Details
Mission and objectives
UNFPA is the lead agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. UNFPA’s new strategic plan (2022-2025), reflects a changing world, and as we accelerate our efforts, transform our pro-grammes, and motivate new partners we will prioritize the needs of people left furthest behind – particularly those living in poverty or with disabilities, LGBTQI+ people and the most vulner-able women, girls and young people. And these results cannot be achieved without an in-creased focus on the rights and inclusive participation of women, adolescents and youth as agents of change. UNFPA remains firmly committed to achieving the three transformative re-sults by 2030 – ending the unmet need for family planning, ending preventable maternal deaths and ending gender-based violence and harmful practices. In order to achieve this bold and ambitious goals, we need to accelerate progress and transform how we do business in light of global changes including megatrends' that have changed the conditions under which we operate.
Context
Globally, one in three women experiences physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime, with rates being particularly high in the Asia-Pacific region. While significant progress has been made in conducting VAW prevalence surveys, gaps remain in data literacy, utilization, and integration across various data sources. Phase III aims to bridge these gaps by fostering a holistic approach to VAW data, ensuring that it is not only collected but also effectively analyzed, interpreted, and used to drive evidence-based decision-making.
To bridge these gaps, UNFPA APRO—in strategic partnership with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)—is launching Phase III (2026–2029) of the kNOwVAWdata initiative. Building upon the strong foundations of ethical data collection established in Phases I and II, Phase III marks a critical pivot towards building comprehensive VAW data ecosystems and driving robust data utilization for tangible policy and programming impact across the region.
The Phase III will have a number of dedicated activities for the Pacific sub-region, based on the long history of engagement with kNOwVAwdata and the past and present work on GBV administrative data, prevalence surveys and qualitative research, sponsored by DFAT and UNFPA. Delivered across four main pillars—Strengthening Capacity and Networks, Building Integrated Data Systems, Advancing Measurement, and Strategic Partnerships—the initiative ensures safe, ethical, and high-quality data informs VAW prevention and response efforts.
In addition, UNFPA Pacific engages in advising and training on related public health, Gender and GBV research areas, including with national and regional university partners and other UN agencies. In this context, the Pacific Gender Research Coordinator will play a vital role within the PSRO Gender and Human Rights section, leading efforts in coordination of VAW data and Gender and GBV research initiatives in the Pacific region, supporting regional knowledge management, donor reporting, inter-agency research coordination and facilitating intersections with other areas of UNFPA PSRO’s research and engagement with academic and public health evidence generation.
To bridge these gaps, UNFPA APRO—in strategic partnership with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)—is launching Phase III (2026–2029) of the kNOwVAWdata initiative. Building upon the strong foundations of ethical data collection established in Phases I and II, Phase III marks a critical pivot towards building comprehensive VAW data ecosystems and driving robust data utilization for tangible policy and programming impact across the region.
The Phase III will have a number of dedicated activities for the Pacific sub-region, based on the long history of engagement with kNOwVAwdata and the past and present work on GBV administrative data, prevalence surveys and qualitative research, sponsored by DFAT and UNFPA. Delivered across four main pillars—Strengthening Capacity and Networks, Building Integrated Data Systems, Advancing Measurement, and Strategic Partnerships—the initiative ensures safe, ethical, and high-quality data informs VAW prevention and response efforts.
In addition, UNFPA Pacific engages in advising and training on related public health, Gender and GBV research areas, including with national and regional university partners and other UN agencies. In this context, the Pacific Gender Research Coordinator will play a vital role within the PSRO Gender and Human Rights section, leading efforts in coordination of VAW data and Gender and GBV research initiatives in the Pacific region, supporting regional knowledge management, donor reporting, inter-agency research coordination and facilitating intersections with other areas of UNFPA PSRO’s research and engagement with academic and public health evidence generation.
Task description
Under the day-to-day programmatic oversight of the PSRO Gender and Human Rights Advisor, the Pacific Gender Research Coordinator will coordinate and support the implementation of UNFPA’s Violence Against Women and Girls and other related Gender research in the Pacific. The Specialist will be responsible for the following key result areas:
• Programmatic Coordination: Provide day to day coordination between UNFPA PSRO offices at regional and sub-national level and the kNOwVAWdata implementation through the UNFPA Asia-Pacific Regional Office to ensure timely and effective programme delivery and support for UNFPA PSRO VAWG research initiatives.
• Operational support: Lead operational and administrative management of research projects on VAWG data.
• Implementing Partner support: Provide technical and programmatic support for UNFPA PSRO strategic and implementing partners for VAWG research across research design, data collection, analysis and use.
