UN Women: Executive Associate

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 Executive Associate reports to the UN Women Deputy/Representative in South Africa for general guidance and direct supervision and maintains close working relationship with the Executive Office in UNW Headquarters.

Duties and Responsibilities

Liaison and high level support to the Executive Office for communications of the Executive Director coming through South Africa and the Region:

• Facilitate the flow of information/communication between the UN Women South Africa and Executive Office of UN Women in New York;
• Review, prioritize and route correspondence to and from and to the office of the Executive Office. Take proactive follow-up action and keep the UN Women Deputy/Representative informed;
• Promptly route all correspondence, directives and requests through the UN Women Deputy/Representative to the Executive Office;
• Review and process all documents for timely action and/or signature; review correspondence for proper internal clearances prior to submission to the UN Women Deputy/Representative's signature;
• Respond and/or direct inquiries to the appropriate section/unit for timely action and/or response;
• Assist in the preparation and finalization of informal translations; may act as interpreter, as required.

Support the preparations and management of Executive Director’s missions/visits to South Africa:

• Liaise with the Executive Office and ensure that itineraries are shared in advance with UNW MCO senior management to facilitate preparations for the missions/visits;
• Support the preparation of briefing notes and itinerary for the Executive Director’s missions/visits;
• Responsible for protocol matters and liaison with the Government on protocol related issues including supporting arrangements for UNW MCO senior management to meet the ED upon arrival to welcome her and brief her as necessary;
• Support UNW MCO senior management in securing appointments for the Executive Director or for the senior management with the Minister and Senior Officials of Department of Women and other Ministries and offices;
• Ensure that briefing materials/speeches/itineraries are printed and shared with the Executive Office and the Executive Director on time;
• In liason with the communications officers and MCO senior management, support arrangements for media interviews with the ED.

Support to external relations activities:

• Facilitate the Executive Director and UN-Women senior managers interaction with various external partners such as government officials, donors, civil society, UN agencies and other partners through effective use of written, verbal and electronic communication;
• Support the MCO representative’s office in liaison with the UN Resident Coordinator’s Offices in the countries covered by the MCO;
• In liaison with the EDO, support the Executive Director’s missions to various countries by arranging appointments with High Commissioners in the South African Embassies;
• Responsible for protocol matters, receive high ranking visitors/officials, coordinate logistical arrangements related to missions;
• Organize official events in the country for the UN Women Executive Director and UN-Women senior managers;
• Support the liaison with Government on South Africa’s preparations for participation at CSW;
• Assist the MCO/UNW with its work on HeForShe and in reaching out to key audiences and partners in the effort to raise the Numbers of people signing up for the HeforShe Campaign;
• Support to Government of South Africa 365 days campaign against GBV;
• Support the MCO outreach, communication and advoacy initiatives including constant Media coverage for the MCO/UNW.

Impact of Results:

The key results have an impact on the efficiency of the UN Women Representative’s office. Accurate analysis and presentation of information strengthens the capacity of the Representative’s office and promotes the image of UN-Women as an effective contributor to the development of the country. Incumbent’s own initiative is decisive in achievement of the desired results.

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: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

• Ability to perform a broad range of specialized activities aimed at effective and efficient functioning of the UN Women Representative's office, including data/schedule management, maintenance of protocol and information flow;
• Ability to perform work of confidential nature and handle a large volume of work;
• Ability to provide input to business process re-engineering, elaboration and implementation of new data management systems;
• Creates, edits and presents information in clear and presentable formats, using appropriate IT functionality;
• Ability to organize and complete multiple tasks by establishing priorities;
• Ability to handle a large volume of work possibly under time constraints;
• Ability to establish, builds and sustains effective relationships with clients, demonstrating understanding of client's perspective; anticipates client needs and addresses them promptly;
• Ability to administer and execute financial processes and transactions. 

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Completion of secondary education required;
• First level university degree an asset.

Experience:

• A minimum of 7 years of administrative experience preferably in a large or international corporation or organization;
• Experience in the use of computers applications and software packages as well as web based management systems.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required;
• Knowledge of the other UN working knowledge 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 http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment 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.