Policy Advisor, Governance, Peace and Security at UN Women

• The scope of work of the Policy Advisor, Governance, Peace and Security, who will be based in UN Women's Regional Office, Eastern and Southern Africa (ESARO), requires experience and in-depth understanding of gender equality women’s political participation, democratization and women, peace and security issues, to translate UN Women's strategic plans in the area of Governance/Political Participation and Peace and Security into effective programmes and results. It also requires developing mutually reinforcing partnerships with relevant Government counterparts, UN organizations, and CSOs.
• Reporting to the Regional Director and working closely with the Peace & Security, Prevention & Resilience at UN Women HQ the Policy Advisor will engage proactively with local and regional women leaders and UN Entities (including relevant Divisions, Sections, and Country Offices within UN Women) to ensure gender issues are addressed on Women, Peace & Security (WPS) efforts related to, peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding including formal mediation processes with UN's involvement, transitional justice mechanisms, security sector reform processes, prevention of violent extremism, post-conflict elections among others relevant in the region. The Policy Advisor will support the development of WPS and humanitarian action programmes and regional interventions, advocate for Feminist Foreign Policy and support UN Women offices in the ESARO region, establish and strengthen partnerships. The Policy Advisor will oversee the development and implementation of WPS and humanitarian related programmes, develop relevant advocacy and knowledge products, provide technical and capacity building support to Country Offices and to the UN Resident Coordinator in countries where UN Women does not have country presence, and establish and strengthen partnerships with WPS and humanitarian actors and development partners.

Duties and Responsibilities

Key Functions and Accountabilitues:

Analysis and monitoring of trends and opportunities:

• Provide policy recommendations, strategic advice, and proposed courses of action to the Regional Director and Country Representatives;
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of regional developments in political participation, governance and peace and security issues and integrate information in support of policy development, analysis, outreach and advocacy;
• Prepare analytical reports, briefing notes, background papers, summaries, talking points and others as required by senior management;
• Establish and maintain close working contacts with key national, regional and local stakeholders from Government, Civil Society, Regional Organizations and other relevant international actors to build and strengthen strategic alliances and partnerships on women, peace and security issues and initiatives;
• Represent UN Women at inter-governmental and regional meetings on political participation, governance and peace and security issues in the region, as requested by the Regional Director;
• Work closely with colleagues of UN Women's Peace and Security and Leadership and Governance Sections of the Policy Division to identify promising practices, technical expertise, and strategic opportunities for addressing women’s empowerment and gender issues in the areas of governance.

Programme development and technical support:

• Promote coordination and participation in joint activities with various stakeholders to work collaboratively in the area of political participation, governance and peace and security in the region such as: UN agencies, relevant government stakeholders, civil society, inter-governmental organizations and regional women's networks;
• Work closely with UN Women country offices in the region and provide programme guidance and support to develop and implement programmes at the local and national level on the area of governance, women’s political participation, women’s participation in public service delivery, and on all aspects of women, peace and security in conflict-affected settings, including conflict prevention, mediation, transitional justice, justice and security sector reform, peacekeeping, conflict-related sexual violence, national action plans on SCR 1325, among others;
• Support country offices to provide technical assistance to the Government on key governance/political participation and women, peace and security issues, including for the development and implementation of National Action Plans on women, peace and security, as requested by the Regional Director and in collaboration with the Peace and Security section;
• Assist country offices in developing and strengthening policies to scale up efforts to increase women’s participation as candidates and voters;
• Work closely with UN Women country offices in the region and provide programme support to develop and implement programmes at the local and national level to enhance women’s political influence;
• Learn from Country Offices in order to ensure that technical support and programme advice provided is relevant to the national and cultural context.

Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with key stakeholders, regional and international actors and development partners:

• Support the building of strategic alliances and partnerships to develop regional strategies and initiatives on the area of governance, women, peace and security;
• Maintain close liaison with relevant donors, regional entities and other actors supporting efforts on governance/political participation and women, peace and security in the region;
• Support the country offices in mobilizing resources for the implementation of governance/political participation and women, peace and security initiatives in the region;
• Collaborate with UN Entities at the regional level, and support country offices, on accelerating the implementation of the SG’s 7 Point Action Plan on Gender Responsive Peacebuilding;
• Liaise with relevant regional organizations engaged in peace and security issues, such as peacekeeping institutions, regional networks and academic institutions;
• Support the building of strategic alliances and partnerships for women political participation related strategies and initiatives. 

Knowledge management and reporting:

• Manage the process of compiling reports and lessons learned on women’s political participation and contribute to UN Women's knowledge management efforts;
• Collect information at the regional level to input to into regional mechanisms as appropriate and the annual SG report on Women and Peace and Security (usually due by May of each year), as well as other relevant thematic SG reports such as peacebuilding;
• Provide strategic information to input into briefings by UN Women’s Executive Director to the Security Council, as requested, as well as ongoing provision of relevant information to HQ in relation to Security Council debates and resolutions;
• Provide inputs regarding the implementation of the SG’s 7 Point Action Plan on Gender-Responsive Peacebuilding.
• In close consultation with Field Offices manage the process of compiling reports and lessons learned on women, peace and security issues in the region and contribute to UN Women's knowledge management efforts;
• Facilitate cross-regional exchange of best practices and lessons learned with Regional Governance, Peace and Security Advisors and relevant Policy Division units;
• Contribute to the development of the regional knowledge hub and propose plans to enrich the evidence base on all aspects of gender-responsive governance, peace and security in the region.

Leadership and overall management of the unit:

• Establish the work plan/s in line with the UN Women bi-annual work plans and set objectives, performance measurements, standards and expected results in collaboration and discussion with the Team;
• Supervise and assess and provide feedback on work in progress to ensure delivery of results according to performance standards, overall objectives and accountability framework;
• Provide technical guidance, supervise team and oversee progress of implementation of activities
• Ensure that the systems (financial and administrative) are available to support the Humanitarian and WPS teams;
• Support other priorities of the unit, as assigned by the supervisor.
• The incumbent will perform other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation

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.

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

• Substantive experience and record of accomplishment in the area of women, peace and security;
• Demonstrated people management skills;
• Good knowledge of UN Women and the UN system;
• Proven ability to advocate and provide policy advice;
• Ability to lead strategic planning, programme development and implementation, results-based management and reporting;
• Ability to develop and maintain strong partnerships and mobilize resources.        

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Social Sciences, International Development studies, Law, Human rights, Politics, Gender, Peace & Women studies or related field.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• Minimum of 10 years progressively responsible experience in the area of governance, peace and security;
• At least 5 years field experience in one or more of the regions in which UN Women operates;
• Experience working in large multicultural development agencies is a distinct advantage;
• Experience leading and coaching staff in international settings is required;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required;
• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.