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.
All human development and human rights issues involve gender dimensions. UN Women globally focuses on key priority areas fundamental to womenโs equality and can unlock progress across the board. UN Womenโs priority areas include increasing womenโs leadership and participation in all sectors and spheres, ending violence against women, enhancing womenโs economic empowerment, engaging in all aspects of womenโs peace and security processes, making gender equality central to national planning and budgeting through Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB), strengthening public institutions for implementation of gender policies and legislative frameworks, strengthening capacity of national stakeholders in gender policy, public services delivery, and advancing gender in intergovernmental processes.
UN Womenโs work on strengthening gender responsive public institutions and service delivery including in national planning, budgeting, statistical system, monitoring and evaluation processes incorporate a gender perspective. UN Womenโs work globally have contributed to supporting development and implementation of national and local policies and legislation that serve the rights, needs and interests of women and girls, and to support capacity development, provide technical support, toย operationalize the policies, mobilize targeted resources and capacities, generating good practices for improving women's access to services and increasing accountability for Gender Equality and Womenโs Empowerment (GEWE). At the forefront of global, regional, and local advocacy for gender responsive public policy and service delivery, UN Women has built partnerships with various government, inter-governmental and non-governmental partners to further efforts and demonstrate its relevance to sustainable development, aid effectiveness, public sector reform and financing for development.
UN Womenโs China Country Office (CCO), based in Beijing, China, works towards supportive national and local capacities of partners, including sectoral line ministries and departments, for ensuring Chinaโs relevant development policies and programmes are implemented with strong gender lens, supported by strong gender data ecosystem, and respond to the needs, rights, and interest of women and girls, in line with national plans and priorities of the Government.ย
In context of the new UNSDCF (2026-2030) and the forthcoming 15th 5-year Development Plan of China, UN Women will strengthen focus on supporting national stakeholders including at central and local levels, in relevant provinces and counties, to support implementation of relevant policies and plans to benefit women and girls. This includes strengthening gender data ecosystem, capacities of national and local stakeholders, as well as institutional mechanisms and structures for delivering gender responsive public services for women and girls. Key considerations are needed in context of high-quality development include in climate and green development, development of AI and technological advancement, strengthening development planning and M&E systems, and the changing populations dynamics that affect care-systems, social protection services for elderly and most vulnerable groups of women.ย
Technical expertise and policy advisory support is needed in establishing/strengthening relevant gender responsive policy tools for inclusive and gender-sensitive programmes/schemes in emerging policy priorities within the new development plan of the country. Leveraging on the institutional capacity, past work and established networks and partnerships, the focus will be on creating an enabling environment by building capacities of key stakeholders and institutions to address gender issues and be instrumental in making the Governmentโs planning, statistical, and budgeting processes more gender responsive, and stakeholders have the gender capacity to implement these effectively.ย It will also include leading on UN Womenโs work on transforming care systems, in coordination with other UN agencies and the key government and other stakeholders.ย Furthermore, the specialist will lead in implementing women friendly city initiative in Changsha, and provide technical support to local womenโs federation and other stakeholders.ย
Additional dimension will also include to document good practices and lessons learned from China particularly in gender responsive public service delivery, to share at global stage, in context of accelerating progress towards achievement of SDGs, including SDG 5.ย
Within this context, UN Women seeks the services of a Policy Specialist โ Gender to provide technical expertise and policy advisory support on gender responsive policies and governance, including gender responsive statistical systems, and gender responsive public services to relevant national and sub-national government counterparts and other stakeholders.
Scope of Work:
Under the overall guidance and direct supervision of the Country Representative, UNW CCO, the Policy Specialist - Gender will have the following specific tasks-
1.ย Technical advisory on Advancing Gender Equality and SDGs
Provide policy support to key government and non-government institutions on gender issues and mainstreaming gender in policy and legislative opportunities including advice and technical support on operationalizationย Technical support on gender mainstreaming, strengthening gender data, and tracking gender indicators in the national planning and reporting ecosystems working with key counterparts. Facilitate technical support on development of standards, toolkits, and guidance with gender lens, partnering with other UN agencies as relevant, on key policy areas including social protection, transformative care-systems, aging and demographic changes, women friendly cities, rural development, etc.ย Participate and contribute to knowledge building and networking focusing on GEWE at provincial and national level as required.ย Ensure substantive contribution to the analysis and research on development policy in the country and prepare substantive inputs to the UN Women country office programme planning in the area of strengthening public institutions and social policy from gender perspectives. Keep abreast of new policy developments and strategies analyzing policy papers, strategy documents, national plans and development frameworks, and prepares briefs and inputs for policy dialogue, technical assistance coordination, and development frameworks in issues and topics concerning women and girls, including in the area of transforming care systems, women friendly cities including public institutions and services for women, aging population and supporting youth development and empowerment, social protection, etc.; Identify entry point and programmatic partnership opportunities for UN Womenโs programme and normative support in social policy and strengthening public institutions from gender perspectives, in support of efforts by Government of China aligned to ongoing plan and the new 15th 5-year plan. Design and formulate of programme initiatives and partnerships in this area in close collaboration with the UN system agencies, national government and local government counterparts, and other stakeholders.ย Analyze quality of programme/projects design incorporating lessons learned, newly developed policies and best practices and establishing appropriate implementation and monitoring mechanisms and system ;2.ย Documentation, advocacy and knowledge managementย
