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.
From the local to the global level, womenโs leadership is restricted. Women are under-represented in leading positions, whether in elected offices, the civil service, the private sector, or academia. This occurs despite their proven abilities as leaders and agents of change, and their right to participate equally in public life and beyond. Women face several obstacles to participating in decision-making and governance. Women are less likely than men to have the education, contacts and resources needed to become effective leaders. In line with SDG 5 target 5.5 of ensuring womenโs full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic, and public life, UN-Women prioritizes womenโs leadership in its Strategic Plan 2022-2025. In addition, UN-Women has spearheaded several initiatives to promote womenโs leadership in recent years. For example, in the context of the flagship programme on women leadership and Generation Equality, UN-Women has, since 2019, launched 1) Leaders for Generation Equality, now re-launching as the UN Women Leaders Network: a global intergenerational network of 75+ women leaders from different sectors who advocate for gender-equal participation in leadership and decision-making positions and aims to change the traditional picture of a leader; 2) a Call to Action to parliamentarians to increase the number of women in politics; and 3) a Generation Equality Action Coalition dedicated to Feminist Movements and Leadership.
Under the supervision of the Deputy Chief of Staff and in close collaboration with the Senior Adviser on Womenโs Leadership, the Project Manager Consultant will oversee the management of the UN Women Leaders Network and support the positioning of UN-Women on womenโs leadership, focusing on the following 3 main deliverables: a) building on the above-mentioned initiatives, manage the establishment and the day-to-day work on the first permanent UN Women Leaders Network chaired by the Executive Director; b) manage the mobilization of 100 intergenerational women leaders from different sectors to join the UN Women Leaders Network; and c) organise regular convenings of the Network, and manage partnerships and donor relations with other networks and organizations to advance womenโs leadership.
Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work
Project management of the UN Women Leaders Network
Manage the development of the UN Women Leaders Network; Manage the multi-year project document for the network; Manage the embedding of the UN Women Leaders Network into UN Womenโs broader work and alignment with the UN Women Strategic Plan; Manage outreach, invitations and day-to-day communication with prospective, selected and invited leaders taking part in the network; Manage outreach to and engagement of existing networks of women leaders and other organizations focusing on womenโs leadership; Manage internal alignment of the network, with particular focus on regional coordination; Manage monitoring and tracking of the UN Women Leaders Network project, ensuring alignment with the project document and deliverables.Strategic communications management for UN Women Leaders Network and UN Womenโs broader work on womenโs leadership
Manage the advocacy strategy for the UN Women Leaders Network, including managing the drafting of Calls to Action and other advocacy tools produced by the network; Manage the communication strategy for the UN Women Leaders Network, in cooperation with internal and external partners as required; Drafting communications content related to the UN Women Leaders Network and UN Womenโs broader work on womenโs leadership, including writing press releases, web stories, speeches, talking points, articles, social media assets, and more. ย ยEvent management of global virtual and in-person outreach and engagement events under the umbrella of the UN Women Leaders Network
Plan and execute engagement events for the UN Women Leaders Network and for UN Womenโs broader outreach on womenโs leadership in the context of Generation Equality; Manage regular convenings of the UN Women Leaders Network, gathering all the women leaders of the network; Manage partner meetings about the UN Women Leaders Network.Management of strategic partnerships and donor relations
Manage relationships with partners such as women leaders, UN Member States, NGOs, foundations, and other relevant stakeholders on womenโs leadership; Manage outreach to and communication with new and prospective partners; Manage donor reporting and project budget.Knowledge Management
Development and production of knowledge products on womenโs leadership such as policy documents, presentations, reports, research documents, briefing notes, and other documents; Manage the UN Women Leaders Network contact databaseDeliverables:
Daily management of the UN Women Leaders Network.ย The UN Women Leaders Network is composed of an active and mobilized group of 100 women leaders. Regular convenings and engagement events for the network are organized. leaStrategic outreach, communications, and advocacy for the UN Women Leaders Network. Strong relationships with various partners and stakeholders, with a focus on existing networks of women leaders; Timely and quality communication materials; Timely and quality knowledge products;Consultantโs Workplace and Official Travel:
Home based with possible travel to New York.Core Values:
Integrity; Professionalism; Respect for Diversity.Core Competencies:
Please visitย this linkย for more information on UN Womenโs Values and Competencies Framework:ย
Functional Competencies:
Good knowledge of gender equality and women's rights issues. Ability to think logically and work with great attention to detail. Ability to interact effectively with partners/stake holders. Understanding of gender equality and women's empowerment.ย Familiarity with civil society organizations and international institutions.ย Ability to write clearly and concisely.ย Ability to work harmoniously with staff members of different national and cultural backgrounds.ย Strong knowledge of virtual meeting software (Zoom, Teams, etc.), as well as excellent skills in using Microsoft Office package (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and social media applications. Proven interest in gender equality, womenโs empowerment, and leadership. Excellent interpersonal and networking skills to coordinate partnerships and donor relations. Possesses substantive knowledge and command of the areas of social media and communications Ability to take on various and multifaceted tasks with a flexible approach Excellent analytical skills Excellent communication and writing skills;ย
Education and Certification:
Advanced university degree in political affairs, international relations, social sciences, communications or journalism or 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.ย At least one year of academic research.ยExperience:
Minimum of 5 years of experience working with womenโs leadership, project coordination and/or network-building is required. Experience with project management is required. Experience in the UN system is desirable.ยLanguages:
Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of any other UN official is an asset.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.
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