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 Womenโs Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division (PPID) provides global support to UN Women offices at Headquarters and in all field locations to deliver results in support of UN Womenโs Strategic Plan 2022-2025 and internationally agreed goals on gender equality and womenโs empowerment, including the Beijing Platform for Action and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Division provides intellectual and strategic leadership on normative support and the delivery of integrated policy and program advice, including through policy analysis and gender mainstreaming. The Division leverages innovation, knowledge management and cutting-edge technical expertise to support UN Women programmes and to build the capacity of partners to deliver results on gender equality and womenโs empowerment.
Economic empowerment (EE) is one of PPIDโs thematic sections that leads and coordinates one of UN Womenโs four Strategic Plan Impact Areas. UN Women works with governments, multilateral organizations, the UN System, civil society organizations and the private sector to promote womenโs economic empowerment in alignment with UN Womenโs Economic Empowerment Strategy. Womenโs economic empowerment is a transformative, collective process through which economic systems become just, equitable and prosperous, and all women enjoy their economic and social rights, exercise agency and power in ways that challenge inequalities and level the playing field, and gain equal rights and access to, ownership of and control over resources, assets, income, time and their own lives. In its work on sustainable development, EE Section providesย technical assistance and policy advice in a number of areas, among them, the gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Rio Conventions and leads the implementation of the global programming frameworks on Gender Responsive Climate Action and Women in the Blue and Green Economies, Women in the World of Work and Transforming Care Systems.ย
The Chief of the Economic Empowerment section reports to the PPID Director and is responsible for leading the organizationโs work on womenโs economic empowerment, providing global policy support and developing thematic work and knowledge production in line with the mandate to further womenโs income security, decent work, and economic autonomy. Working in close collaboration with Sections across PPID and other Divisions, the incumbent willย contribute to inter-governmental, normative and UN system coordination work, establish and strengthen partnerships, and provide strategic advice to UN Womenโs regional and country offices. The Chief also supervises and leads the staff of the Economic Empowerment section.ย
Key Functions and Accountabilities:
Lead UN Womenโs economic empowerment strategy:
Ensure implementation of UN Womenโs global Womenโs Economic Empowerment Strategy to position the entity as an influential and relevant actor on womenโs economic empowerment in the context of UN Womenโs Strategic Plan (current and future) and the gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; Convene leading feminist economists and development policy specialists and practitioners on gender equality and womenโs economic empowerment to advise on and guide on implementation and strengthening of UN Womenโs Economic Empowerment Strategy; Act as a thought leader for the section, and provide strategic advice to the PPID Director and leadership team and the rest of the organization on womenโs economic empowerment; Operationalize the Economic Empowerment Strategy drawing on expertise and experience from across UN Women.Guide development and implementation of policy and programmatic initiatives:
Oversee design and implementation of global programming frameworks and global projects, in close coordination with regional and country teams and external partners; Introduce innovative and cutting-edge approaches, drawing on feminist economic policy and practice, to enhance UN Womenโs global policy support and programmatic work; Spearhead the development, testing and roll out of tools and methodologies in the area of womenโs economic empowerment to provide standards and guidelines, based on a gender-responsive and human rights-based approaches, for policy-making and programming, and ensure lessons learned are incorporated; Lead and implement a policy research and practice agenda reflecting the linkages between global normative commitments on womenโs economic empowerment and their implementation at global, regional and national levels. Collaborate with other thematic sections to provide integrated policy and programmatic advice to regional and country offices across development and humanitarian contexts.Oversee knowledge production and management:
Lead production of peer-reviewed discussion papers and policy briefs on womenโs economic empowerment to form part of UN Womenโs series; Provide substantive contributions to processes and publications undertaken by UN system and external partners; Determine and implement a mechanism to equip UN Women with the capacity to drive a vibrant global matrix of learning on womenโs economic empowerment; Oversee and facilitate internal and external communities of practice on womenโs economic empowerment; Contribute to the development and maintenance of global and regional knowledge networks, activities and practice.Provide substantive advice and support to intergovernmental processes and events and other key global initiatives:
