Gender Parity Consultant – Knowledge-sharing and Collaboration

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 is mandated to lead, coordinate and promote the accountability of the UN system for women’s equal representation. Women’s equal representation has been addressed by various international instruments, including the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) (1979) as well as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995). UN Women has been actively engaged in the work of the UN Executive Group to prevent and respond to sexual harassment (formerly known as the CEB Task Force on addressing sexual harassment). The purpose of the Executive Group is to advance a coordinated, system-wide approach to preventing and responding to sexual harassment within the United Nations System. This includes promoting an inclusive, safe, and enabling workplace environment and organizational culture, fostering a culture of zero tolerance for inaction on sexual harassment, and pursuing a victim/survivor-centered approach. UN Women leads Workstream 1 on Knowledge-sharing and Collaboration in the Executive Group and cooperates with other workstreams. One of the objectives of this workstream is to conduct a mapping exercise to identify available tools and innovative approaches to address sexual harassment by inter-governmental and other organizations, as well as by Member States. The planned action is as follows: Support the development of approaches and/or innovative ideas, for the benefit of the UN System, including mapping what is being done by inter-governmental and other organizations and UN entities as well as OECD/DAC Member States. The consultant will work under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Office of the Focal Point for Women in the UN System. At the beginning of the assignment, a work plan will be developed, including expected outputs and success indicators over the reporting period. Informal feedback will be provided regularly.

Duties, Responsibilities and Output Expectations:

1. The consultant will provide support to UN Women’s leadership in the UN Executive Group to prevent and respond to sexual harassment. This will require supporting the Office of the Focal Point for Women by providing updates of the ongoing work and liaising with internal and external stakeholders (including the UN Gender Focal Points), also fostering effective communication and advocacy.
2. The consultant, as a main task, will undertake a mapping exercise to identify available tools and innovative approaches to sexual harassment implemented by inter-governmental and other entities and develop new approaches for the consideration of the Executive Group. In this process, the consultant serves as a focal point to liaise with the Executive Group, as necessary.
3. Building on the findings, the consultant will establish:
   • materials to highlight innovative approaches undertaken by inter-governmental entities, Member States and others to tackle sexual harassment and;
   • a proposal on how to move forward, including ideas for system-wide application.
4. The consultant will develop draft policy papers, conduct background research, and adapt briefing notes as requested and as necessary.

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:

• Strong organizational and planning skills;
• Strong research and analytical skills;
• Ability to work well under pressure, and to meet deadlines;
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work as part of a team and with stakeholders;
• Excellent knowledge of office software packages.
• Excellent writing abilities, including drafting, organizing, and presenting information well.
• Demonstrated research skills and engagement with research, writing and data compilation and knowledge on gender equality.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Familiarity with UN Women’s work, especially related to addressing sexual harassment, or prior experience with the UN considered an asset.

Qualifications:

Education:

• Master’s Degree or equivalent in Gender/Women’s Studies, Social Sciences, Political Science, Communications, International Development, Psychology, International Law, or related field.
• A first-level university degree in similar fields in combination with additional two years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible work experience in the United Nations’ organizational context and particularly in addressing sexual harassment or gender parity within an organization is required.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

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.)