UN Women CSO Engagement Coordinator at UN Women

• Under the overall guidance of the Director of the Civil Society Division and the direct supervision of the Deputy Director – Civil Society Division, with matrixed reporting to the Deputy Regional Director of the Eastern and Southern Africa Office, the CSO Engagement Coordinator is responsible for the overall coordination of the civil society engagement strategy within Generation Equality.
• This role is responsible for the design and coordination of civil society advocacy and leadership within the Action Coalitions (AC) and will oversee the capacity strengthening programme for civil society leaders within the Action Coalitions and provides analysis on civil society’s effective engagement in the ACs.
• It also provides strategic policy, coordination, and management of Generation Equality’s work on advocacy and partnership building with civil society constituencies, and provides strategic support to UN Women’s regional and country offices to ensure the implementation of the Generation Equality Forum outcomes areas as outlined in the Generation Equality project document.
• The position will contribute to strengthening multistakeholder allyship models for movement building for gender equality, civic space and democracy.
• The post will have a combination of HQ and Regional functions operating from Nairobi and will work closely with all UN Women Regional Offices and in full coordination with UN Women’s relevant HQ Divisions, including Programme, Policy & Intergovernmental Division (PPID), Strategic Partnerships Division (SPD), UN System Coordination Division and Executive Director Office (EDO), and in particular the Generation Equality Coordination Hub and the Action Coalition Focal Points in UN Women.
• The CSO Engagement Coordinator will coordinate activities to ensure effective operationalization and roll out of Generation Equality Phase II at the regional and country level, in partnership with AC focal points and the GE Coordination Hub.

Duties And Responsibilities
Provide substantive and strategic support to implement the civil society engagement strategy for Generation Equality across UN Women’s Regions and Country Hubs:

• Develop and coordinate the civil society engagement strategy for Generation Equality, including the Action Coalitions. Coordinate civil society advocacy and leadership within the Action Coalitions, and oversee the capacity strengthening programme for civil society leaders within the Action Coalitions, in partnership with the Action Coalition focal points in UN Women.
• Provide regular analysis on civil society’s effective engagement in the ACs.
• Contribute to the development of work plans and results-measurement processes for embedding Generation Equality’s Movement Building and Allyship model strategies in Regional and Country offices’ Strategic Notes and Workplans in compliance with UN Women programme goals and results-based indicators including Strategic Plan 2022-2025.
• Provide guidance to countries on convening multi-stakeholder structures of Generation Equality in support of the Allyship model, in partnership with the Generation Equality Coordination Hub.
• Develop tailored narratives for engaging different stakeholders; with specific focus on underrepresented regions, outlining their opportunities for engagement to support consensus building efforts aligned with Agenda 2030 and in line with the Secretary General’s Common Agenda.
• Provide substantive support to UN Women colleagues and Regional Focal points to support their understanding and engagement of work with civil society actors within the context of Generation Equality, including by delivering webinars, on-line and face-to-face sessions, and coordinating the production of tools and materials as needed, in partnership with Regional Focal Points.

Partnership Building and Strengthening:

• Partner with feminist civil society including youth for deeper engagement in inter-governmental processes through the multi-stakeholder approach, including in the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), UN General Assembly (UNGA), Human Rights Council (HRC), High Level Political Forum (HLPF) among others.
• Support mainstreaming inclusive, intergenerational, and multi-stakeholder structures in countries by developing and disseminating evidence-based knowledge on the suggested roles of these structures/their governance mechanisms/ composition/modus operandi / partnerships’ management, with coordination of Regional Focal Points.
• Coordinate regional and country level stories of impact and drive co-ownership and co-accountability, and share with the AC focal points and relevant communications and advocacy focal points.
• Provide substantive and coordination support to Regional Offices to initiate political dialogues and regional convenings with key stakeholders in support of expanding UN Women’s partnership with civil society; ensuring a co-created approach at the regional and country level; including through engagement of regional commissions.

Policy Positioning and Representation:

• Under the guidance of the Deputy Director, CSD, mobilize, foster and strengthen strategic partnerships with UN entities and other relevant bodies and provide inputs to those partnerships in support of UN Women initiatives;
• Provide substantive inputs and write briefing notes, talking points, presentations, and other briefing materials for senior management meetings, and events;
• Provide substantive input in the process of advocating the importance of civil society engagement and UN Women’s work in this domain in various fora, including academia and civil society, with a view to deepen related political commitment and related reforms;
• Engage in UN interagency coordination and partnership fora on areas relevant to civil society engagement by supporting the engagement of the Director and Deputy Director, CSD and UN Women senior managers in high-level meetings and events and ensuring full information-sharing and coordination with team members in New York and across the regional hubs.

Knowledge Management and sharing:

• Coordinate and perform knowledge extraction, analysis, documentation, codification of results/lessons learned, and verify that knowledge sharing, and content management is in line with guidelines and performed using corporate tools.

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:

• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral;
• Excellent drafting skills with the ability to edit and clear written work products;
• Strong planning, goal-setting, prioritization and organizational skills;
• Strong analytical, information processing, and review strategic skills;
• Ability to contribute to detailed operational plans, budgets, and monitor these;
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports;
• Good knowledge of UN programme management systems and Results Based Management;
• Demonstrated knowledge of gender equality and women's empowerment;
• Ability to work in a high pressured environment with frequent short deadlines;
• Defined sense of responsibility, confidentiality and accountability.

Required Skills and Experience
Education and certification:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in one of the following disciplines: social sciences, political science, international relations, business administration or management, public administration, or other related fields.
• 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:

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible varied experience with international organizations.
• Experience in or with the United Nations system.
• Experience working with Civil Society and UN partnership is required.
• Previous experience in supporting multi stakeholders’ engagement, strategic planning and coordination functions is desirable.
• Experience working with civil society at the field level is desirable

Language Requirements:

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