Gender Specialist and Gender Seal in Crisis Contexts coordinator (BPPS/Gender Team New York)

Background

Instructions to Applicants: Click on the "Apply now" button. Input your information in the appropriate Sections: personal information, language proficiency, education, resume and motivation. Upon completion of the first page, please hit "submit application" tab at the end of the page. Please ensure that CV or P11 and the Cover letter are combined in one file.

Personal CV or P11, indicating all past positions held and their main underlying functions, their durations (month/year), the qualifications, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate, and the contact details for three (3) most recent professional references this may include  previous supervisors and peers.

A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) indicating why the candidate considers him-/herself to be suitable for the position.

Travel:  

UNDP will cover the cost of travel of the individual to the duty station, as well as their return to their home uponmcompletion of their services. Travel costs are covered only in the event that the function will be undertaken physically in the duty station and excludes working from home arrangements.

Due to the COVID19 context no official travel is expected. If the context changes, the position may require to travel to provide support to country offices within the gender seal framework.

Office/Unit/Project Description

As the world confronts an unprecedented public health crisis, the sense of urgency for the women, peace and security agenda has only intensified. As stated in the Secretary General’s 2020 Report on Women, Peace and Security, the pandemic will have profound implications  for  international  peace  and  security,  including  through  the further marginalization of women in political decision-making, increase of gender inequalities in access to livelihoods, social and health services, and  increase of gender based violence in crisis settings. 

Addressing gender equality and women’s empowerment is a key aspect of UNDP’s approach to achieving its core vision. Gender equality and women’s empowerment are seen as goals in their own right and are also central to the achievement of UNDPs development mandate. UNDP is guided in its work by its Gender Equality Strategy 2018-2021 which details how UNDP works towards gender equality in each of the goals and key results.

The Gender Team of the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) is the institutional anchor of UNDP’s work on gender equality and women’s empowerment. The Gender Team provides policy advice and technical support to all of UNDP’s Bureaus and leadership on how to mainstream gender across all areas of their work. 

The Gender Equality Seal is a corporate certification process that recognizes good performance of UNDP Country Offices and Regional Hubs in meeting global standards and delivering transformational gender equality results. The Seal generates incentives for solid work on gender equality and empowers managers and Country Office team to enhance our work to support countries’ gender equality goals. The Seal is envisaged as a learning platform that helps country offices/units to establish a baseline, fine-tune strategies, identify and address gaps and challenges, document innovation and showcase the results and impacts of interventions for gender equality. 

Evalutions of UNDP’s Gender Work in crisis settings pointed out the need for more articulated support to offices working in crisis contexts. For this, the UNDP Gender Equality Seal will launch a special track for crisis countries, in collaboration with the UNDP Crisis Bureau and the GPN Gender and Crisis Engagement Facility. The services provided will support the Gender Seal initiative to:

• Ensure coordinated implementation of the Gender Equality Seal in crisis countries including certification and attainment of corporate Gender Equality Seal standards. 

• Liaise on a regular basis with Gender Seal offices in crisis contexts:  coordination of assessments, improvement period and communication of Gender Equality Seal results.

• Provide tailored technical support to selected countries on how to improve office performance on advancing gender equality and meet gender seal standards through actions inluding but not limited to:  deployment of experts, portfolio review services, and capacity development plans on gender and crisis issues – Women Peace and Security, Crisis Prevention and Peacebuilding, Disaster Risk Reduction, Jobs and Livelihoods, Gender Based Violence etc.

• Provide updates to, and work in collaboration with, the Gender and Crisis Engagement Facility. 

• Stocktaking and sharing knowledge products, good practices and results within the Gender Seal community and in particular with Gender Seal offices in crisis contexts, as well as the WPS Coordination Group.

Institutional Arrangement

The consultant will provide critical support to the BPPS/Gender Team under the direct supervision of the Gender Seal Programme Coordinator.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work 

 The contractor will:

• Coordinate the implementation of the Gender Equality Seal in country offices in crisis contexts, by ensuring the gender equality seal standards and certification steps are tailored to crisis contexts.

• Coordinate and liaise with offices in crisis contexts regularly across all Gender Seal steps, including induction, baseline assessments, improvement period, reporting, and certification process. 

• Design and implement tailored support service lines for offices based on Gender Equality Seal assessment results, and leading on the implementation of the support package, including the coordination and deployment of experts to support crisis countries.

• Roll out and implement the gender seal learning package, including online coaching and mentoring for groups tasked with gender mainstreaming responsibilities, and facilitating workshops and discussions on relevant topics.

• Adapt the methodology of portfolio reviews to strengthen gender-sensitive programming and results, and increased budget allocations for gender specific initiatives.

• Collaboration and proactive engagement with the Gender and Crisis Engagement Facility and WPSnetwork

• Support the implementation of the Gender Equality Seal global programme.

Competencies

UN CORE VALUES AND COMPETENCIES

Professionalism: Shows pride in work and achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.

Communication:Speaks and writes clearly and effectively; Listens to others, correctly interprets messages from others and responds appropriately; Asks questions to clarify and exhibits interest in having two-way communication; Tailors language, tone, style and format to match the audience; Demonstrates openness in sharing information and keeping people informed.

Client Orientation: Considers all those to whom services are provided to be "clients " and seeks to see things from clients' point of view; Establishes and maintains productive partnerships with clients by gaining their trust and respect; Identifies clients' needs and matches them to appropriate solutions; Monitors ongoing developments inside and outside the clients' environment to keep informed and anticipate problems; Keeps clients informed of progress or setbacks in projects; Meets timeline for delivery of products or services to client.

Required Skills and Experience