Background Information - Job-specific
UNOPS supports partners to build a better future by providing services that increase the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of peace-building, humanitarian and development projects. Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors and United Nations organizations.
New York Portfolios Office (NYPO) supports the United Nations Secretariat, as well as other New York-based United Nations organizations, and bilateral and multilateral partners in the delivery of UNOPS mandate in project management, infrastructure management, and procurement management.
Sustainable Development Cluster (SDC) supports diverse partners with their peacebuilding, humanitarian and development operations. It was formed by combining the following portfolios: Grants Management Services (GMS), UN Technology Support Services (UNTSS), and Development and Special Initiatives Portfolio (DSIP). It provides services to partners' programmes that are designed, structured, and managed with a global perspective and primarily serving partners that are headquartered in New York. The SDC has a footprint of approximately 125 countries.
UNOPS has signed an agreement with the United Nations Office for Counte-Terrorism (UNOCT) to implement the activities of the EU-UN Global Terrorism Threats Facility project.
UNOCT was established by the General Assembly in June 2017. The Office has five main functions: (a) provide leadership on the General Assembly counter-terrorism mandate across the United Nations System; (b) enhance coordination and coherence across the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact to ensure the balanced implementation of the four pillars of the Strategy; (c) strengthen the delivery of United Nations counter-terrorism capacity-building assistance to Member States; (d) improve visibility, advocacy and resource mobilization for United Nations counter-terrorism efforts; and ensure that due priority is given to counter-terrorism across the United Nations System and that the important work on preventing violent extremism is firmly rooted in the Strategy.
In April 2022, UNOCT and the European Union launched the EU-UN Global Terrorism Threats Facility (the Facility), with the overall objective to provide rapid and flexible support to Member States in building their capacities to detect, prevent, counter, investigate and respond to evolving terrorist threat, while ensuring respect for international law, including international human rights law, international humanitarian law and refugee law as well as the rule of law. The Facility delivers three types of activities: a) advisory and mentoring support through the deployment of experts, in a number of thematic areas determined by Member Statesโ requests; b) training activities or workshops; and c) limited provision of light, non-lethal equipment. It operates according to the following principles: 1) it is demand-driven, based on official requests from a Member State; and 2) it is complementary to other UN and EU support. Support delivered by the Facility takes in consideration the recommendations from the assessment visits conducted by the Security Councilโs Counter-Terrorism Committee, through its Executive Directorate (CTED).
Since 1 January 2022, UNOCT has a functioning Human Rights and Gender Section (HRGS), with the purpose of providing technical assistance, oversight and quality assurance across the Officeโs policy, coordination and programmatic functions. UNOCT work on gender is guided by the Gender Mainstreaming Policy and Action Plan (approved in January 2022).
To support the Facility, UNOPS is developing a roster of advisors and experts (the Roster), members of which will deliver assistance across the four pillars of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, depending on the specific need and context of the requesting Member States or regional organizations. Duration of the assignment depends on the tasks and deliverables assigned.
These are positions in UNOPS for supporting activities of the Facility. The incumbents of these positions will be personnel of UNOPS under its full responsibility. The incumbents will become members of the Roster for the duration of the Facility, under a UNOPS retainer contract. He or she will be offered short-term assignments, with possible field deployments, depending on the needs of the Facility or of the requesting Member States.
Functional Responsibilities
Under the supervision of the NYPO Director, and in coordination with the Senior Programme Management Officer of the EU-UN Global Terrorism Threats Facility in UNOCT and the Gender Unit in the Human Rights and Gender Section of UNOCT, the Gender Equality Expert will be expected to perform various activities including:
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Provide strategic and technical guidance to ensure that gender considerations are mainstreamed in all the phases of a support package of the Facility for technical assistance to a requesting Member State, in line with the UNOCT Gender Mainstreaming Policy and Action Plan;
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Conduct context-specific gender analysis related to the thematic area selected by requesting Member States before the Facilityโs intervention and provide recommendations on how to avoid and/or mitigate gendered harms and ensure the activity is gender-responsive;
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Provide expert advice, when requested by Member States, on the development of national capacities to conduct context-specific gender analysis, ensuring that national assessments are inclusive with concrete and meaningful gender components:
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Conduct capacity-building activities in the field of gender and counter-terrorism (CT) and prevention and countering of violent extremism (P/CVE);
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Provide high-level advisory services to governmental officials from requesting Member States to increase gender-responsive approaches in their CT and P/CVE activities, in line with the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy;
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Advise on how to improve the monitoring and evaluation of support packages implemented by the Facility, with strong quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis tools, and methods to capture and analyze gender-sensitive, sex- and age-disaggregated data;
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Advise experts of the Facility on other subject matter areas and/or other relevant partners to include gender considerations in activities performed under the Facility;
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Review and conduct gender analysis of relevant legal frameworks and policy documentation of requesting Member States and provide technical advice to improve gender responsiveness if necessary;
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Prepare a variety of high-quality, written substantive outputs, including analyses, presentations, training materials, and summary reports, related to their assignments.