Provide substantive contributions to intergovernmental fora to help shape development of global and regional policies, norms, standards and implementation strategies; Produce reports and background papers on matters related to gender equality and economic empowerment in accordance with mandates given by relevant intergovernmental bodies and report on progress and challenges on critical and emerging issues; Provide technical and advisory support on gender equality issues to intergovernmental bodies, preparing summaries of debates, supporting negotiations and analyzing outcomes; Provide leadership and support to multistakeholder partnerships such as Action Coalitions on Economic Justice and Rights and Feminist Action for Climate Justice.Strengthen and expand partnerships and advocacy initiatives:
Identify, develop and manage the diverse range of partnerships that UN Women needs to support its work on womenโs economic empowerment, including for resource mobilization, in close coordination with the Strategic Partnerships Division; Represent UN Women in international fora to encourage greater commitment to and collaboration on the realization of gender equality and womenโs economic empowerment policies; Convene or represent UN Women in UN inter-agency working groups and other high level academic and policy conferences and events to participate in strategic discussions and establish cooperation/collaboration; Develop and maintain relationships with academia, research and training institutes (including the UN Women Training Center), civil society and thematic technical experts, and the International Association for Feminist Economics to gain and share knowledge, exchange views on current issues/trends and to incorporate cutting-edge thinking on gender equality and womenโs economic empowerment.Manage the Economic Empowerment section:
Finalize and oversee the implementation of the annual workplans and annual reports for the section; Promote teamwork and establish a respectful and collaborative working environment that is conducive to delivery of quality results; Supervise, guide and oversee the work the work of the team to ensure the delivery of quality results according to standards and goals established in the section and PPID; Manage the performance of staff and ensure compliance to the performance management process; Manage and monitor financial resources and take responsibility for the integrity of financial systems and consistent application of the internal control framework and/or UN Women/UN rules and regulations. Submit timely mandated reports; Oversee the development and implementation of strategic evaluation plans, ensure that management responses to all evaluations are completed and followed up, and that learning from evaluations is fed back into UN Women initiatives and operations; Oversee security requirements for the team.The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.
Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities:ย
The incumbent leads a team of 27, which includes 7 direct reports (P, GS, etc.), as well as 5 affiliate personnel (SC, consultants and interns).
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 visitย this linkย for more information on UN Womenโs Values and Competencies Framework:ย
Functional Competencies:
Excellent substantive knowledge of current thinking, policies and practices in feminist economics and womenโs economic empowerment, including (preferably) a record of peer-reviewed publications; Proven ability to develop and implement large-scale policy and programmatic initiatives on womenโs economic empowerment; ย Strong leadership and proven team-building and people management skills; ability to create a productive, respectful and collaborative work environment; Ability to conceptualize and convey strategic vision from the spectrum of development experience; Effectiveness in establishing and fostering good relations with government counterparts, UN agencies, donors, and NGO partners; Strong written and oral communication skills, with proven expertise in writing cogent and convincing policy materials and communicating with diverse audiences; Proven analytical and problem-solving skills; Excellent strategic planning, goal-setting and prioritization skills; Strong, proven commitment to gender equality and womenโs empowerment.Recruitment Qualifications:
Education and Certification:
Masterโs degree (or equivalent) in economics, with preferred specialization in feminist economics, or related fields such as gender and development, public policy, or other social science fields with a significant focus on gender equality; PhD desirable. 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 15 years of progressively responsible experience in policy and programmatic work in gender and development, feminist economics, womenโs economic empowerment or related areas; Substantial experience in preparing and publishing policy pieces on feminist economics and womenโs economic empowerment; Significant experience in designing and implementing large-scale operational programmes on womenโs economic empowerment; Demonstrated experience in successfully managing teams in a collaborative and transparent manner; Field experience in developing countries is an advantage; Recognition as an authority on womenโs economic empowerment is desirable.Languages:
Fluency in English is required; Knowledge of one or more of the other UN official working languages is very desirable.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,ย and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age,ย ability, national origin,ย 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 toย UN Womenโsย policiesย and proceduresย andย theย standardsย of conduct expected of UN Women personnelย 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.)
Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.