Feminist Economist, Monrovia, NOC, Temporary Appointment

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.

Women in West and Central Africa represent the most deprived group of the population in spite of their paramount social and economic role. They have limited access to, and control over critical resources, as a result of social, cultural, and economic norms. UN Women works with government partners and regional and national stakeholders to improve women’s economic participation with a focus on (i) women’s access to the green economy; (ii) Promoting and strengthening women's entrepreneurship; and (ii) Enhancing women’s income security and social protection. UN Women advises governments and regional institutions to develop gender-responsive economic policies and supports the capacity building of multiple actors to advocate for, formulate, and implement gender-responsive economic policies. 

The new Women’s Economic Empowerment Strategy launched in 2024 articulates UN Women’s vision for enabling women’s economic agency, autonomy, and well-being. Anchored in UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2022–2025 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, its objective is to provide a framework that galvanizes internal and external stakeholders to work together at the local, national, and global levels through transformative solutions that improve the lives of women and girls with no one left behind. It identifies three key priority areas, or Gender Equality Accelerators (GEAs), where UN Women can make the most progress: (i) women and the world of work, (ii) gender-responsive climate action and (iii) transforming care systems.

In line with the new Women’s Economic Empowerment Strategy, The UN Women Liberia Country Office contributes to the global corporate mandate to make the vision of sustainable Development Goals and economic justice a reality for women and girls. Its main objective is to promote women’s human rights and gender equality which are key in sustaining and furthering achievements in stability and development. In this regard, the  UN Women Liberia Country Office partners with a wide range of stakeholders, including governments, the United Nations system, civil society, women's and youth organizations, and the private sector in promoting (a) women's access to jobs and finance in the green economy; (b)  women's entrepreneurship and public procurement opportunities for women-led businesses; (c) improving women's income security and social protection and (c) formulating and implementing gender-responsive economic policies and programmes.

UN Women Liberia Country Office is seeking to recruit a feminist economist to support its work on gender and economics.

Description of Responsibilities/Scope of Work

Missions

With a strategic reporting line to the UN Women Country Representative and day-to-day reporting to the Deputy Representative, the feminist economist works in close collaboration with the regional feminist economist in the UN Women’s Regional Office, the Feminist Economist Taskforce, the UN Women’s program, and operations teams in the Country Office as well as implementing partners. The consultant shall deliver a number of services from the list below. 

Scope of the tasks

The Feminist Economist(s) shall deliver the following services: 

1. Provide support in formulating strategies, concept notes, and project documents to scale up reform across the following key areas: i) care economy, ii) women’s participation in the green economy, iii) women's entrepreneurship and access to trade opportunities, iv) innovating financing for GEWE  and other relevant areas of economic policy to achieve GEWE in the country
2. Support in the provision of technical advice to Ministries of Finance and Development Planning, Gender, Commerce, legislators, local authorities, civil society, and women network,s to formulate, implement, and monitor gender-responsive economic reform 
3. Design and deliver capacity-building activities for UN Women staff, Government counterparts, and civil society partners on key economic reforms to advance the GEWE agenda in the country
4. Design/ convene/ participate in various thematic dialogues, consultations, expert groups, and multi-stakeholder meetings/workshops on policy debates on relevant issues for knowledge building and public advocacy related to gender and economic policy and when required to provide technical support in events and strengthen UN Women’s normative and coordination mandates
5. Provide substantive technical and policy support to the country office and UN Country Teams in developing and strengthening programmes to support the implementation of GEWE global norms and standards;
6. Develop, implement, and monitor capacity-building initiatives, by identifying capacity-building needs and support of the country office through technical assistance, mentoring, training, and capacity development initiatives, as needed
7. Adapt existing training materials on gender and economics and deliver training to different audiences (Government officials, UN Women staff, Legislators, Civil society organizations) on different aspects of gender and economics
8. Support the country office's resource mobilization efforts for the Women’s Economic Empowerment  agenda

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

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 Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

• Excellent knowledge of women´s economic empowerment;
• Excellent analytical skills.
• Ability to perform qualitative and quantitative policy research.
• Timely and quality technical advice and support 
• Leadership in area of expertise in the region
• 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
• Excellent networking skills;
• Timely and quality knowledge products
• Strong communication skills in English. 
• Strong writing skills and ability to produce a variety of knowledge products for different audiences and objectives.
• Ability to produce impactful communication materials and knowledge products. 

Education and Certification:

• Master in feminist economics, macroeconomics, development economics, international trade, Gender and Development Studies, statistics, social sciences, gender studies, or related field
• PhD in similar fields is an asset.

Experience:

• Minimum 05 years of experience or proven track record in working on gender and macroeconomic issues in qualitative and/or quantitative research, policy advice, and capacity building.
• Minimum 05 years of proven experience in providing policy advice, technical assistance, and capacity building conducting studies research, assessment, and developing tools and instruments on economics from a gender perspective.
• Experience conducting similar assignments in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Previous experience working with different levels of government, and development partners. Experience working with the UN system is a considerable asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.

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.)