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 regional representation for East and Southern Africa (ESA) is comprised of 12 Country Offices (COs), one programme presence (Somalia), and support to 11 UN Country Teams (UNCTs) where UN Women is a non-resident agency (NRA). All are coordinated and supported by the Regional Office (RO) in Kenya. ESA is a complex and diverse region comprised of sub-regions ranging from countries with weak governance prone to crises that cross borders, while other sub-regions represent middle-income countries that are relatively stable.
The womenโs economic empowerment context in the East and Southern Africa region (ESAR) remains complex and dynamic underpinned by climate related factors, conflict/displacement/fragility, micro and macro level shocks such as the COVID 19 pandemic as well as the on-going conflict between Ukraine and Russia that has negatively affected basic commodity prices, agricultural inputs, and food systems in the region. These have and continue to disproportionately impact women and girls due to pre-existing structural gender inequalities before and during the crisis.ย
The main agenda of the Womenโs Economicย Empowerment (WEE) Programme is to strengthen womenโs economic autonomy through increasing access to quality livelihood opportunities, and support women and girls in their innovations, social enterprises, and capacities to secure social, economic and environmental assets and knowledge. The key focus areas for 2023 are: (1) Climate Resilient Agriculture and ensuring aย just transition to the blue and green economies; (2) The Care Economy; and (3) womenโs empowerment through entrepreneurship development, decent work and the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement.ย
UN Women ESARO seeks to hire an intern to support the WEE portfolio
ย
Description of Responsibilities
Support the Policy Specialist to review/conduct economic empowerment related research from a gender economics perspective Support theย Policy Specialistย in programme management and implementationย Support the Policy Specialist in various communications tasks such as writing position papers, talking points, website articles, developing social media posts, etc. Support the Policy Specialist on administrative tasks as requiredยLearning goals include:
Enhanced knowledge on gender equality and womenโs economic empowermentย Enhanced knowledge on gender and economics in development in Africa Enhance knowledge on the programmatic and operational aspects of working at UN WomenCompetencies :
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:
Qualifications
Education:
University studies in one of the following disciplines: feminist/gender economics.ย Be enrolled in a graduate school programme (second university degree or equivalent, or higher); or Be enrolled in a postgraduate professional traineeship program which is part of a degree programme and undertake the internship as part of the program requirements. a) Be enrolled in a postgraduate degree programme (such as a masterโs programme, or higher);ย b) Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (such as bachelorโs degree or equivalent);ย c) Have recently graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above) and, if selected, must start the internship within two-years of graduation.Language:
Excellent communication skills (written and oral) in English are required;ย Working knowledge of another UN language is an advantage.Renumeration:ย
Interns who are not in receipt of financial support from other sources such as universities or other institutions will receive a stipend from UN Women to partially subsidize their basic living costs for the duration of the internship.
Application Information:ย
All applicants must submit a completed and signedย P.11 formย with their application. Due to the high volume of applications received, we can ONLY contact successful candidates. Successful candidate will be required to provide proof of enrollment in a valid health insurance plan at the duty station of the internship, proof of school enrollment or degree, a scanned copy of their passport/national ID and a copy of a valid visa (as applicable).ย ยStatements :
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.)