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  • Posted: Aug 4, 2020
    Deadline: Aug 10, 2020
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    In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. In doing so, UN Member States took an historic step in accelerating the Organization’s goals on gender equality and the empowerment of women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda,...
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    Policy Specialist, Gender, Security and Peacebuilding

    Type of Contract: TA International
    Post Level: P-4
    Duration of Initial Contract: 1 an renouvelable

    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. In Nigeria, UN Women’s work is guided by its three-pronged mandate: 1) normative support to the Nigerian government, including federal & state ministries of Women Affairs, in championing initiatives and implementing policies, systems and practices that advance women’s rights; 2) programmatic interventions across four priority areas: Women, Peace, Security and Humanitarian Action (WPSHA), Economic Empowerment and Resilience, Leadership and Political Participation, and Ending Violence Against Women; 3) Coordination of gender-focused networks and platforms within the UN system and development community to promote and advance gender equality in line with the development and humanitarian objectives.

    Conflicts across different regions in Nigeria present significant challenges to the security sector. These have all resulted in the increased deployment of security personnel-primarily military- to undertake internal operations across the country. Nigeria’s National Action Plan (NAP) for implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 acknowledges the need to promote gender-responsive security sector reforms, although full-scale implementation remains a challenge to date. According to the available statistics, women account for only 3% of military personnel, and the absence of a gender policy to guide recruitment is a key barrier to achieving more gender balance in the military. However, the Nigeria Armed Forces, and the Nigeria Security Sector Institutions (SSIs) more broadly, have adopted some measures to enhance gender-sensitivity and advance progress towards gender mainstreaming. Pre-deployment training includes some components on gender, particularly on sexual exploitation and abuse, but this is not comprehensive, systematic, or standardized.

    In addition, a Women’s Corps was established in 2018, but the terms of reference of the Corps are yet to be clearly defined. Gender Advisers have also been appointed at Headquarters to drive various efforts. At an operational level, there are key gaps, including guidelines for gender-responsive screening DDRR processes.  The Nigerian Police Force has also made some advancements towards gender mainstreaming. In 2011, the proportion of female police officers stood at 12.41%. However, this modest progress is even less so reflected within higher ranks, where only 5% of senior officers are women. Nevertheless, the police force has established specialized structures for preventing and responding to gender-based violence (GBV), and a gender policy was developed in 2010, which has been poorly implemented. Other gender-responsive reforms include the introduction of a recruitment target for women, a review of its internal regulations to counter discriminatory provisions, the formation of a Gender Unit specialized to respond to cases of gender-based violence, and gender-sensitive training.

    Despite a number of ongoing measures by SSIs and partners amidst increasing commitment to gender-responsive operations and security institutions, gaps and challenges remain. Consultations with various security actors highlight continued needs with regards to tailored training and operational guidelines for the nature of contexts and operations being undertaken.

    UN Women has in its previous and current programming undertaken baseline studies in various states of the North East, Middle Belt, and at a federal level which have assessed the representation of women within the various security services, knowledge of gender and related issues amongst security personnel, and community-security relations. These studies indicate that more needs to be done with regards to addressing issues of women’s representation across the security services; strengthening knowledge and capacity with regards to gender-responsive security; and developing mechanisms and guidelines to support security personnel in-mission. In particular, the situation in the North East provides an opportunity to test and support efforts to make operations more gender-responsive. The lack of deployment of women in operations in the North East, a long-standing operation which is currently shifting to a focus on major population hubs, coupled with anecdotal evidence of not only high levels of sexual and gender-based violence but also sexual exploitation and abuse from security personnel, indicate a need to strengthen community engagement and dialogue as well as preventative measures for security personnel currently deployed or deploying in these contexts.

    As per the above and related gaps identified, UN Women is looking to build its security sector portfolio at two levels of intervention: one at policy level, and the other on an operational level. The policy level work will address institutional-level policy gaps, underpinned by a comprehensive gender audit of the key security sector institutions. The audit will provide the basis for developing or reviewing a Gender Policy to ensure gender mainstreaming internally as well as in security operations and activities.  The challenging nature the internal security operations being undertaken currently also necessitates development of operational guidelines and institutionalizing fit for purpose training within existing security training and research institutions.

    The project will then work closely with SSI-affiliated training institutions and mechanisms to ensure ownership and sustainability by anchoring the initiative in national institutions. While the overwhelming focus will be on the Nigerian Army, given the longer-term imperative to move towards a law enforcement/public order policing approach, the Nigeria Police Force and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps will also be important partners. The second tier of implementation will include an operational/field level component. There will be a specific focus on women’s meaningful and equitable participation in civil-military engagement to ensure their voices are heard and security concerns addressed, that they are proportionately represented in decision-making fora and that their concerns and needs are adequately addressed, in particular, to enhance their access to resources and safety as the crisis transitions to recovery and development.