Undertake gender analysis, identify gender policy priority areas for agenda setting, and develop policy positions on key emerging issues as relevant, in partnership with UN and national gov and non-government institutionsย Provide support in documenting best practices on gender mainstreaming and gender responsive public policy and service delivery Document good practices from China on gender responsive public policy and service delivery and organize multi-stakeholder dialogues and sharing of experiences at national and global levelsย Proactively and substantively support and implement relevant policy initiatives to take forward Beijing+30 national and international commitments including Action Agenda 6+1 as relevant to social policy and public institutions portfolio;ย3.ย Facilitating training and capacity development of relevant constituents on gender mainstreaming and gender responsive public service delivery especially in priority thematic areas (such as gender data ecosystem, transforming care systems, and women/family friendly cities initiatives).ย
Facilitating and supporting gender action plans emerging from provincial and national level discussions on key policy and implementation plans Review and contextualize training tools, manuals, and other resource material on gender mainstreaming, and engendering SDGs Monitor the outcomes of the training by undertaking pre- and post-assessment and developing quality training reports. Ensure analysis and research of information on donors, prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for collaboration and cost efficiencies. Identify partnership opportunity to implement UN Womenโs programmes across triple mandate in social policy and strengthening public institutions Provide coordination and support (IEC/advocacy) on gender mainstreaming in public services training/workshops with relevant counterpartsย Develop partnerships with central and provincial institutions, agencies, experts and practitioners for capacity building on gender responsive governance and public service delivery in key priority areas. Taking lead in planning and organising gender capacity building training for government functionaries and stakeholders as required.4.ย Partnership management and networking:
Identify partnership opportunity to support on normative commitments of China to support implementation and engagement in the normative processes Develop and maintain strong relationships and outreach to relevant government bodies at national and sub-national level on key gender policy initiatives and on programmes/initiatives related to gender responsive governanceย Identify opportunities for partnering with government, private sector, UN agencies, and other organizations on UN Women Strategic Note and SDGs; Support resource mobilization initiatives to strengthen ongoing efforts on gender responsive policy and governance at national and sub-national levels. This includes building and managing partnerships for gender data ecosystem, transforming care and women friendly cities.ย Building and maintaining issue-based partnerships with the private sector, donors and partners. Build and maintain alliances and strategic partnerships for the advancement of gender responsive public policy and governance by preparing relevant documentation, i.e. project summaries, conference papers, speeches, donor profiles, and participating in donor meetings and public information events. Create and coordinate partnerships with the UN Agencies, government institutions, bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors, private sector, civil society etc.ย5.ย Leadership, Management and Coordination:
Participate and lead in UN Womenโs gender responsive governance portfolio including support to planning, reporting, and donor reporting as requiredย Provide leadership to UN Women staff in other programmes/projects/departments for effective and coordinated engagement through regular interaction and facilitation on gender responsive governance portfolio.ย Provide technical assistance and capacity development to UN Women team on gender mainstreaming and policy coherence on other programmatic areas for resource mobilization, working with private sector and other related stakeholders. Coordinate with project team for timely completion of project deliverables. Preparation of progress reports and other briefing documents as required. Provide inputs to outreach/publicity material geared towards partners and donors; Facilitate meetings and visits of senior management team and represent UN Women in platforms and events. Manage team and performance, giving guidance, ensuring quality of work, and managing performance Oversee the development of programme documents on transforming care systems, women friendly cities, strengthening social policy and public institutions for women and girls, social protection, etc.;ย Provide substantive leadership to programme documents, country strategies, and knowledge products on the above area of work Coordinate monitoring and reporting and ensure compliance to UN Womenโs rules and regulations on programme oversight and management as the portfolio lead Prepare briefing materials, background documents, speech and other relevant papers in this area of work as required6.ย Any other duties as assigned by supervisor relevant to this position.
Key Performance Indicators
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 and international standards Strong knowledge of China, particularly national development plan, and gender policies/programmes is required Ability to advocate and provide policy advice on gender equality and development agenda is required Ability to perform qualitative and quantitative policy research and gender analysis skills required Proven track record in developing partnership with government in gender equality and womenโs empowerment is required Ability to interact with donors, identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising Ability to write policy papers, speeches, briefings. Strong knowledge of programme development, implementation, results-based management and reporting Excellent networking skillsMinimum Qualifications:
Education and Certification:
Masterโs degree in public policy, development planning, Gender Studies and Social Sciences or related fieldย 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:
At least 5 years of professional work experience at the national and/or international level in programme, management, advisory services or related field preferably in social policy and good governance Experience in policy or programming in gender equality and women's empowerment is requiredย Prior experience in advocating and providing technical support for national policy and planning, especially in context of government partnership, is desirable Demonstrated experience engaging diverse stakeholders, including governments, civil society and international development is required. Experience working with the UN is an asset Excellent oral and written skills; excellent drafting, formulation, reporting skills.Languages:
Fluency in English and Chinese is required. Working knowledge of the other UN official working language 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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