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.
According to the UN Women global Strategic Plan 2026โ2029, UN Women will advance womenโs economic empowerment by tackling structural barriers and discriminatory laws, policies, social norms and practices that prevent equal participation and benefits from the economy. UN Women will scale up efforts to promote gender responsive macroeconomic policies, strengthen womenโs rights and access to resources, and enhance their economic agency and autonomy.
As per the Americas and the Caribbean regional strategy, UN Women Regional Office for the Americas and the Caribbean in Panama has identified a number of sectors and issues as priority falling into the thematic of economic empowerment of UN Women's Strategic Plan, to include supporting efforts towards ensuring a gender approach in processes aimed towards the adoption and localization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the development of macroeconomic enabling environments for gender equality, women's economic rights; care systems; female poverty eradication, gender responsive budgeting; equal employment and decent work for women and men; ensuring women access and command over resources; promoting women's entrepreneurship and the relation with the private sector.ย
UN Women supports the Tlatelolco Commitment approved by Member States of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), participating in the XVI Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), which establishes a decade of action (2025-2035) in Latin America and the Caribbean to accelerate the achievement of substantive gender equality and the care society through political, economic, social, cultural and environmental transformations.
According to UN Women Strategic Note 2026 โ 2029 for the Americas and the Caribbean, UN Women will workย to increase subnational and national capacity, to design and strengthen comprehensive care systems and advance the right to care, in line with the Tlatelolco Commitment 2025โ2035, promoting social co-responsibility and the effective participation of women in all their diversity and of caregivers, especially those facing multiple discriminations and racism.
Reporting to the Deputy Regional Director, the Policy Specialist, Economic Empowerment will oversee the development of programmes and resource mobilization strategies on the thematic areas of gender equality and women's economic empowerment, provide capacity building to non-physical presences, country offices and multi-country office in the region, establish and strengthen partnerships, and develop relevant knowledge products on economic empowerment and care. The incumbent leads a team of 10 people, including direct reports as well as affiliate personnel.
Key Functions and Accountabilities:
1. Oversee and support the development ofย regional and country programmes on gender equality and women's economic rights and care:
Oversee the development of regional and country programme documents on gender equality and women's economic empowerment and careย in line with theย Tlatelolco Commitment and its decade of action. Support for the design, implementation, and development of policies, strategies, and action plans for Comprehensive Care Systems. Provide advice on contextualizing / localizing programme documents, country strategies, and knowledge products; Coordinate proper monitoring and reporting on gender equality and women's economic rights in collaboration with programme teams.2. Provide capacity building support to Non-Physical presences (NPP) / Country Office (CO) / Multi Country Office (MCO) teams and partners:
Provide substantive technical and policy support to NPPs, COs and MCO programme teams in developing and strengthening projects/ programmes; Develop, implement and monitor capacity building initiatives; Provide technical support to partners on implementation of gender equality and women's economic empowerment programmes and initiatives; Provide technical policy advice to programme/ project managers/ specialists in the region.ย
3. Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with stakeholders, regional and international actors and development partners
Build and maintain alliances and strategic partnerships for the advancement of gender equality and women's economic empowerment; Build and maintain close liaisons with relevant donors and other actors supporting efforts towards gender equality and women's economic empowerment; Production of periodic updates and briefs on regional/country development situations to be used by stakeholders, CO and HQ; Maintain close contact with relevant staff in UN Women HQ.4. Manage the resource mobilization strategy for women's economic empowerment in the region:
Participate in the implementation, monitoring and periodic updating of the resource mobilization strategy on women's economic empowerment; Provide support to field-based presences in the region in mobilizing resources for the implementation of women's economic initiatives; Research and analyze information on donors; prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation.ย
5. Oversee the design of gender equality and women's economic rights initiatives in the region and the development of relevant knowledge products:
Provide policy recommendations and guidance to strategic planning and positioning on women's economic empowerment and care; Work closely with and provide advice to regional, national bodies and interagency groups that influence national policies related to gender equality and women's economic rights and where necessary represent UN Women; Research, develop and present analytical reports, research papers, briefing notes, background papers, summaries, correspondence, and knowledge products on gender equality and women's economic empowerment; Identify promising practices, technical expertise, and strategic opportunities on women 's economic empowerment; Identify and disseminate lessons learnt and good practices in collaboration with country offices; Ensure technical skills and knowledge are shared within and among RO/NPPs/COs/MCO.6. The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation.
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 knowledge of gender equality, women's economic empowerment and care issues; Knowledge of methodologies and best practices for promoting gender equality and womenยดs empowerment in general and in the Americas and the Caribbean region in particular; Strong knowledge of the Americas and Caribbean region; Knowledge of the UN System; Excellent networking skills; Ability to interact with donors, identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising; Ability to perform qualitative and quantitative policy research; Ability to advocate and provide policy advice; Excellent analytical and problem solving skills; Ability to write policy papers, speeches, briefings; Strong knowledge of programme development, implementation, results-based management and reporting.Recruitment Qualifications:
Education and Certification:
An advanced university degree (Masterโs degree or equivalent) in economics, development economics or related is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. Specialized studies in gender is a distinct advantage.Experience:
At least 7 years progressively responsible experience in designing and managing programmes and advocating for gender equality and women's economic empowerment, ideally with some experience in developing countries preferably in the Americas and Caribbean region; Experience in programme, policy analysis, and strategic planning is required; Experience working with, and building partnerships with governments, donors and civil society organizations internationally and in the field is required; Experience working with the UN is desirable. Experience working in the Americas and Caribbean region is desirable.Languages:
Fluency in English and Spanish is required; Knowledge ofย French and/or Portuguese is desirable; Knowledge of other UN official working language (Arabic, Chinese or Russian) is 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.
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