• Donor Reporting: Lead the drafting, compilation, and editorial review of high-quality narrative annual and progress reports for DFAT and other steering committees, and ensure full compliance with donor communication guidelines, in collaboration with UNFPA APRO.
• Impact Documentation: In collaboration with APRO kNOwVAWdata team, research, conduct stakeholder interviews, and write compelling impact stories, feature articles, and technical briefs that translate complex VAW prevalence data into human-centered narratives of change.
• Support Knowledge Exchange, Evidence Generation and Dissemination: Create tailored Pacific knowledge exchange opportunities for the 14 PICTs on VAWG data and other gender/GBV related research, in collaboration with the APRO kNOVAWdata team, including documenting and publishing lessons learned from Pacific VAWG research initiatives, implementation of national VAW prevalence surveys (dedicated or modular surveys), administrative data system changes, and qualitative research.
• Identify Talent and Create a Human Resource Plan for Pacific: This role would be actively engaged in compiling rosters of VAW data experts in and from the Pacific region, and supporting the planning, recruitment and onboarding for national staff and actors to lead coordination and support of data and research programmes and coordination in the Pacific.
By strategically managing knowledge networks and amplifying the utilization of evidence, the Pacific Gender Research Coordinator will contribute to a deeper understanding in the Pacific of how data drives change, further strengthening partnerships and mobilizing continued support to:
• Strengthen national capacity for the ethical production, translation, and policy-relevant use of violence against women data;
• Promote comprehensive VAW data ecosystems that break down silos and integrate the use of population surveys with administrative and qualitative data sources;
• Enhance data literacy among regional policymakers, advocates, and practitioners to bridge the gap between data dissemination, uptake and actionable programming;
• Advance innovative and inclusive measurement methodologies to safely capture emerging forms of violence, including technology-facilitated GBV, and address critical data gaps regarding disability inclusion, older women, and the intersection of GBV and climate change; and
• Institutionalize national capacity gains and promote domestic financing to ensure the long-term sustainability of safe and ethical VAW data ecosystems across the Asia-Pacific region.
• Programmatic Coordination: Provide day to day coordination between UNFPA PSRO offices at regional and sub-national level and the kNOwVAWdata implementation through the UNFPA Asia-Pacific Regional Office to ensure timely and effective programme delivery and support for UNFPA PSRO VAWG research initiatives.
• Operational support: Lead operational and administrative management of research projects on VAWG data.
• Implementing Partner support: Provide technical and programmatic support for UNFPA PSRO strategic and implementing partners for VAWG research across research design, data collection, analysis and use.
• Donor Reporting: Lead the drafting, compilation, and editorial review of high-quality narrative annual and progress reports for DFAT and other steering committees, and ensure full compliance with donor communication guidelines, in collaboration with UNFPA APRO.
• Impact Documentation: In collaboration with APRO kNOwVAWdata team, research, conduct stakeholder interviews, and write compelling impact stories, feature articles, and technical briefs that translate complex VAW prevalence data into human-centered narratives of change.
• Support Knowledge Exchange, Evidence Generation and Dissemination: Create tailored Pacific knowledge exchange opportunities for the 14 PICTs on VAWG data and other gender/GBV related research, in collaboration with the APRO kNOVAWdata team, including documenting and publishing lessons learned from Pacific VAWG research initiatives, implementation of national VAW prevalence surveys (dedicated or modular surveys), administrative data system changes, and qualitative research.
• Identify Talent and Create a Human Resource Plan for Pacific: This role would be actively engaged in compiling rosters of VAW data experts in and from the Pacific region, and supporting the planning, recruitment and onboarding for national staff and actors to lead coordination and support of data and research programmes and coordination in the Pacific.
By strategically managing knowledge networks and amplifying the utilization of evidence, the Pacific Gender Research Coordinator will contribute to a deeper understanding in the Pacific of how data drives change, further strengthening partnerships and mobilizing continued support to:
• Strengthen national capacity for the ethical production, translation, and policy-relevant use of violence against women data;
• Promote comprehensive VAW data ecosystems that break down silos and integrate the use of population surveys with administrative and qualitative data sources;
• Enhance data literacy among regional policymakers, advocates, and practitioners to bridge the gap between data dissemination, uptake and actionable programming;
• Advance innovative and inclusive measurement methodologies to safely capture emerging forms of violence, including technology-facilitated GBV, and address critical data gaps regarding disability inclusion, older women, and the intersection of GBV and climate change; and
• Institutionalize national capacity gains and promote domestic financing to ensure the long-term sustainability of safe and ethical VAW data ecosystems across the Asia-Pacific region.
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