across the network.
• Provide substantive advice and technical support to the development and implementation of a capacity development/ learning plan on gender equality for regional and Country Office levels, including ensuring regional participation in global/regional learning initiatives such as learning labs and/or mentorship programmes.
• Collaborate with Country Offices and Innovation Labs across the region to foster innovation to advance gender equality in UNDP programming.
• Facilitate RBA knowledge management for gender equality aligned to the new global Knowledge Management Strategy and Framework for Action (e.g., CoPs, Knowledge Platforms, high-quality Knowledge Products, evidence-based good practices, among others), including by providing technical guidance and quality assurance to content development.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities:

The Gender Specialist will support the Gender Equality Team Leader, in the coordination and management of the regional gender team.   The Gender Specialist will:

• Support the formulation and follow-up of the Team’s Annual Work Plan.
• Provide effective support to the overall day to day management of the Regional Hub’s gender equality portfolio, including ensuring timely implementation, monitoring and evaluation (e.g., identifying adequate service providers, coordinate mid-term and terminal evaluations, support corporate, etc.), according to UNDP corporate standards and policies.
• Collaborate with the establishment and maintenance of an inclusive, diverse, and harmonious working environment, including by supporting the implementation of corporate policies (e.g., gender parity and zero tolerance regarding sexual harassment and sexual exploitation and abuse), and promoting communication and coordination among staff.

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

Competencies

Core
Achieve Results:

• Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact.

Think Innovatively:         

• Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems.

Learn Continuously:

• Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences.

Adapt with Agility: 

• Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands.

Act with Determination:               

• Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results.

Engage and Partner:

• Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration.

Enable Diversity and Inclusion:

• Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity.

Cross-Functional
2030 Agenda: People-Gender    

• Gender and Institutional Development
• Gender Mainstreaming
• Gender Issues and Analysis

2030 Agenda: Engagement and Effectiveness – Effectiveness       

• RBM standards and practices for programming
• Performance and data analysis and sharing lessons.

Business Management: Portfolio Management 

• Ability to select, prioritise and control the organizations programmes and projects, in line with its strategic objectives and capacity; ability to balance the implementation of change initiatives and the maintenance of business-as-usual, while optimising return on investment

Business Direction and Strategy: System Thinking            

• Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (master’s or equivalent) in Gender Studies or related fields is required. Or
• A first-level university degree in the above-mentioned fields for study with two additional years of relevant experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• Minimum of seven (7) years (with master’s degree) or nine (9) years (with bachelor’s degree) of professional experience in providing advice and programme support in the field of gender equality and women’s empowerment (public or private sector or international organizations) is required.
• At least five (5) years of experience in the Africa region (global, regional, or national levels) is required.
• Proven experience in gender analysis and mainstreaming in the thematic areas of governance, women, peace and security and gender-based violence is highly desirable.
• Proven experience in project management and resource mobilization is highly desirable.
• Proven experience in learning and knowledge management is an asset.
• Excellent communication and writing skills, with public-speaking experience and publications as an asset.
• Experience in the use of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) is required and advanced knowledge of web-based management systems such as ERP is desirable.

Language:

• Fluency in English and French is required.
• Working knowledge of another language spoken in the region is desired