If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you.
For 70 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.
Purpose of the Position
UNICEF Eastern and Southern Regional Office (ESARO) is seeking expertise in gender, with a strong focus on cross-sectoral programming.
The overall purpose of this TA is to support strengthened gender advice and support to County Programs in the region to ensure that lessons learned and promising practices are documented and disseminated within the region.
Furthermore, the specialist will assist with ensuring countries adapt good practice programming to increase girls' secondary education; address gender-based violence in emergency and school settings; and gender mainstreaming in UNICEF technical sectors.
The specialist will build a regional knowledge platform and resource mobilisation for gender programming. Applying a results-based approach, the specialist will focus on a select number countries, including but not limited to Uganda, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Mozambique.
Key Expected Results
High-quality Gender technical advice will be provided in response to CO and RO request in UNICEF priority sectors.
Up to date information documents on GAP and gender programming have been developed and disseminated widely in the region.
Capacity in CO's and country counterparts has been increased in gender and GAP programming and GAP results are better monitored and reported on in the region.
Key Accountabilities and Duties & Tasks
Under the supervision of the Regional Gender Advisor, the Specialist will provide, through remote support and in-country missions, 1) programme support, oversight, coordination and quality assurance for the agreed upon priority countries 2) technical leadership and capacity development; and, 3) knowledge management, advocacy, and networking within ESA region.
1. Programme support, coordination and quality assurance
Provide guidance and inputs to help countries strengthen their gender results under the GAP
Provide technical and operational support to ensure quality implementation of scale-up efforts.
Support Country Office (CO) level implementation of girl's secondary education programmes in priority countries.
Support the gender component of the reporting of the routine country-level programme expenditures, including the annual reporting and the RAM.
Work closely with CO Gender Focal Points (GFPs) and Gender Specialists (GS) to implement the recommendations of the 2016 Gender Regional Network Meeting developing a regional resource mobilisation plan for gender programming.
Support CO sectoral focal points in priority sectors including health, child protection and WASH, to manage country-specific challenges for gender programming under the GAP.
Other support and oversight activities as required by the Regional Gender Advisor
2. Provide technical leadership, support and capacity development
Maintain up to date knowledge and information documents on GAP programming and gender mainstreaming.
Support gender responsive education programming to accelerate the advancement of education of adolescent girls and improve girl's secondary education outcomes, in line with the Gender Action Plan, including educations' impact and influence on child marriage, FGM/C and reducing harmful practices programming.
Provide technical support on gendered bottleneck analysis, development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of strategies and interventions to improve CO-GAP programming.
Support evidence-based programme planning on gender, incorporating robust measurement and evaluation of results - especially in the event of Country Programme development and Mid-Term Review.
Identify and assist in capacity development initiatives for CO staff and host country colleagues in gender mainstreaming programming.
Organize as appropriate, learning and knowledge exchange sessions on technical issues through knowledge sharing platforms accessible to COs and regional staff.
Provide technical support to COs, and when needed, government counterparts on establishing, strengthening monitoring and evaluation of GAP-related results and data collection
3. Knowledge management, advocacy and networking
Support the development of high-quality regional knowledge management products related to the GAP and gender programming
Capture and distill lessons learned to drive evidence-based advocacy to create greater visibility and encourage sharing of experiences GAP and gender programming
Facilitate exchange and sharing of experiences, lessons learned, promising practices using innovative methods for programme staff and other UNICEF partners.
Support RO and CO requests for reporting on GAP programmatic and institutional results
Support dissemination within the priority countries and across ESA region of knowledge management products on GAP and gender programming, including through webinars, orientation meetings, country visits and other opportunities to benefit HIV, nutrition and health colleagues working on PMTCT and nutrition programmes
Qualifications of Successful Candidate
Education
Advanced university degree (Masters or higher) in the social sciences (i.e. sociology, demography, psychology, political science, social policy or economics), public health, public policy, public administration, international development, or in an area relevant to UNICEF's sectoral work (e.g. Health, Nutrition, WASH, Education, Child Protection, Social Inclusion, HIV/AIDs, etc.).
Academic credentials in gender are a strong asset.
Work Experience
Minimum eight years of progressively responsible professional experience and demonstrated track record of having undertaken and led substantive programming and research on gender and development in key issue areas that are the focus of UNICEF's Gender Action Plan.
Experience in designing, implementing, managing, and delivering results-based programmes on gender and development or any other cross-cutting programme, especially at country/field level, experience in emergency response is an asset.
Experience in both development and humanitarian contexts is an added advantage.
Language Proficiency
Fluency in English required; fluency in another UN language an asset.
Knowledge of local working language of the duty station/region is an asset.
Travel
Willingness and ability to travel within the region up to 30% of the time.
Competencies of Successful Candidate
Core Values
Commitment
Diversity and Inclusion
Integrity
Core competencies
Communication (III)
Working with People (III)
Drive for Results (III)
Functional Competencies
Leading and Supervising [ II ]
Formulating Strategies and Concepts [ III ]
Analyzing [ III ]
Relating and Networking [ III ]
Deciding and Initiating Action [ II ]
Persuading and Influencing [ III ]
Applying technical skills [ III ]
Entrepreneurial thinking [ II ]
To view our competency framework, please click here.
UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organisation.