    UN Women will recruit an International Policy Specialist to provide technical support for the start-up and implementation of its security sector programming, oversee the further development of UN Women Nigeria Country Office’s security sector portfolio, provide capacity building to government counterparts, establish and strengthen partnerships, and develop relevant knowledge products on gender and security sector in Nigeria with a view to strengthening a gender-responsive policy environment and gender-responsive operations in Nigeria. Under the strategic guidance of the Country Representative, and with day-to-day reporting to the UN Women Deputy Representative and collaboration with programme staff, the Policy Specialist will also provide overall technical leadership of UN Women’s WPSHA portfolio and facilitate synergy and coherence between the different interventions underway in the Country Office.

    Duties and Responsibilities
    Lead the implementation and technical support to key project deliverables:

    • Oversee and manage the capacity building and institutional support interventions to identified security sector institutions
    • Lead on implementing of policy-level initiatives
    • Provide technical support to the operational activities undertaken in the North East, both remotely and through regular monitoring visits
    • Lead on overall regular reporting on the gender and security sector programme, working closely with the North East Field Office and other WPSHA colleagues  

    Oversee the development of programmes on gender, security, and peacebuilding for the Country Office:

    • Oversee the development of country programme document on gender, security and peacebuilding  in collaboration with relevant sections of Regional Office and Headquarters
    • Provide technical inputs to project proposals
    • Provide advice on contextualizing/localizing programme documents, country strategies, and knowledge products
    • Coordinate monitoring and reporting for gender and security sector thematic in collaboration with WPS programme team

    Provide technical advice and support to WPSHA programme, Country Office, national partners and other stakeholders:

    • Provide technical leadership, expertise and policy guidance to WPSHA and Country Office team
    • Serve as an expert resource to partners on gender-responsive security sector reform, as well as broader gender, security, and peacebuilding issues
    • Provide advice to national bodies and inter-agency groups that influence national policies and programming and where necessary, represent UN Women
    • Provide policy recommendations and guidance to strategic planning and positioning on gender and security sector

    Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with national stakeholders, regional/ international actors and development partners:

    • Foster a working partnership with the relevant SSI institutions and partners to facilitate implementation of the project
    • Build and strengthen networks with think tanks, including with government agencies, civil society and development partners for more effective knowledge and research identification, generation and dissemination
    • Build and maintain close liaison with relevant donors and other actors providing security sector support
    • Develop partnership and resource mobilization strategies for the thematic and prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, within the overall framework of the Country Office partnership and resource mobilization strategy
    • Maintain close contact with relevant staff in UN Women HQ and Regional Office

     Advocate and facilitate knowledge building and management and communication:

    • Research, develop and present analytical reports, research papers, briefing notes, background papers, summaries, and knowledge products on UN Women’s gender and security sector interventions
    • Identify and share good practices, technical expertise, and strategic opportunities in the area of WPSHA, and develop briefs on program achievements
    • Maintain up-to-date knowledge, data on women peace and security at the country office and in the region, and integrate analysis and information in support of policy development, analysis, outreach, and advocacy and corporate support
    • Coordinate the exchange and sharing of information and knowledge products internally and externally
    • Produce periodic updates and briefs on country developments to be used by stakeholders, Country/Regional Office and HQ

    Key Performance Indicators:

    • Timely and quality technical advice and support to project implementation
    • Leadership in area of expertise in the country
    • Quality reports and other strategic documents drafted and submitted in a timely manner
    • Strong relationships with various partners and stakeholders
    • UN Women is well represented in important meetings on topics related to expertise
    • Contributions to resource mobilization
    • Timely and quality knowledge products

    Required Skills and Experience
    Education and certification:

    • Master’s degree or equivalent in the Security Sector, Gender, Human Rights, International Relations or other Social Science fields 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.

    Expérience:

    • At least 7 years progressively responsible experience in designing and managing programs and advocating for gender-responsive security and peacebuilding
    • Proven expertise in providing policy and strategic level guidance on SSR issues to governments with a specific focus on gender or related strategy implementation is essential
    • In-depth understanding of and experience working on SSR and gender with senior government officials and security sector institutions and agencies is essential, including managing short term experts/consultants in support of SSIs
    • Proven capacity to engage and build a partnership with government, international and civil society stakeholders with strong liaison capacities and experience is highly desirable
    • Experience in programme, policy analysis, and strategic planning
    • Experience working with the UN is an asset
    • Previous experience working in Nigeria or similar contexts is an asset

    Language requirements:

    • Fluency in English is required
    • Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset

    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

    Functional Competencies:

    • Excellent knowledge of gender and security sector reform
    • Familiarity with policy development for government institutions   
    • Strong knowledge of the region
    • Excellent networking skills
    • Ability to interact with donors, identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising
    • Ability to perform qualitative and quantitative policy research
    • Ability to advocate and provide policy advice
    • Excellent analytical skills
    • Ability to write policy papers, speeches, briefings

    Strong knowledge of programme development, implementation, results-based management

    Method of Application

    Interested and qualified? Go to UN Women on jobs.undp.org to apply

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