Gender & Social Inclusion Specialist

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

The UN considers Yemen the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. The impact of the conflict has been devastating, with tens of thousands of civilians killed or injured and public infrastructure throughout the country severely damaged or destroyed. An estimated 80 per cent of the population, 24 million people, requires some form of humanitarian or protection assistance. More than 20 million Yemenis are food insecure and an estimated 3.3 million people remain displaced.

During peace consultations convened by the Special Envoy for the Secretary General for Yemen in Sweden in December 2018, the parties to the conflict agreed to redeploy forces from Hodeida, exchange prisoners and move forward with initiatives in Taizz. After more than three years of war, and over two years since the last peace talks, the Stockholm agreement represents a significant step forward. Its successful implementation can play a key role in paving the way for further progress on the peace process led by the Special Envoy.

The aim of the Peace Support Facility (PSF) is to support the peace process by accelerating the implementation of agreements reached by the parties to the conflict during negotiations led by the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy to Yemen. The Facility also aims to build public support for the peace process by achieving tangible, rapid improvement in the daily lives of people in priority areas identified by the UN Special Envoy. The intention is to demonstrate concrete alternatives to conflict, create local demand for peace and incentivize parties to deepen their engagement in the Special Envoy’s peace process. The project’s overarching output is that the peace process in Yemen is supported with fast, flexible initiatives, agreed by the parties, that deliver tangible, rapid improvements in the daily lives of people, and reinforce and build public support for the political process.

The Gender and Social Inclusion Specialist will, under the overall guidance of the Team Leader Peace Operations Support, and under the direct supervision of the Peace Support Facility Manager, provide guidance and direction to ensure mainstreaming and promotion of gender equality and social inclusion in the work of the PSF.

S/he will develop a Gender Strategy and regularly integrate gender and social inclusion during all stages of programme design, implementation, monitoring and reporting. The Gender and Social Inclusion Specialist will work to ensure that the PSF genuinely engage women and excluded groups in planning processes and project implementation, also promoting the role of women in peacebuilding in line with UNSC Resolution 1325. S/he will also support the design of initiatives identified by the Special Envoy which focus on neglected geographical areas and among underrepresented groups, with particular attention to promoting the inclusion of women.

The Gender and Inclusion Specialist will play an important role in strengthening PSF staff and partners’ capacities to improve gender-sensitive and socially inclusive programming, planning and reporting.

1. Provide strategic and technical support to strengthen PSF gender programming:

• Gather and analyse gender-related data and information on Yemen, and in particular on areas of relevance to the work of the PSF;
• Develop a gender strategy for the PSF and provide regular advice on how to mainstream gender and promote women’s empowerment across the different areas of work;
• Regularly review the PSF resource and results framework to strengthen/add gender-related indicators and related budget allocations for gender-specific interventions;
• In coordination with the Office of the Special Envoy, identify opportunities for PSF interventions that promote the role of women in dialogue and peacebuilding, in line with UNSC Resolution 1325;
• Support the preparation of gender-related information and documentation for the meetings of the Facility Steering Committee, and of any other relevant coordination mechanism. In this regard, ensure PSF contribution to and coordination with the women’s platform to ensure gender participation in the peace dialogue;
• Lead the coordination, with other relevant UN entities, in ensuring coherence and avoiding overlapping of gender-related interventions;
• Undertake gender analyses of key components of PSF work to strengthen its understanding of the gender dynamics and identify ways to strengthen its gender equality and women’s empowerment activities;
• Contribute to donor liaison and reporting by providing input on PSF gender-related work and results;
• Identify and follow-up on strategic opportunities for resource mobilization for implementation of gender-related activities.

2. Ensure gender-sensitive implementation and monitoring of PSF interventions:

• Develop gender analyses for individual PSF interventions, identifying potential opportunities for promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment, and potential risks of negatively affecting gender equality together with mitigation measures;
• Design and implement mechanisms to ensure an adequate number of women beneficiaries in each PSF intervention;
• Regularly monitor, collect and analyze data on women beneficiaries and women’s participation in PSF interventions;
• Support PSF interventions to correctly plan and capture gender results, and promote more systematic reporting on gender-specific issues;
• Ensure the existence of mechanisms for women’s groups/leaders to raise gender equality concerns regarding the PSF during the stakeholder engagement process;
• Collaborate with relevant M&E staff to make sure that the impact measurements focus on women.

