I. Organizational Context:

1. Provide advisory and technical support for implementation of UN Women ECA Roadmap for Central Asia:

• Analyze political, economic, and social dynamics and emerging trends for the sub-region, including specific trends related to progress and challenges regarding gender equality and women’s empowerment;
• Identify existing, emerging, and potential gaps that hinder gender equality and women’s empowerment in the sub-region, especially those that could be effectively addressed on the sub-regional level;
• Identify emerging opportunities and entry points to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment, especially on the sub-regional level, and propose an appropriate positioning of UN Women to leverage these opportunities;
• Identify key strategic partnerships that UN Women should explore/initiate or scale up as well as partners that could provide resources for exploring the new opportunities and scaling gender equality and women’s empowerment on the sub-regional level;
• Support UN Women teams in Central Asia to design and implement UN Women’s programming in line with sub-regional approaches, in close alignment and collaboration with sub-regional initiatives involving governments, civil society, donors, UN system partners and other development stakeholders and partners;
• Guide the UN Women Regional Director on strategic areas for GEWE related programmatic work and contribution for the further development of UN Women’s engagement in Central Asia;
• Provide specialized technical and strategic support in managing all aspects of the sub-regional programme design and related activities ensuring compliance and accountability in programme monitoring, reporting and evaluation;
• Develop thematic sub-regional initiatives, in line with UN Women’s Strategic Plan, policy documents, briefs and other strategic papers/materials for use in the development and presentation of innovative and coherent policy and programmatic positions;
• Support UN Women ECA RO to finalize its strategy/approach for the modality of engagement in Central Asia sub-regional and country specific modality as a follow-up to the functional review’s findings.
• Undertake an annual review of the roadmap implementation and ensure further results-based planning and reporting.

2. Represent UN Women in the subregional interstate and international, including UN inter-agency specific, coordination mechanisms and processes.

• Represent UN Women Kazakhstan in high-level processes, including upon request of the Government of Kazakhstan, and/or the UNRC of Kazakhstan;
• Support UN Women country teams in Central Asia, as requested, to provide thought leadership and guidance to the United Nations Country Teams (UNCTs), UNSDCF Results Groups, GTGs and other thematic groups in supporting an enhanced sub-regional response to national partners in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in Central Asia, in line with the normative agenda;
• Provide thought leadership and support for mobilization and networking of civil society and other relevant stakeholders, leveraging already established sub-regional platforms and networks (Women’s Dialogue of Central Asia, Central Asian Alliance to End GBV, ActForEqual Central Asia, AsiaFem and others) to promote gender equality and women empowerment activities in the sub-region;
• Ensure that UN Women is strategically placed with the UN planning processes, joint programs and other inter-agency initiatives at the sub-regional level;
• Lead regular briefing for the international development partners/donors on GEWE priorities and opportunities for joint work in Central Asia;
• Identify and support the development of UN joint programming, sub-regional opportunities, and programmes, including specifically on GEWE;
• Provide progress reports on UN Women’s programme experiences in support of UN women inter-agency coordination role in Central Asia;
• Represent UN Women at conferences, events, strategic conferences, and fora in the sub-region.

3. Create and maintain strategic partnerships and manage resource mobilization strategies.

• Support UN Women country teams to establish and maintain partnerships with other UN agencies, governments, donors, civil society organizations and stakeholders;
• Oversee relationship building with national partners to support implementation and expansion of the work of UN Women in the country, and respond to any potential problems;
• Build further cooperation with existing and new civil society platforms and networks in organizing joint efforts at the sub-regional and regional levels;
• Facilitate engagement of stakeholders in Central Asia into the global initiatives as Generation Equality and Action Coalitions; Compact on WPS-HA, etc.
• Lead the development of partnerships with private sector companies, foundations, and other business institutions in the region;
• Support UN Women country teams to conceptualize, design and implement resource mobilization strategies for country and sub-region-specific initiatives;
• Coordinate external relations and public outreach; establish and maintain relationships with governments, parliaments, CSOs, gender expert community and networks and think tanks working at the sub-regional level.
• Plan and oversee the implementation of advocacy and awareness campaigns and fund-raising events, as required.

4. Facilitate knowledge development and dissemination, communications, and advocacy on GEWE sub-regional and national priorities.

• Support UN Women country teams to develop and facilitate a knowledge management strategy/plan, based on needs and priorities of partners in Central Asia.
• Facilitate the development and implementation of UN capacity building strategy on GEWE in Central Asia;
• Provide substantive technical advice and capacity building support to the partners;
• Support UN Women country teams to develop policies, products, and other technical documents as requested;
• Oversee and manage capacity building opportunities and initiatives of key institutions and mechanisms;
• Provide timely advice on programmatic areas of work at the design and implementation stages;
• Coordinate the AsiaFem knowledge sharing initiative on behalf of the Regional Office;
• Manage the process of identifying and synthesizing of best practices and lessons learned that are directly linked to the implementation of the programme and contribute to their global dissemination;
• Support to develop and implement communications/advocacy initiatives;
• Support UN Women country offices and partners on innovation and best practices to enhance programme performance, in line with ECA RO Knowledge Management Plan;
• Identify gaps and design/support capacity building/ learning opportunities for UN Women staff in the region.
• Promote teamwork across Central Asia offices to ensure harmonization, linkages, collaboration, and synergy;

5. Manage the UN Women Liaison Office 

• Lead the Liaison office in the delivery of goals and workplan;
• Develop an annual work plan and budget for the Liaison Office; and oversee its implementation, including provision of direction, guidance, and technical support;
• Coordinate with the Kazakhastan CO regarding the operational support needed by the Liaison Office in Almaty for the timely implementation of the workplan;

As the Almaty office grows, ensure a respectful, inclusive safe and healthy work environment for all personnel, managing the performance and promoting learning opportunities in line with UN Women HR Policies.

II. Competencies:

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Ethics and Values
• GEWE and Organizational Awareness:
• Development and Innovation
• Work in teams
• Communication and Information Sharing
• Self-management and Emotional Intelligence
• Conflict Management
• Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing
• Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

• Strong knowledge of gender equality and women’s empowerment;
• Strong political experience preferably in the Central Asian region;
• Ability to conceptualize and convey strategic vision from the spectrum of development experience;
• Excellent negotiation, advocacy and interpersonal skills;
• Proven expertise in writing cogent and convincing documents;
• Strong communications and public speaking skills;
• Proven analytical and problem solving skills;
• Ability to lead a team and manage performance;
• Ability to interact with high-level decision-makers and good understanding of intergovernmental processes;
• Effectiveness in establishing and fostering good relations with government counterparts, UN agencies, donors, and NGO partners;
• Effectiveness in strengthening accountability and results-based management in supporting organizational priorities, policy, and decision-making processes.

III. Recruitment Qualifications: 

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in International Relations, Gender Studies 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.

Experience:

• At least 10 years of active participation in or leadership of gender-related development programmes is required.
• Significant experience working in an international or multinational setting is required.
• Prior experience in the region is desirable.

Language Requirements: 

• Fluency in English is required;
• Fluency in 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, 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.)