Policy Specialist, National and Global Implementation of Women, Peace and Security

Location :	New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Application Deadline :	21-Jul-20 (Midnight New York, USA)
Time left :
Type of Contract :	FTA International
Post Level :	P-4
Languages Required :	English
Duration of Initial Contract :	1 year

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 Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division (PPID) develops and implements the UN Women program of work on analysis, research and knowledge management that provides the evidence base for the advice and guidance UN Women provides to the intergovernmental process, the UN system, and to UN Women staff working at country and regional level on issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment. The Peace, Security and Humanitarian Section of PPID supports UN Women to fulfill its coordination mandate in the area of peace and security, UN system efforts to promote improved implementation, and monitoring and reporting of global commitments on women and peace and security, including as set out in the Beijing Platform for Action and in Security Council resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009), 1960 (2010), 2122 (2013), 2242 (2015), 2467 (2019) and 2493 (2019), relevant Statements by the President of the Security Council, as well as related accountability frameworks established by the UN system. In the area of national implementation, the Peace, Security and Humanitarian Section assists Member States with the implementation of their women, peace and security commitments. UN Women Peace, Security and Humanitarian Section serves as Secretariat to the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Focal Points Network. The Network aims to assist Member States with improving and strengthening the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda, by exchanging best practices in areas such as drafting and implementation of WPS National Action Plans, post-conflict recovery, women´s leadership and participation, as well as by improving coordination of funding and assistance programs. To mark the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, UN Women has launched an inter-generational campaign and will convene a civil society–centred, multi-stakeholder Generation Equality Forum to accelerate gender equality actions. The Peace, Security and Humanitarian Section provides policy and programmatic support to the Generation Equality Forum to define and advance implementation on women, peace, security priorities. Under the supervision of the Chief of the Peace, Security and Humanitarian Section of UN Women, the Policy Specialist will reinforce the development of work within the area of support to global, national and regional implementation and monitoring of women, peace and security commitments, including policy development and coordination, in particular the coordination of the Women, Peace and Security Focal Points Network, as well as learning and knowledge production and management. She /He will act as an important channel between the Women, Peace and Security Focal Points Network, Member States, and UN and civil society partners. The Policy Specialist will also contribute to the broader work of the Peace, Security and Humanitarian Section in the area of WPS National Action Plans and will be a focal point on women, peace and security for the Generation Equality Forum. Duties and Responsibilities Manage policy development around the national implementation of the women, peace and security agenda:

Manage the global-level coordination, monitoring, and catalytic programming efforts to advance the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda with Member States and regional organizations commitments and initiatives;
Lead technical support to the development and monitoring of the implementation of National Action Plans on women, peace and security, including through technical support to the development of action plans and strategies;
Coordinate the production of studies, reports, background papers on national and regional implementation and monitoring of women, peace and security commitments, in accordance with mandates provided by relevant intergovernmental bodies, highlighting progress and challenges in critical areas and emerging issues as well as preparing options and recommendations for action;
Provide inputs to intergovernmental processes and other international fora to help shape the development of global and regional policies, norms and standards, and strategies to enhance planning, implementation and monitoring of the women, peace and security agenda;
Conceptualize and execute action-oriented policy research on national planning and implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1325 and subsequent WPS resolutions;
Assess implementation bottlenecks and gaps in advancing the women, peace and security agenda and take appropriate responses whether in terms of policy development and negotiation with relevant stakeholders, or pilot programming interventions;
Represent the Peace, Security and Humanitarian Section at internal and external meetings.

Serve as head of the Secretariat of the WPS Focal Points Network:

Maintain a database of director level and support level members of the network; Coordinate a listserv for the network;
Provide technical and logistical support to the chair in organizing bi-annual meetings of the network; ensure follow up to meetings and decisions of the Women, Peace and Security Focal Points Network;
Facilitate communication, organize expert meetings, panels and other interactive events between the Women, Peace and Security Focal Points Network, UN Women HQ and Country and Regional Offices, and civil society partners, on lessons learned, promising approaches, and good practices in the implementation of the WPS agenda;
Identify and promote opportunities for predictable and sustained funding for WPS efforts;
Facilitate partnerships and linkages between Women, Peace and Security Focal Points and the UN for greater capacity support as well as with key stakeholders, including governments, academic institutions, and civil society organizations;
Identify and disseminate opportunities for building and strengthening the capacity of actors working on women, peace and security.

Coordinate Women, Peace and Security engagement in the Generation Equality Forum and follow up mechanisms:

Facilitate broad multi-stakeholder engagement at global, national and local levels on women, peace and security priorities for the Generation Equality Forum;
Support the design and operationalization of accountability and monitoring modalities for women, peace and security in the Generation Equality Forum;
Strengthen partnerships with Member States, UN entities, regional bodies and civil society actors to highlight and reinforce the implementation of global policy commitments on women, peace and security; and subsequent WPS resolutions;
Contribute to mandated reports, publications and donor reporting;=
Represent the Peace, Security and Humanitarian Section at internal and external meetings.

Key Performance Indicators:

Quality support to the development and implementation of national and regional action plans and strategies;
Quality support to the Focal Points Network which leads to the constant flow and exchange of information;
Strong partnerships which ensure the Focal Points Network is a vibrant community;
Quality support to the Generation Equality Forum to promote meaningful WPS integration;
Knowledge-generating initiatives , which lead to improved implementation of the WPS agenda.

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: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Functional Competencies:

Strong knowledge of Women, Peace and Security;
Strong planning, goal-setting and prioritization skills;
Strong communication skills, both written and oral;
Strong public speaking skills;
Excellent analytical skills;
Strong strategic planning and problem solving skills;
Strong inter-personal skills, communicate effectively with staff at all level of the organization;
Demonstrate sensitivity, tact and diplomacy, comfortable with handling external relationships at all levels;
Ability to work in a highly pressured environment;
Strong sense of responsibility, confidentiality and accountability.

Required Skills and Experience Education: Master’s degree (or equivalent) in development related disciplines, gender issues, economics, public policy, law or other social science fields; A first degree with extensive experience in gender and women issues may also be considered; Education in Peace and Security is an advantage. Experience: A minimum of 7 years of experience in policy analysis and advocacy on women, peace and security, including in planning and coordination; Specific experience promoting national and regional implementation of women, peace and security is highly desired; Work experience from international organizations and the United Nations system is an asset; Field experience in peace and security contexts is an asset. Languages: Fluency in English is required; Knowledge of the other UN official working 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 https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-p11-personal-history-form.doc?la=en&vs=558. 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. APPLY HERE

Tags: UN Women