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, 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.

To support member states in implementing the 2030 Agenda, the UN Women’s Global Flagship Programme Initiative (FPI) “Making Every Woman and Girl Count” (Women Count) aims to effect a radical shift in the availability, accessibility, and use of data and statistics on key aspects of gender equality and women’s empowerment. The FPI envisions a multi-year and multi-country programme of work, complemented by global and regional strategies linking normative and technical work on gender statistics at the global level to the regional and national levels through three interlinked areas of work:

  • Building a supportive policy and institutional environment for the localization and effective monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs);
  • Increasing the quality, comparability, and regularity of gender statistics to address national data gaps and meet reporting commitments under the SDGs; and
  • Ensuring that gender statistics are accessible to users in governments, civil society, academia, and the private sector, to strengthen adequate demand for their production.

In line with this global FPI developed by UN Women HQ, UN Women Arab States Regional Office developed a regional project that is specific to the context of the Arab States region and responds to the Regional Strategic Note 2026-29  in order to:

  1. Advance the production and use  of gender statistics across the region and strengthen national-level SDGs monitoring and reporting through building holistic systems at national and regional level to measure SDG 5 and other key SDG indicators that require sex-disaggregation; and 
  2. Collaborate with regional bodies/partners in the Arab States to produce comprehensive and comparative gender statistics, analysis and advance accessibility and knowledge sharing.

Under the direct supervision of the Deputy Regional Director of UN Women ROAS and matrix supervision of the Chief of the Research and Data Section of UN Women HQ, the Regional Specialist on Gender Statistics and SDG Monitoring will oversee the regional implementation of Women Count; provide technical leadership, knowledge and capacity development services to regional and national partners, UN Women offices and project/programme teams to advance capacities, knowledge sharing and data availability in the area of gender statistics and SDGs monitoring; advise and support the regions senior leadership team on UN Women’s strategic engagement at the regional and country level, including by building partnerships and advocating for better gender data;  and leading knowledge generation in the area of gender statistics and SDGs monitoring and implementation. 

Key Functions and Accountabilities:

Manage and oversee the implementation of Making Every Woman and Girl Count (Women Count) at the regional level

  • Lead the planning of the regional project and activities to ensure timely and comprehensive implementation of Women Count and ensure that the implementation of Women Count follows strict quality standards, as established under the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics and the Principles Governing International Statistical Activities;
  • Lead the alignment of the regional project to the Regional Strategic Note (2026-29) and ensure alignment with national priorities as defined in the UNSDCFs and UN Women Country level Strategic Notes;
  • Working with the HQ Programme Management Specialist, manage and oversee programmatic and administrative management necessary for the implementation of Women Count in the Arab States, including budget planning, budget/programme performance oversight, and inputs to results-based budgeting;
  • Oversee regional project monitoring reports on Strategic Note and Strategic Plan indicators as related to the Women Count project;
  • Coordinate with the team at Headquarters to report on activities, contribute to the regional perspective and ensure that the implementation of regional activities is in line with the overall objectives of Women Count;
  • Ensure that the organization’s resources are being spent efficiently, in accordance with its objectives;
  • Working with the team at HQ,  provide substantive technical inputs to the production of quality monitoring and evaluation plans that are in line with and consistent with the overall objectives of the project and UN Women’s regional strategic note;
  • Oversee the collection, analysis, and reporting of programme data and results in coordination with the HQ Programme Management Specialist and the Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation (MLE) Specialist;
  • Effectively manage the targets established and oversee the monitoring of results, including ensuring adequate inputs and performance indicators are incorporated to allow for effective progress monitoring and successful achievement of Women Count;
  • Contribute to all activities related to the learning, monitoring, and evaluation of Women Count and support regional monitoring related to the UN Women Strategic Plan 2026-2029, particularly Outcome 2, and the Regional Strategic Note.

Establish and provide targeted strategic knowledge and capacity development services to UN Women offices and project/programme teams in alignment with regional and national level Strategic Notes, and build capacity to strengthen policy and institutional capacities, quality data production and use 