3. Support the planning, development and implementation of activities that promote social inclusion of vulnerable and excluded groups:

• In coordination with the Office of the Special Envoy, identify initiatives that will generate demand for peace, especially in neglected geographical areas and among underrepresented groups;
• Provide advisory support to the PSF manager to integrate social inclusion aspects in project interventions;
• Conduct research and analysis on vulnerable and excluded groups in Yemen and identify programmatic entry points for promoting social inclusion;
• Develop indicators, baselines and targets to reflect the PSF work on social inclusion, and ensure provision of gender disaggregated data;
• Contribute to developing and implementing inclusive mechanisms and fora to engage local authorities, civil society, youth and women in the definition of programme priorities and needs;
• Contribute to individual project risk analyses, to identify potentials opportunities and risks related to exclusion/inclusion of marginalized and vulnerable groups;
• Support the development of mechanisms for local communities or individuals to raise concerns and grievances regarding project implementation;

4. Lead capacity development, knowledge sharing and contribute to advocacy and communications of PSF gender and social inclusion work:

• Conduct regular training and orientation on gender and social inclusion and other related subjects to PSF staff;
• Develop and conduct, when relevant, capacity development programme on gender equality and women’s empowerment for partner organizations and communities;
• Contribute to PSF and broader CO communications efforts to highlight results and achievements on gender;
• Provide technical support in the design of advocacy messages and outreach products on issues related to gender equality, women’s empowerment and social inclusion, with a focus on vulnerable groups’ engagement in the peace process;
• Support relevant PSF staff members to ensure a gender-balanced team, including the recruitment of female field monitors and engineers;
• Monitor, document and disseminate PSF lessons learned in the field of gender and social inclusion;
• Conduct field visits to monitor Gender and Social Inclusion aspects of all programmes.

• human rights and gender equality is prioritized as an ethical principle within all actions;
• activities are designed and implemented in accordance with “Social and Environmental Standards of UNDP”;
• any kind of diversities based on ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, disability, religion, class, gender are respected within all implementations including data production;
• differentiated needs of women and men are considered;
• inclusive approach is reflected within all actions and implementations, in that sense an enabling and accessible setup in various senses such as disability gender language barrier is created;
• necessary arrangements to provide gender parity within all committees, meetings, trainings etc. introduced.

Core Competencies:

Innovation: Ability to make new and useful ideas work

• Level 5: Creates new and relevant ideas and leads others to implement them

Leadership: Ability to persuade others to follow

• Level 5: Plans and acts transparently, actively works to remove barriers

People Management: Ability to improve performance and satisfaction

• Level 5: Models high professional standards and motivates excellence in others

Communication: Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform

• Level 5: Gains trust of peers, partners, clients by presenting complex concepts in practical terms to others

Delivery: Ability to get things done while exercising good judgement

• Level 5: Critically assesses value and relevance of existing policy / practice and contributes to enhanced delivery of products, services, and innovative solutions

Technical/Functional Competencies:

Gender Issues and Analysis: Knowledge of gender issues and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations, including analysis of projects from a gender perspective

• Level 5: Originate: Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise.

Gender and Institutional Development: Knowledge of systems for gender mainstreaming and capacity development and interagency collaboration and ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations

• Level 5: Originate: Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise.

Civil Society Engagement: Knowledge of civil society initiatives creation and implementation and ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations

• Level 5: Originate: Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise.

Results-based management: Ability to manage programmes and projects with a strategy aimed at improved performance and demonstrable results

• Level 5: Originate: Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise.

Peacebuilding and reconciliation: Ability to support peace processes to facilitate recovery and development

• Level 5: Originate: Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise.

Social Cohesion: Knowledge of methods and experience of supporting communities to achieve greater inclusiveness, more civic participation and creating opportunities for upward mobility.

• Level 5: Originate: Catalyzes new ideas, methods, and applications to pave a path for innovation and continuous improvement in professional area of expertise.

Education:

• Master’s Degree or equivalent, in International Relations, Political Science, Gender Studies or related social sciences.
• A Bachelor’s degree with at least 7 years of relevant experience can be accepted in lieu of a Master’s degree.

Experience:

• A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in the area of gender equality, women’s empowerment and inclusion of vulnerable groups;
• Proven experience in the area of gender mainstreaming in UN programmes and project is required;
• Experience working on issues of women in the context of crisis and peacebuilding is a distinguished advantage;
• Hands-on project experience with civil society, local communities and/or vulnerable groups is an asset;
• Experience in the Arab States region and knowledge of the nature of the conflict in Yemen is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Proficiency in English. Knowledge of Arabic is an advantage.

Other:

• Good research and analytical skills;
• Ability to establish, develop and maintain relations with and between diverse array of stakeholders;
• Ability to produce well written reports demonstrating analytical ability and communication skills;
• Experience conducting conflict- and gender-sensitivity analyses;
• Facilitation and training skills.