Strategic Planning Specialist – P4  

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.

The Strategy, Planning, Resources and Effectiveness Division (SPRED) is responsible for integrating corporate strategy, resources, and performance management to improve decision-making and ensure that UN Women manages for results in delivering on its Strategic Plan, while increasing transparency and accountability to its governing bodies and stakeholders. The Division monitors and reports on corporate results and budget implementation to ensure coherent achievement of results in line with the UN Women Strategic Plan, ensuring coherent and integrated strategic analysis, planning and budgeting across UN Women.

Following the agreed timeline with the UN Women Executive Board, UN Women has started the preparations for the development of its next Strategic Plan 2026-2029, with the draft to be submitted to the Executive Board by mid-May 2025, and the final version to be submitted for official translation by mid-July 2025 prior to the approval of the Strategic Plan by the Executive Board during the Second Regular Session in September 2025.

Under the direct supervision of the Chief of SPU and under the overall guidance from Director, SPRED, and in close collaboration with HQ Divisions and Regional Offices, the Strategic Planning Specialist will Strategic Plan 20206-2029 by leading the overall coordination of SP development processes with various workstreams. The Specialist will: 1) manage the coordination and preparation for internal and external consultations; 2) analyze key findings from consultations, desk reviews and other analytical work to feed into the preparation of the SP narrative; 3) support drafting, revision and finalization of SP narrative; 4) support the preparation of informal and formal sessions with the Executive Board; and 5) oversee -2029.

This is a temporary position for a duration of 364 days. Whereas an external candidate will be offered a temporary appointment, subject to release agreements, staff members in UN Women may be administered as a temporary assignment and staff members in the UN Common system may be administered under a loan arrangement.

Key Functions and Accountabilities

Lead the overall coordination of SP development processes with various workstreams and manage the coordination and preparation for internal and external consultations 

• Lead the preparation and implementation of consultation processes with internal and external stakeholders, including preparation of agenda, presentations, and taking notes from meetings and workshops. 
• Contribute to the preparation and roll-out of a global survey
• Keep UN Women’s leadership informed of new developments regarding strategic planning practices and approaches within the UN System and beyond to inform effective and efficient preparation of UN Women’s new Strategic Plan
• Support UN Women’s leadership and technical personnel in engaging in strategic reflections around challenges and innovative solutions for UN Women in the evolving operating development context
• Contribute to the preparations of the SP design process by reflecting on lessons learned and preparing relevant materials
• Support the preparation of meetings and communication with senior management of UN Women on the new SP  
• Contribute to the development of new Strategic Notes of HQ Divisions and Regional Offices, ensuring alignment of those Strategic Notes with the new Strategic Plan 

Analyze key findings from consultations, strategic foresight exercises, survey, desk reviews and other analytical work to feed into the preparation of the SP narrative

• In close collaboration with PPID, contribute to and support analytical work for the preparation of the Strategic Plan, including strategic foresight exercises
• Analyze and summarize key findings and recommendations from the consultation processes, strategic foresight exercises, and other workstreams to feed into the drafting of the Strategic Plan narrative 
• Prepare analytical summary documents to support strategic discussions, targeted consultations and drafting of next SP

Support drafting, revision and finalization of SP narrative

• Provide overall support to the Director, SPRED, for drafting, revision and finalization of the SP narrative by ensuring overall quality and meeting corporate deadlines and requirements with the Executive Board 
• Draft and revise targeted content for the SP narrative based on inputs from various workstreams 
• Coordinate with various workstreams, HQ Divisions, Regional Offices and Senior management to receive inputs and comments on the draft SP narrative across the organization and address those comments in a systematic manner 
• Manage the revision and finalization processes of the SP narrative by systematically tracking and addressing comments and inputs from external stakeholders, including those from the Executive Board 
• Work with the editor consultant throughout the drafting and finalization processes 
• Coordinate with the Executive Board Secretariat of UN Women to ensure compliance with UN standards and requirements as an UN official document
• Coordinate with the workstreamleading the development of new Integrated Results and Resources Framework (IRRF) to ensure consistency of content and language between the SP narrative and the IRRF document 

Support the preparation of informal and formal sessions with the Executive Board of UN Women 

• In close collaboration with the Executive Board Secretariat, SPRED and PPID, prepare and coordinate the preparation of materials ahead of formal and informal sessions with the Executive Board, including agenda, presentations, talking points, and relevant background documents.
• Document, analyze and summarize feedback provided and main takeaways from sessions with the Executive Board 
• Support senior management to communicate with member states and major funding partners on the next Strategic Plan (preparation of talking points, presentations, background notes, etc.)

Oversee the internal and external communication around UN Women’s new Strategic Plan 2026-2029

• In close collaboration with the communication team from the Strategic Partnerships Division (SPD) and SPU team members, develop and implement an internal and external communication strategy, including: creation of a detailed communication plan outlining key messages, channels, and timelines; design of templates and guidelines for internal and external communications; identification of key stakeholders and development of tailored communications to meet their needs.
• Collaborate with the Communication team from SPD to develop key products on the new SP for external communication  (e.g. SP page in UN Women external website, brochure, etc.)
• Create and distribute tailored content to ensure that UN Women personnel is kept abreast of the SP development process, including: drafting and distribution of emails, newsletters, and intranet posts about the new Strategic Plan; development of and update to FAQs and informational materials; and the creation of presentations and reports for internal briefings and meetings.
• Put in a place a knowledge management system, including the creation of a SharePoint page dedicated to the development of the next Strategic Plan; organization and categorization of Strategic Plan-related documents for easy access; and the development of a repository for lessons learned, best practices, and key insights.

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 Strategic Planning Specialist will manage an editor (SSA consultant) for the development of the SP narrative.

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:

• Excellent knowledge of strategic planning 
• Ability to conceptualize and convey strategic vision 
• Excellent writing skills 
• Excellent analytical skills 
• Ability to coordinate, collaborate and communicate with various stakeholders
• Ability to plan ahead and execute those plans in a very organized manner 

Recruitment Qualifications:

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in development-related disciplines, Social Sciences, Political Science, Development Studies, Public Administration, Gender, 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.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible development experience that combines strategic and managerial leadership in development cooperation, international relations, public administration or a related field is required. 
• At least 3 years of experience in working in the area of gender equality and women’s empowerment at country, regional and/or global level is required.
• At least 2 years of experience in strategic planning, including managing and coordinating the development of strategy, multi-year planning documents, and/or programme documents at the country, regional and/or international levels is required. 
• At least 2 years of experience in coordinating and managing major corporate consultation processes at country, regional and/or global level is required.
• At least 2 years of experience working in the UN System is required. 
• Experience in engaging with the Executive Board and/or governing bodies of the UN system or other organizations/institutions is desirable.
• Experience in the use of computers, office software packages (MS Word, Excel, Power Point, etc.) is required.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (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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