UN Women: Programme Specialist, Gender-Responsive Climate Action

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.

UN Women has recently signed a Strategic Partnership Framework (SPF) with the Government of the UAE that supports the acceleration of the sustainable development agenda through gender-responsive climate action. Building on recent intergovernmental outcomes including UNFCCC COP 28 and CSW66, UN Women in partnership with the UAE will galvanize gender-responsive climate action, build climate resilience and support just transitions to green/blue economies, including by setting up, operationalizing and capitalizing a flexible and rapid funding mechanism through a Women’s Climate Fund to support: (i) women’s civil society, grassroots and feminist organizations to build their capacities, resources, and resilience, as well as links to national and international policy and financing institutions, and (ii) national gender equality mechanisms/ministries/machineries to more effectively influence climate resilience and just transition polices, processes and investments, giving priority to at least five and up to ten least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS) and (iii) National and regional partners to implement the outcomes of COP 28.

The Women’s Climate Fund is intended to address the critical gaps in financing for women’s climate action and climate resilience and the need to ensure that women equally participate and benefit. The Fund is aligned with the UN Women’s and Gender Equality Accelerator on Gender-Responsive Climate Action and Green/Blue Economies. The expected outcome of the SPF component islimate action and climate resilience building initiatives are gender responsive.

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the Policy Advisor, Sustainable Development, the Programme Specialist, Gender-Responsive Climate Action is responsible for managing the component of the UAE SPF and will work closely with the Policy Specialist, Sustainable Development and colleagues across UN Women as well as external partners working in the gender and climate nexus.

Duties and Responsibilities

1.    Support UAE SPF component on Promoting Gender-Responsive Climate Action

• Manage the day-to-day technical implementation of the component
• Provide technical advice and ensure synergies with other relevant teams in the Economic Empowerment section and across UN Women
• Prepare the annual workplan and budget and manage their implementation
• Coordinate and oversee the team and provide guidance to UN Women staff and external partners
• Recruit and manage consultants as necessary
• Contribute to overall monitoring and evaluation and donor reporting of the SPF

2.     Provide policy guidance, technical assistance and capacity development

• Reinforce UN Women’s technical capacity to support gender-responsive climate action and climate resilience
• Provide policy and technical support to countries, especially LDCs and SIDS, to close gender gaps in climate change strategies, policies and plans, including preparation and implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), working with UN Women’s country and regional teams
• Build capacities of national gender and climate change focal points (NGCCFPs), national gender equality mechanisms and women’s organizations to lead, advocate, and participate in climate action, resilience building and decent work in green/blue economies, working with UN Women’s country and regional teams
• Support the global Community of Practice on climate and environment

3.     Support establishment, operationalization and capitalization of Women’s Climate Fund

• Research and identify the most efficient and cost-effective modalities to set up and run the Women’s Climate Fund, based on UN Women’s experience, modalities, rules and procedures
• Support resource mobilization efforts and build relationships with partners and donors
• Facilitate climate action by national gender equality mechanisms and women’s organizations, giving priority to LDCs and SIDS
• Provide financial and technical support for women’s organizations to design and implement initiatives that build women’s resilience to climate change though climate-resilient and sustainable energy time- and effort-reducing technologies and practices and adaptive social protection and those that address the climate/care nexus.

4.    Provide support for advocacy and stakeholder and partner engagement with climate action, including in intergovernmental processes

• Develop advocacy strategies and implement them in close collaboration with country, regional and global teams and collaborating with NGCCFPs, national gender equality mechanisms and women’s organizations, giving priority to LDCs and SIDS
• Build and strengthen partnerships with stakeholders, partners and donors to raise awareness about gender-responsive climate action
• Convene national, regional and global policy discussions and strategy sessions to propose and implement actions that will strengthen the gender focus on climate change and contribute to global processes and fora for gender-responsive climate action and climate resilience
• Support national and regional partners to implement the gender outcomes from COP28, while building on the lessons learnt to inform the UNFCCC Gender Action Plan and COP29 and COP30 outcomes

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:

• Demonstrated achievement in the field of gender equality and sustainable development
• Excellent knowledge of gender-responsive climate action
• Ability to interact effectively with partners, stakeholders, donors and UN system
• Excellent analytical and drafting skills
• Ability to identify trends and opportunities relevant to programmatic area
• Excellent knowledge of programme development, implementation and reporting
• Strong knowledge of UN systems and procedures
• Capable and motivated team player

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in economics, international development, environmental studies, gender studies 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 5 years progressively responsible experience in gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.
• Experience in gender-responsive climate action is required.
• Experience in intergovernmental processes related to climate and environment is required.
• Experience in managing programmes and capacity development in the gender and climate nexus is required.
• Experience in coordinating teams is required.
• Experience in working in the UN system 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.