UN Women: Coordination Specialist, Generation Equality Coordination Hub

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.

Generation Equality was initiated to disrupt decades of under-investment and lack of progress on gender equality implementation. The initiative intends to support the achievement of the SDGs and the realization of the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action on women’s rights. With the intersecting challenges to gender inequality of COVID-19, the climate crisis, growing conflicts and intensified economic and political instability, the initiative aims both to stop reversals in women’s and girls’ rights as well as accelerate concrete progress.
Generation Equality was launched in 2021 at events in Mexico and France, and in the presence of Heads of State, VIPs, CEOs and civil society and youth leaders and activists. Initially conceived as a five-year initiative, work will continue through and beyond 2026 to enroll new commitment makers, press for collective action on gender equality and ensure accountability.

A Coordination Hub has been established in the Office of the Executive Director to foster, promote and enable a whole-of-organization approach to UN Women’s role as convenor of Generation Equality in line with the Phase II Project Document. The Hub coordinates the timely and quality delivery of project results through effective and efficient management and oversight of the project: systematic planning; monitoring, reporting and evaluation; resource management; operations support; knowledge management; internal and external coordination, communications and stakeholder engagement; cross Action Coalitions/Compact collaboration; localization; partnerships and resource mobilization. It liaises with UN Women’s leadership, senior management and Regional and Country Offices, and promotes a coordinated approach to political outreach and advocacy opportunities.

Under the direct supervision of the Stakeholder Engagement Specialist and the overall guidance the Director of the Coordination Hub, the Coordination Specialist, Generation Equality Coordination Hub will support the development, implementation and monitoring of internal and external coordination and stakeholder engagement strategies to drive and inform the active participation in and commitment to Generation Equality across a broad range of constituencies, including Member States, civil society, youth and adolescent groups, philanthropy, the private sector, and the UN System.

In accordance with the UN Staff Regulation 4.5 (c) A fixed-term appointment does not carry any expectancy, legal or otherwise, of renewal or conversion, irrespective of the length of service. This fixed-term appointment is budgeted through 31 December 2025.

Duties and Responsibilities

Stakeholder engagement

• Support the development, implementation and monitoring of internal and external coordination and stakeholder engagement strategies in line with the Generation Equality Phase II Project Document and in compliance with UN Women policies and procedures.
• Identify, plan and support the delivery of forward-looking, co-created stakeholder engagement opportunities across Generation Equality. Lead the planning, coordination, co-creation, delivery and assessment of ongoing series of stakeholder dialogues and exchanges on key issues which produce concrete and actionable recommendations for strengthening the different streams of Generation Equality.
• Identify and support the planning of opportunities to feature Generation Equality in global policy-making processes and events.
• Support the planning of the work of the Multi-Stakeholder Leadership Group and the effective preparation and engagement of the Group’s members in their advisory role to UN Women.
• In coordination with relevant teams/units across UN Women, support the planning and implementation of priority engagement and advocacy opportunities for other key stakeholders of Generation Equality.
• Support Regional and Country Offices with their stakeholder engagement efforts as part of the localization of Generation Equality.
• Ensure effective information flow, communication and coordination between the Coordination Hub and other units/teams across the organization with responsibility for delivering stakeholder engagement.
• Lead the drafting of relevant briefing notes, updates, presentations, etc., for UN Women’s leadership to proactively engage with stakeholders on Generation Equality.
• Contribute to timely and quality reporting, including donor reporting.
• Contribute to the planning and delivery of corporate Generation Equality events and milestones in line with the Project Document.

UN System engagement

• Develop and coordinate the implementation of a UN System engagement strategy for Generation Equality.
• Identify and support strategic opportunities to leverage UN Women’s coordination mandate and global and local levels to promote UN collective leadership and action for Generation Equality.
• Identify and support strategic coordination opportunities, including in partnership with the UN Development Cooperation Office (DCO), to include Generation Equality in UN regional and country planning frameworks, including in the Pathfinder Countries.
• Support the promotion and up-take of Generation Equality principles across UN-led multi-stakeholder platforms.

Collaboration across the Action Coalitions and with the Compact WPS-HA

• Identify opportunities for strengthened and systematic collaboration across the thematic Action Coalitions and with the Compact for WPS-HA to break up siloes, advance thematic synergies and foster collective action.
• In close coordination with the Action Coalitions and the Compact teams, and in partnership with Regional and Country Offices, support the planning, implementation and assessment of these opportunities to strengthen existing partnerships, foster new ones, and to deliver on collective commitments.
• Working closely with communications and knowledge management colleagues, identify and support opportunities to share and promote intersectional and collaborative ways of working.

Internal coherence and coordination

• Foster coordination among different parts of UN Women to promote coherence in the implementation of Generation Equality Phase II Project Document.
• Develop strong working relationships with UN Women HQ, Regional and Country Offices, support regular and effective information exchange between these units/offices.
• Support localization of the Project Document and its implementation across UN Women Regional and Country Offices.
• Advise on internal coordination mechanisms and processes to support effective information flows and timely decision-making.
• In coordination with relevant units, support efforts to communicate proactively and regularly to all relevant stakeholders.

Facilitate knowledge building and sharing

• Support the development and dissemination of good practices and lessons learnt and ensure their incorporation in the areas of work and responsibility of the Coordination Specialist.
• Support the development and delivery of capacity development exercises in relation to the areas of work and responsibility of the Coordination Specialist.

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

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:

• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral;
• Strong planning, goal-setting, prioritization and organizational skills;
• Ability to lead formulation of strategies and their implementation;
• Ability to contribute to detailed operational plans, budgets, and to monitor these;
• Demonstrated knowledge of gender equality and women’s empowerment;
• Good knowledge of UN system and understanding of inter-agency coordination processes;
• Ability to demonstrate a sense of humor and collegiality with solid interpersonal skills;
• Defined sense of responsibility, confidentiality and accountability;
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making;
• Excellent analytical skills;
• Good knowledge of UN programme management systems and Results-Based Management;
• Strong networking skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in social sciences, political science, international relations, business administration or management, public administration, or 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 5 years of progressively responsible work experience in coordination and stakeholder engagement is required.
• Experience working on gender equality and women’s empowerment is required.
• Experience working with and building partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders internationally, including governments, donors and civil society organizations is required.
• Experience with UN System coordination is required.
• Experience of working in the United Nations system is desirable.
• Experience of working in the field is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

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:

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.)