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.

The Special Assistant, under the supervision of the Regional Director, provides operational, planning, managerial, technical and coordination support to all aspects of the work of the Regional Director. S/he acts as a key interface with various units within and outside the Regional Office, coordinating the flow of management information between units and the Directorate and thereby ensuring smooth and timely operations.

The Special Assistant provides substantive and practical support to the Regional Director in their responsibilities to manage the Regional Office business unit, lead programming work in the Regional Office and associated non-resident programme presences and in their support to the Regional Director’s oversight of Country Offices in Asia-Pacific region. The Special Assistant will provide timely analytical information, consolidate inputs from various sources, and prepare and meticulously store high quality documentation in a timely manner. S/he will have proven ability to work and act under pressure and with discretion in a sensitive and challenging environment. S/he will be confident in engaging in technical work related to gender equality and women’s empowerment. The incumbent will have excellent communication, coordination, and organizational skills to support the substantive work of the Regional Director. S/he will strategically support the internal communication and coordination functions of the Regional Office.

S/he will also play a role in speech writing, preparing presentations using the most appropriate software/digital tools and other event planning, meeting support and cross-organizational initiatives with sister UN agencies, regional stakeholders and other partners. This includes carrying out substantive analysis and providing summaries to the Regional Director on major documentation covering all aspects of the UN Women Regional Office Asia and Pacific work, and policy and programme activities from within UN Women and the UN system requiring the Regional Director’s involvement.

This role requires outstanding professionalism and discretion, organization and attention to detail, energy and initiative, the ability to deftly multi-task and a willingness to work on a wide variety of projects and tasks.

The consultant will be reporting to Regional Director, and will be supported by Executive Assistant, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Provide coordination support to Regional Director

• Provide coordination support to the Regional Director in their interactions and exchanges with UN Women Representatives, Regional Office and HQ staff, keeping records and ensuring action and follow-up when required in a timely and efficient manner, and serving as minute-taker when requested.
• Support coordination of technical assistance requests from Country Offices in collaboration with technical specialists and retainer assets.
• Provide support to Country Offices and programme presences, including coordinating triaging their requests for support as well as leading organization of retreats of Country Representatives, facilitating, as needed, technical support on the development and implementation of work plans and provide recommendations in support of quality assurance, identification of joint programming opportunities and coordinate technical assistance from RO thematic leads.
• Provide support coordinating inputs from Country Offices and programme presences as and when needed.

2. Provide analysis and knowledge management support.

• Provide analysis and research on the political, social and economic situation in the region by following and monitoring priority areas directly relevant to UN Women’s mandate, in coordination with relevant thematic units.
• Coordinate knowledge management mechanism for regional office.
• Ensure the information flow within the Regional Office and with Country Offices and programme presences and Headquarters as well as facilitate the liaising with staff and partners within and outside the UN system.

3. Provide substantive briefings and talking points.

• Manages the front office of the Regional Director. This includes supervising the managing and organizing of substantive agenda and correspondence.
• Manages the organization and preparation of field visits and missions of the Regional Director, including coordinating briefings and ensuring the preparation of talking points, reports and other non-logistics related materials to ensure success.
• Manage the organization and preparation of high-level visits to the regional office, including by HQ delegations or leadership.
• Review and check quality of draft speeches, talking points and presentation materials for delivery by the Regional Director in key events, meetings and other internal and external fora ensuring that UN Women´s corporate and regional perspective, goals, objectives, strategies and/or policies on gender issues and UN Women programmes are appropriately reflected, working closely with relevant staff as required.

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is an office-based consultancy. This consultant will be based in Bangkok, Thailand and will work on a full-time basis. For travel on mission, if required and agreed, travel costs and Daily Subsistence Allowance (DSA) will be provided following UN Women Travel policy. Travel authorization will be granted to the consultant prior to the travel date.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:

https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

• Excellent analytical skills
• Strong knowledge of UN Women processes and systems
• Strong networking skills
• Strong inter-personal skills, communicate effectively with staff at all levels of the organization;
• Ability to work in a highly pressured environment

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Social Sciences, Political Science, Development, Public Administration, Gender or related field 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.
• A project/programme management certification would be an added advantage.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience working in international development such as International/regional organizations, INGOs and government institutions.
• Prior experience with the UN or other international organization working in programming.
• Prior experience and interest in international development work focused on, or strongly involving gender equality at national or regional level.
• Experience in technical support provision, communications and facilitation is an asset.
• Prior experience in the Asia and the Pacific Region will be an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Working knowledge of another official UN language is an asset.

How to Apply

Candidates of all nationalities – including Thai nationals – are welcomed to apply for this assignment, and accordingly the appropriate consultancy contract (international or national) will be issued.

• All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc.
• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page)
• Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns, or other materials from the shortlisted candidates.

Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Please combine the P11 with cover letter and upload in one file. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment. Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

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, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, 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 to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel 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.)