Urban Specialist/Gender Focal Point

Background information – Cities Alliance

The Cities Alliance is a global partnership promoting the role of cities in poverty reduction and sustainable development. Hosted by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and managed by a Secretariat based in Brussels, the Cities Alliance is a unique partnership with a diverse membership, which is committed to strengthen both developmental impacts through improved coherence in urban development. Cities Alliance is a global leader with a strong track record in grant making, that supports strategic city planning, slum upgrading strategies and national policies designed to make cities more inclusive and sustainable. Through UNOPS, the Cities Alliance operates a Multi-Donor Fund supported by an efficient, and flexible grant-making mechanism with a global reach.

Cities Alliance activities are guided by its 2018-2021 Strategic Plan, with a recalibrated business model combining a Global window for normative work and a Country/City window for operations across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the MENA region. Through the Strategic Plan, Cities Alliance members have made clear commitments to ensuring that the Cities Alliance is a global leader in promoting gender policies that are institutionalized, and which improve the daily lives of ordinary citizens.

Background information – job specific

Cities Alliance is seeking a highly motivated and dynamic Urban Specialist as the partnership’s Gender Focal Point. S/he will have responsibility for keeping the Cities Alliance at the forefront of international best practice, influence both members and partners, and act as an advocate for Cities Alliance policies.

Under the guidance and supervision of the Head of Global Programmes, the incumbent will perform a broad range of analytical and operational functions to continually increase the gender mainstreaming capacity of the Cities Alliance in general, and particularly through its operational windows and at corporate level. This will require the continued revision and updating of the Gender Mainstreaming Strategy and its Action plan for the Secretariat, ensuring that grant procedures are gender-responsive. S/he will oversee the application of tools such as the Gender Marker System, the development of a Gender portfolio for both normative and operational activities, and provide cross-support to projects as needed to inform gender-responsive programming and monitoring. S/he will be required to represent the Cities Alliance internationally, contribute to effective and efficient team work, delivering results on time, within budget and to the highest quality standards.

• Develop, maintain and disseminate a comprehensive knowledge base on the gender perspectives in cities to promote the professional development of staff in this area and provide information as required for different purposes;
• Provide cross-support to business development for global and country programmes while providing specialised expertise on gender mainstreaming opportunities in cities, and in urban development generally;
• Engage with Cities Alliance Members and Partners to share experiences and approaches to gender mainstreaming in urban policies;
• Update the overall Gender Mainstreaming Strategy and action plan, identifying concrete actions to be taken by the secretariat on a biennial basis, to be included in the programme budget;
• Develop and disseminate a collection of good practice examples of gender mainstreaming in cities and urban development as in the work programme of the Cities Alliance;
• Ensure the application of the Gender Marker System within Cities Alliance grant making procedures;
• Development of necessary methods and tools, such as overall guidelines and guidelines for specific processes and the work of different parts of Cities Alliance’s work programme;
• Represent the secretariat at select workshops and events where information on gender mainstreaming in cities is requested;
• Develop indicators for assessing progress with gender mainstreaming, adapted to the various types of work in different parts of the Cities Alliance Work Programme;
• Collaborate, as relevant, within UNOPS and other inter inter-institutional working groups as the Cities Alliance Gender Focal Point.

• At least five years of work experience in the international development sector on urbanization issues is required. Out of the five years, at least two years of work experience on Gender Mainstreaming Issues is required.
• Previous experience in developing countries and/or prior work experience with UNOPS or UN Agencies would be an asset.
• Previous experience in Monitoring & Evaluation activities would be an asset.

• Fluency in English is required.
• Intermediate level of French is required;
• Working knowledge of Spanish and/or Arabic would be considered an asset.

• Excellent analytical and drafting skills.
• Demonstrated project management skills.
• Capacity to plan and deliver a high volume of work with accuracy and according to strict service delivery standards for quality and timeliness.
• Excellent communication skills with ability to express ideas clearly, concisely and effectively.
• Strong organisational skills and ability to work in a fast-paced environment balancing multiple tasks and working for one more Task Managers.
• Self-motivated, ability to take initiative and to work autonomously or part of a team.
• Proficiency in using MS Office Suite.
• Ability to work and contribute to multi-cultural and multi-disciplinary environments.

• Please note that the closing date is midnight Copenhagen time
• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
• Only those candidates that are short-listed for interviews will be notified.
• Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Work life harmonization - UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands. We have a progressive policy on work-life harmonization and offer several flexible working options. This policy applies to UNOPS personnel on all contract types
• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post
• The incumbent is responsible to abide by security policies, administrative instructions, plans and procedures of the UN Security Management System and that of UNOPS.  

It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential recruits/interns. Recruitment/internship in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

APPLICANTS MUST SUBMIT A COVER LETTER.

UNOPS is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world. Our mission is to help people build better lives and countries achieve sustainable development.

UNOPS areas of expertise cover infrastructure, procurement, project management, financial management and human resources.

Working with us

UNOPS offers short- and long-term work opportunities in diverse and challenging environments across the globe. We are looking for creative, results-focused professionals with skills in a range of disciplines.

Diversity

With over 4,000 UNOPS personnel and approximately 7,000 personnel recruited on behalf of UNOPS partners spread across 80 countries, our workforce represents a wide range of nationalities and cultures. We promote a balanced, diverse workforce — a strength that helps us better understand and address our partners’ needs, and continually strive to improve our gender balance through initiatives and policies that encourage recruitment of qualified female candidates.

Work life harmonization

UNOPS values its people and recognizes the importance of balancing professional and personal demands.