Programme Adviser, Gender; Programme Liaison Branch, New York, P-5

Note: This post will commence on 1 August 2024.

The Position:

The Adviser post is located in the Gender and Human Rights Branch of the Programme Division and reports directly to the Branch Chief who provides overall strategic direction. S/He is the principal policy adviser and authoritative expert for the area of Gender Equality and Human Rights and its linkages with the ICPD Programme of Action, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the UN Reform agenda. This position is based in New York and works closely with the Coordinator of the Programme Liaison Bureau with a special focus on New York related partnerships, intergovernmental processes, interagency collaborations and related donor and advocacy tasks.

How you can make a difference:

UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled.  UNFPA’s strategic plan (2022-2025), reaffirms the relevance of the current strategic direction of UNFPA and focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. These results capture our strategic commitments on accelerating progress towards realizing the ICPD and SDGs in the Decade of Action leading up to 2030. Our strategic plan calls upon UN Member States, organizations and individuals to “build forward better”, while addressing the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, recover lost gains and realize our goals.

In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.

UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.

Job Purpose:

The Adviser post provides strategic leadership to ensure that the ICPD Programme of Action in gender equality and human rights is firmly placed within the global development agenda, including the achievement of the SDGs. S/he will provide policy guidance and engage in global advocacy with the aim to  strengthen UNFPA’s positioning as a lead UN system agency on matters of gender equality and human rights in population and development strategies and sexual and reproductive health policies and programmes and their budget frameworks; and to enhance the use of knowledge and empirical evidence for policy design and evaluation. Responsibilities of the  Adviser include: influencing the substantive advocacy agenda in the area of gender equality and human rights and  linkages with the SDGs; advising with internal and external stakeholders for priorities in this area; maintaining global partnerships on substantive issues with relevant global institutions and actors; and, providing leadership and representation to ensure that technical and programmatic knowledge on gender equality and human rights, is available to inform global advocacy and policy decisions.

In all activities, s/he fosters collaboration within the Programme Division, including Humanitarian Response Division, with HQ units including OED, DCS, Regional Offices, and with the UNFPA  network, ensuring the timeliness, adequacy, relevance and quality of substantive outputs. 

The primary roles of the Adviser are:

• Strategic technical and policy advice and support
• Global positioning, and advocacy, partnerships and resource mobilization
• Technical and programme representation
• Evidence and knowledge dissemination and use
   

You would be responsible for:

A.  Strategic technical and policy advice and support

Scan the substantive environment and maintain feedback loops on policy issues with the various relevant Divisions and staff in order to identify substantive gaps and needs:

• Provide senior advisory functions, and policy advice on the substantive areas of gender equality and human rights to the Division Director, senior management, and with HQ units including OED, DCS to support mobilization of political and financial support for UNFPA and the ICPD mandate. 
• Identify priority areas in the area of gender equality and human rights, to develop UNFPA strategic positions and related policies, advocacy and evidence-based arguments, in collaboration and coordination with other Units
• Represent and coordinate relevant interagency fora including UN Gender Equality Network, Interagency Network on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, and SWAP focal points network

B.  Global positioning, and advocacy, partnerships, and resource mobilization  

• Lead the Branch’s NY based global advocacy efforts and events, including during key intergovernmental fora such as Commission on the Status of Women, Commission on Population and Development, and Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Human Rights Council;
• Maintain and foster substantive, intellectual global partnerships with most relevant constituencies in the technical area for advancing state-of-the-art knowledge;
• Ensure visibility of UNFPA’s work in gender and human rights, with NY based actors and institutions, including missions/Member States, UN agencies, donors, parliamentarians, Foundations and Private Sector 
• Develop and manage substantive partnerships and collaborations with other UN agencies, including in the context of the UNSDG and UN Reform agenda, Independent Gender Review Implementation Plan;
• Contribute to non-core resource mobilisation efforts around gender and human rights
• Contribute to substantive technical capacity development of international institutions;

C. Technical and programme representation on population and development

• Work in collaboration with staff of Programme Division, on knowledge and evidence sharing across the organization and with NY based partners, on issues related to gender and human rights issues, including GBV and harmful practices, LNOB 
• Represent UNFPA on substantive issues, elaborate UNFPA’s substantive global perspective, and advocate in international, inter-governmental, UN, and other policy and technical meetings and for a particularly in NY;
• Manage and coordinate global/corporate accountability mechanisms including UNFPA’s implementation of the UN System Wide Action Plan on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (SWAP); Independent Gender Review Implementation Plan with the Executive Office of the Secretary General;
• Collaborate with UN agencies, in particular UNWomen, with research and training institutions, professional societies, and act as global focal point for inter-agency working groups on gender equality and human rights;
• Coach and manage junior professional staff and associates, direct expert consultants and facilitate working groups and task teams. 

D. Evidence and knowledge dissemination and use

• Ensure analysis and synthesis of trends and research findings, including from intergovernmental negotiations in the area of gender equality and human rights to inform development of cutting edge technical knowledge by GHRB;
• Ensure use of state-of-the-art technical knowledge and evidence, in global policy dialogue and advocacy, and across UNFPA units;
• Ensure dissemination and use of UNFPA’s Gender Marker system data to inform policy development and advocacy with global stakeholders;
• Develop briefing and background materials on gender equality and human rights for senior management staff.

Carry out any other duties as may be required by the Branch Chief or Division Director.

Qualifications and Experience: 

Education:  

Post-graduate University Degree or equivalent in gender studies, international development/relations, social anthropology, law and women’s rights, sociology, cultural studies, public health, demography, socio-economics, or other field directly related to the substantive area identified in the title of the post.     

Knowledge and Experience: 

10 years of increasingly responsible professional experience in the area of gender equality and women’s empowerment, of which at least seven years at the international level;

• Knowledge and experience on gender and development 
• An acknowledged expert and recognized authority in the technical area;
• Understanding of human rights dimensions of gender, including promoting rights of marginalized groups, essential
• Broad experience in gender programming, essential
• Experience in culturally sensitive programming is essential
• Experience in advising and supporting initiatives to eliminate GBV, essential
• Experience working on linkages between gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights desirable
• Gender budgeting understanding/experience an asset
• Knowledge and experience of working with civil society in support of gender equality and women’s empowerment, an asset
• Knowledge and experience of working in areas related to harmful practices, an asset
• Strong track record of technical leadership, publications, and proven ability to produce demonstrable results;
• Extensive network within development community;
• Field experience desirable
• Experience working for the UN preferred

Languages: 

Fluency in English is required. Working knowledge of another official UN language is desirable.