Education/Experience/Language requirements
*FEMALE CANDIDATES ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY\"
*CANDIDATES WITH NO UNITED NATIONS OR UNOPS EXPERIENCE ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO APPLY
Education:
- Advanced University Degree (Masterโs Degree or equivalent) preferably in gender studies, International Law, International Relations, Public Administration, or another relevant field with ten (10) years of relevant experience is required; Or
Required experience:
Relevant experience is defined as progressively responsible experience in dealing with issues related to gender and counter-terrorism and prevention and countering of violent extremism; Experience in working on programmatic initiatives related to one or more of the following areas violent extremism and counter-terrorism, peacebuilding, women, peace and security, human rights, gender equality and the empowerment of women is required. Desirable experience (the following experience is optional candidates who do not have it are welcome to apply):
Experience in developing and conducting capacity-building workshops related to gender and CT and P/CVE, designing and providing technical assistance to a range of audiences, including to senior government officials, would be an asset; A minimum of two years of work experience with multilateral organizations is desired; Experience in working in diverse country contexts would be an asset. Languages:
Fluency in English (both oral and written), is a requirement; Fluency in either French, Arabic, or Russian, in addition to English, would be an asset. Competencies
Develops and implements sustainable business strategies, thinks long term and externally in order to positively shape the organization. Anticipates and perceives the impact and implications of future decisions and activities on other parts of the organization.(for levels IICA-2, IICA-3, LICA Specialist- 10, LICA Specialist-11, NOC, NOD, P3, P4 and above) Treats all individuals with respect; responds sensitively to differences and encourages others to do the same. Upholds organizational and ethical norms. Maintains high standards of trustworthiness. Role model for diversity and inclusion.
Acts as a positive role model contributing to the team spirit. Collaborates and supports the development of others. For people managers only: Acts as positive leadership role model, motivates, directs and inspires others to succeed, utilizing appropriate leadership styles. Demonstrates understanding of the impact of own role on all partners and always puts the end beneficiary first. Builds and maintains strong external relationships and is a competent partner for others (if relevant to the role). Efficiently establishes an appropriate course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a goal. Actions lead to total task accomplishment through concern for quality in all areas. Sees opportunities and takes the initiative to act on them. Understands that responsible use of resources maximizes our impact on our beneficiaries. Open to change and flexible in a fast paced environment. Effectively adapts own approach to suit changing circumstances or requirements. Reflects on experiences and modifies own behavior. Performance is consistent, even under pressure. Always pursues continuous improvements. Evaluates data and courses of action to reach logical, pragmatic decisions. Takes an unbiased, rational approach with calculated risks. Applies innovation and creativity to problem-solving. Expresses ideas or facts in a clear, concise and open manner. Communication indicates a consideration for the feelings and needs of others. Actively listens and proactively shares knowledge. Handles conflict effectively, by overcoming differences of opinion and finding common ground. Contract type, level and duration
Contract type: International Individual Contractor Agreement (IICA) - Retainer modality. Contract level: IICA-4 - ICS-12. Even though the level of the position is indicated as IICA-4, depending on the incumbent's personal situation ( candidate with national ID or resident permit), a local fee scale (LICA-12) might be applied in determining the contractor's fee.
Contract duration: The contract for this position is set for a duration until 31 December 2025 (renewable subject to funds availability and satisfactory performance). Duty station: Home based, with deployments to the field.
A retainer contract is issued for a period of time during which the services of the individual contractor are required intermittently. The individual contractor agreement on retainer basis will specify a โunit priceโ per day worked. For budgetary purposes, a monetary cap will be determined when the contract is awarded and issued. Please note that the retainer contract will not provide for a minimum, and payment will be made only after completion of work For more details about the ICA contractual modality, please follow this link:
https://www.unops.org/english/Opportunities/job-opportunities/what-we-offer/Pages/Individual-Contractor-Agreements.aspx
Additional Information
Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.
Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.
Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.
UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce.
Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.
We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.
Terms and Conditions
For retainer contracts, you must complete a few Mandatory Courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. For more information on a retainer contract here.
All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.
It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.