  • Lead the establishment of UN Women’s statistical strategy and its implementation in the region, including focused strategic direction and positioning of UN Women’s work on gender and statistics at the regional and country levels in the period of the regional Strategic note (2026-29);
  • Provide direct technical and advisory support  to UN Women’s MEWGC pathfinder and non-pathfinder countries in the region;
  • Produce and disseminate templates, guidance notes, and methodologies, including for conducting country-level assessments, and national and sectoral plans to monitor the gender-related commitments in the SDGs and data use plans;
  • Provide adequate technical and policy leadership to UN Women offices and ROAS Member States on demand, including providing direct technical support to countries on all matters related to gender statistics and SDGs monitoring;
  • Provide referral services to countries, including as necessary, through the establishment of a roster of thematic consultants and experts on gender statistics;
  • Produce and disseminate technical notes and methodologies for Tier I and Tier II SDG indicators, based on needs, capacities, and expertise;
  • Lead and oversee regional capacity building initiatives for UN Women country and programme offices in order to progressively strengthen their capacity in the area of gender statistics;
  • Establish and actively lead a regional community of practice to facilitate knowledge sharing, improve coordination, and support knowledge sharing on gender statistics.
  • Codify best practices and lessons learned, and knowledge-sharing, covering all aspects of the regional programme;

Lead and manage  UN Women’s strategic engagement at the regional level, including building partnerships, providing technical support and advancing gender data

  • Develop and manage the partnerships needed to implement regional FPI, including with governments, donors, international agencies, civil society and philanthropic organizations, and the private sector;
  • Strengthen UN Women’s relationship with key regional players such as ESCWA Division of Statistics, League of Arab States (LAS) statistics unit, Arab Institute for Training and Research in Statistics (AITRS), OIC statistical economic and social research and training center for Islamic countries, UNECA, and other international agencies, academic research institutes, and civil society organizations, particularly to strengthen gender data use in the region;
  • Facilitate South-South and triangular cooperation to support sub-regional and national processes on gender statistics;
  • Advance discussions around the regional adaptation of SDGs indicators, including by promoting a strong link between globally agreed indicators and their regional adaptations and ensuring that these are fed into national plans to localize SDGs;
  • Identify and implement opportunities to deepen the work on gender statistics with the UN’s Regional Collaboration Platforms Issue-Based Coalition (IBC), particularly the IBC on Gender;
  • Lead and quality assure UN-Women regional technical contributions  to global/ regional/sub-regional/national workshops, seminars, colloquia, and other training events related to statistics and SDGs monitoring and implementation, including proposals concerning agenda topics, possible participants, preparation of documents and presentations, etc.;
  • Promote and publicize the work of UN Women on gender statistics;
  • Lead resource mobilization by advising senior leadership in the region and HQ women count team, working with regional strategic partnership specialist,      developing concept notes and prodocs and engaging with partners and potential donors to raise additional funding for the MEWGC project;
  • Lead capacity development initiatives, including the delivery of specialized technical training to support the implementation of the regional strategic note;
  • Advance inter-regional knowledge on best practices in data collection, particularly with respect to the production of gender statistics;
  • Lead the monitoring and collection of use cases of gender statistics at the regional level;
  • Produce regional guidance notes on best practices and lessons learned in gender statistics;
  • Advance normative frameworks to create and enabling environment for the collection and use of gender statistics.

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 incumbent leads a team of 6, which includes 2 direct reports (NOB & GS ) including matrix manager for 4 country office staff (NOC & GS l) and affiliate personnel (consultants).

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 related to current policies and practices in the area of gender statistics;
  • Strong knowledge of modalities of UN technical support at global, regional, and country levels, with a focus on gender statistics;
  • Strong leadership skills and ability to lead by example and motivate a diverse team to achieve results in a timely manner;
  • Strong knowledge of UN intergovernmental processes, including the monitoring framework established for SDGs;
  • Strong communications skills, with proven expertise in writing cogent and convincing policy and programme documents for development practitioners;
  • Proven analytical and problem-solving skills;
  • Ability to leverage information technology, information systems, management techniques, and tools for optimal office performance;
  • Strong planning, goal-setting, and prioritization skills;
  • Ability to establish and foster good relations with government counterparts, UN agencies, donors, and NGO partners;
  • Proven ability to promote individual and organizational learning and knowledge sharing using formal and informal methodologies;
  • Proven ability to organize and manage knowledge management processes and tools;
  • Excellent presentational and public speaking skills.

Required Qualifications:

Education and Certification:

  • Master’s degree or equivalent in statistics, demography, economics, 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 work experience in gender statistics is required;
  • Experience in gender equality and women's empowerment programming is required;
  • Experience working in the UN system is desirable;
  • Experience in leading and managing personnel in international settings is required;
  • Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages; experience in handling web-based management systems is required;
  • Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, AI, is desirable;
  • Experience working in the Arab States region is desirable.

Languages:

  • Fluency in English is required;
  • Knowledge of another official UN language (French, Arabic) is desirable.

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.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.

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