Programme Specialist, Migration and Care Economy (Local post for Nationals of Thailand and applicants with a valid work permit)

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.

Asia and the Pacific region has been characterized as the places of origin, destination, and transit for millions of migrants. Gender composition of migration from Asian countries has varied widely. In Southeast Asia, the share of women migrants is close to 50% which is above the global average. While women from South Asian countries are less than 40% of migrant stock (in 2020). In addition to that, climate change has increasingly become a critical threat to development in the region propelling migration and forced displacement. Against this background, UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) have been making efforts in partnership with other UN agencies and regional partners to protect and promote the rights of women ensuring they have access to safe and dignified passages to migrate and able to contribute to development without fear of exploitation or abuse in their journey. Over the past decades the share of women among international migrants has increased significantly. Despite their great contribution to the social and economic development, the profile of most women migrant workers from Asia, however, are in elementary to medium skilled occupations. Domestic work remains the dominant profession that women migrants are employed in followed by the garment industry. In South-East Asia and the Pacific, one in four of domestic workers are migrants and most of them are women (ILO, 2021). However, in many countries domestic work are considered as informal employment, those employed in the sector are not included in labour laws and social protection. To ensure the well-beings and dignity of women migrant workers, especially those with vulnerabilities, there is a great need to address legal and implementation gaps in both countries of origin and countries of destination.

As part of UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2022 -2025 UN Women has developed 10 Gender Equality Accelerators, including  ‘Women and the World of Work (WWW)’ and ‘Transform Care’ which are important for this role.

Under the supervision of the Regional Lead on Women’s Economic Empowerment-Migration, the Programme Specialist –is responsible for ROAP’s further development and implementation of the migration portfolio and intersecting areas such as the ‘Care Economy’ and supporting the implementation of migration elements of the Gender Equality Accelerator WWW.  The Programme Specialist will also enhance UN Women’s support in the implementation, follow-up, and review of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), in which gender responsiveness is one of the key guiding principles, the Programme Specialist is expected to have the technical expertise to provide an overarching framework to practice gender-and women-inclusive approaches and technical support to regional and interregional consultative processes and forums on migration in key areas including promoting gender-responsiveness in migration governance reforms, enhancing the participation of women’s rights organizations in policy dialogues at regional level and also engage to incorporate migration into key evolving areas, such as the Care Economy in Asia and the Pacific.

The person will oversee the monitoring of progress of the portfolio against UN Women Strategic Plan 2022–2025, reviewing and developing partnerships and resource mobilization strategies and will work in close collaboration with the ROAP programme and operations team, UN Women Country Offices and Programme Presences, Government officials, multi and bi-lateral donors, civil society, and the private sector ensuring successful UN Women programme implementation under portfolio.

The programme specialist will also support the resource mobilization process for the portfolio linked to migration, care economy and potential new evolving areas, such as social protection.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Lead the development of ROAP Migration Strategy and Programme

• Develop, implement, and monitor the programme strategy and annual workplan and individual programme workplans, including budget and results framework;
• Develop a strategic approach on the intersection of Care Economy and Migration
• Manage delivery of the day-to-day programme activities to ensure prompt and adequate delivery of results;
• Ensure effective use of resources and compliance with UN Women rules, policies, and procedures as well as donor/fund requirements;
• Prepare for programme audits and implement its recommendations.

2. Lead technical support and capacity development to regional partners

• Build relationships with regional partners to support implementation and expansion of the regional programme; respond to any potential problems;
• Manage capacity building opportunities and initiatives of key institutions and mechanisms;
• Provide timely inputs and suggestions on migration-related areas including but not limited to promoting gender-responsiveness in migration governance reforms, enhancing the participation of women’s rights organizations in policy dialogues at regional level;
• Provide guidance to processes, programmes focusing on the interlinkages between migration and care economy
• Provide partners with technical assistance, training, and capacity development initiatives as needed.

3. Manage monitoring and reporting and financial resources for the Migration unit and contribute to organizational monitoring and reporting

• Manage the monitoring of project implementation and finances using results-based management tools;
• Oversee field missions and review reports on monitoring missions;
• Write quarterly reports and donor reports, focusing on results, output and outcomes;
• Contribute to donor and UN Women reports;
• Manage the unit budget and review financial reports with support from Programme Associate;
• Oversee recruitment and procurement processes, as necessary.

4. Manage inter-agency and regional coordination support for UN Women ROAP

• Represent UN Women ROAP in meetings and policy dialogues on issues related to migration and women’s economic empowerment as necessary;
• Develop and review background documents, briefs and presentations related to the migration and women’s economic empowerment;
• Develop advocacy strategies and oversee their implementation;
• Identify good practices and lessons learned to guide programme improvement and strategy planning;
• Develop knowledge management strategies, products and methodologies on migration and women’s economic empowerment.

5.  Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies

• Lead proposal development for migration and care economy programme proposals at regional and country level
• Provide inputs to the development of partnerships and resource mobilization strategies;
• Provide substantive inputs to UN Women’s advocacy work on advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment agenda in the migration space across levels;
• Prepare relevant documentation such as conference papers, briefing notes, speeches, and donor profiles;
• Participate in donor meetings and public information events, as delegated.

6. Advocate and facilitate knowledge building and management and communication

• Document the programme implementation process and products, lessons learned, good practices, etc.;
• Contribute to the exchange of information related to migration and women’s economic empowerment and provide inputs to the development of knowledge products internally and externally of the programme.

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: 

Functional Competencies

• Strong programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills
• Strong knowledge of Results Based Management
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making
• Strong knowledge of migration and/or women’s economic empowerment/ domestic workers and care economy
• Strong analytical skills
• Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising and develop strategies

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, human rights, gender/women’s studies, international development, or a related field 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.
• A project/programme management certification would be an added advantage.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible work experience at the national or international level in design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects.
• Proven track record in management of projects in a complex context involving multiple stakeholders is required.
• Experience in establishing inter-relationships among international organization and national governments.
• Experience in the in the field of gender and migration of women is a must.
• Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors is required.
• Experience working in the UN System is preferable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Working knowledge of an Asian language is an asset.

Application:

• All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from
• Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Note:

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 Statement:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits employ, 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.)