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. In Nigeria, UN Women works to support the Government’s national development agenda, which prioritizes the empowerment of women and girls and their contribution to all areas of economic, political, and social development.
In Nigeria, UN Women supports the strengthening of women’s voice, agency, and leadership across sectors to advance their rights, provide space for their meaningful participation, and contribute to tangible differences in their lives. Under the overarching SN 2022-2027, UN Women’s work in Nigeria focuses on four programmatic areas, including, governance and leadership, women’s economic empowerment, ending violence against women, and women, peace and security and humanitarian action, and disaster risk reduction.
Despite a US$397 billion economy and an annual growth rate of 3.6% (2021), about 40.09 percent of Nigerians are poor. One of the reasons is gender inequalities. Poverty in Nigeria is gendered. Women constitute 49.3% of the population,lead 19% of households. Some studies have noted that women in Nigeria were twice as likely as men to live below the poverty line. This feminization of poverty is largely due to structural limitations to land, finance, information/knowledge, technology, and markets. This inequality has had an impact on how women participate in politics, health, and socio-economic development. Further, violence against women and girls (VAWG) is another major concern. 30 percent of girls and women aged between 15 and 49 are reported to have experienced sexual abuse. One of the major causes of inequalities and VAWG is rigid social and gender norms often interpreted as cultural and traditional practices at household and community levels.
Despite these challenges, there are multiple opportunities to address gender inequality in Nigeria. The existence of legal frameworks and national coalitions to promote and protect women’s rights are important opportunities that can be leveraged in designing interventions to promote gender equality and women empowerment in Nigeria. In addition, there are varieties of women non-government organizations (NGOs) advocating the need to put a stop to a range of issues including FGM, child marriages, domestic violence, etc. Also, efforts to increase women’s political participation include the development of the National Gender Policy, the formation of the Nigerian Women’s Trust Fund (2011), and the ‘100 Women Lobby Group. There is also a relevant institutional framework for gender mainstreaming including the Ministry of Women’s Affairs at the federal and state level.
Reporting to the Deputy Country Representative, the Gender and Policy Expert will provide advice on gender-responsive policies and strategies. Further, the Gender and Policy Expert will provide technical support to UN Women Country Office, relevant government agencies and UN Women implementing partners in programming for women’s empowerment, promotion of women’s rights and prevention of violence against women and girls.
Provide advice on gender-responsive policies and strategies to UN Women Country Office, regional teams, relevant government agencies and UN Women implementing partners on women’s empowerment, promotion of women’s rights and prevention of violence against women and girls.
Provide capacity building support to country office in close collaboration with regional teams and external partners
Research, analyze and manage knowledge on women’s empowerment, promotion of women’s rights and prevention of violence against women and girls:
Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with key stakeholders, national, regional/ international actors in the area of women’s empowerment, promotion of women’s rights and prevention of violence against women and girls:
Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies
Deliverables (Monthly)
Core Values:
Core Competencies:
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
Education and certification
Experience
Language Requirements:
Application
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. Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.
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, 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 based on 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.)