Gender and Inclusion Programme Specialist

Bangui

  • Organization: UNV - United Nations Volunteers
  • Location: Bangui
  • Grade: Mid level - UN International Specialist Volunteers
  • Occupational Groups:
    • Poverty Reduction
    • Women's Empowerment and Gender Mainstreaming
    • Project and Programme Management
    • Disability Rights
  • Closing Date: 2025-09-09

Details

Mission and objectives

Il a été créé en 1946 par l’Assemblée générale de l’ONU sous l’appellation : Fonds d’urgence international des Nations unies pour les enfants. C’est en 1953 qu’il est devenu une agence permanente.
L’UNICEF assiste les gouvernements dans des programmes à long terme visant à l’amélioration de la qualité de vie des enfants : santé, vaccination et nutrition, prévention sanitaire, éducation primaire, situations particulièrement difficiles.
L’UNICEF mobilise la volonté politique et des ressources matérielles pour aider les pays, en particulier les pays en développement, à donner la priorité aux enfants, et pour renforcer leur capacité de formuler des politiques appropriées et de mettre en place des services en faveur des enfants et des familles.
L’UNICEF œuvre, avec le concours de tous ses partenaires, à la réalisation des objectifs de développement humain durable que s’est fixés la communauté mondiale et de l’idéal de paix et de progrès social consacré par la Charte des Nations Unies.

Context

Gender equality is essential to realizing the mandate of UNICEF to uphold the rights of all children. The UNICEF Gender Action Plan (GAP), 2022–2025, operationalizes the UNICEF Gender Policy, 2021–2030, by specifying how UNICEF will promote gender equality across its programmes and workplaces. It affirms that promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is the responsibility of everyone, regardless of organizational role. The GAP elaborates the steps required to accelerate progress on gender equality across the five Goal Areas of the UNICEF Strategic Plan, 2022–2025, as well as within institutional systems and processes, with clear indicators and monitoring mechanisms to track change. The GAP builds on an increasing knowledge base on gender equality, including current evidence regarding the gendered effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. It responds to lessons learned from the implementation of previous GAPs and an extensive global consultative process with staff, partners and young people. It is grounded in the human rights principles of non-discrimination and equality and articulates the role of UNICEF, as a collaborator with Governments and other partners, in supporting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Women and persons with disabilities and minority groups in the Central African Republic face additional barriers to access essential services and participation in decision-making processes. Inclusive programming will ensure these populations are systematically considered and empowered within gender-focused strategies.
In alignment with the GAP, the role of the Gender and Inclusion Programme Specialist is primarily technical and programmatic, with the normative advocacy and coordination roles serving a secondary function. The Specialist provides authoritative technical guidance/operational support throughout all stages of programming to facilitate the management and delivery of results contributing to gender equality and Inclusion in alignment with the Gender Action Plan.

Task description

Within the delegated authority and under the supervision of the Deputy Representative or his/her designated mandated representative(s), the UN Volunteer will:

1. Management and/or advisory support to Deputy Representative, Senior Gender Programme Specialist, or Representative
• Actively participate in or support Country Management Team (CMT); Programme Coordination Team; partnerships, research, financial and contract review committees; financial and contract review committees, and other key country-specific leadership teams to ensure strategic inclusion of gender in all country-specific programming.
• Coordinate with the Regional Gender Advisors and the Headquarters Gender Section to plan, utilize, monitor and report on the Gender Thematic Fund, or other programmatic funds with large gender components that are allocated to the country-specific interventions for the Country Programme, under the Country Office senior management.
• In collaboration with sectoral colleagues and under the guidance of Deputy Representative, participate in the planning and monitoring of the utilization of the budget allocated to sectoral and cross-sectoral gender interventions with sectoral colleagues.
• Lead the gender component of the reporting of the routine country-level programme expenditures, including the annual reporting and the Results Assessment Module (RAM).
• Provide technical input and review on the gender components in key funding proposal appeals and submissions and in the design of funded projects/programs so that gender technical components are clearly defined and technical capacities are included.

2. Support to program/project development and planning (including emergency contexts)
• Participate in evidence-based programme/project planning on gender, incorporating robust measurement and evaluation of results - especially in the event of the Country Programme development and Mid-Term Review.
• Support the integration of gender-sensitive and disability-inclusive indicators, ensuring attention is paid to the intersectionality of gender with disability, ethnicity, and other markers of marginalization. Promote inclusive education and protection for children, especially girls, living with disabilities or from minority communities.
• Support the incorporation of adolescent-specific gender indicators, especially those addressing early marriage, school retention of girls, access to mental health services, and inclusion in youth platforms such as U-Report and girls' leadership groups.
• Provide technical leadership on integration of gender into country programming phases, including strategic planning, Situation Analysis (SitAns), strategic moments of reflection, Country Programme Document (CPD), Country Programme Managemen,t Plan (CPMPs), mid-term reviews, extended annual reviews, programme component strategy notes and in the programmatic assessment and institutional strengthening components of gender reviews.
• In collaboration with sectoral colleagues and senior management, identify the areas of focus for gender programming/projects with the greatest potential for impact and scale, in alignment with the GAP and the country/regional priorities.
• Work with sectoral counterparts and senior management to incorporate sound gender indicators and measures in programme/project and policy initiatives, proposals, and advocacy efforts and assist in developing gender-sensitive theories of change models for sector and cross-sectoral programming in alignment with the Monitoring Results for Equity System (MoRES) framework.

3. Program management, monitoring and delivery of results (including emergency contexts)
• Support indicator identification, measurement and performance tracking as it relates to gender mainstreaming and the Targeted Gender Priorities, in collaboration with Planning, M&E and planning section and sectoral teams.
• Ensure that data disaggregation includes, where feasible, disability status and minority group affiliation, to better monitor equity gaps in gender results.
• Participate in cross-sectoral collaboration and coordination on key programmatic results on gender, ensuring coherence, maximization of synergies and efficiency in utilization of resources and delivery of results
• Support the strengthening of data systems and collection, as well as accountability mechanisms to monitor and evaluate progress on gender results.
• Support high quality reporting on gender results, and a biannual performance review of GAP specified results.
• Work closely with evaluation colleagues to effectively integrate data collection, tracking, analysis and reporting on the indicators for the GAP into programme results and gender performance benchmarks into M&E systems.
• Participate in the strengthening of the quality of research and evidence building on gender related programming, by supporting the bringing in of the latest learning and insights from the field of gender and development, and supporting the input of a coherent, well-prioritized research agenda in alignment with the GAP.
• Support the planning and implementation of the gender reviews and make sure that the recommendations that come out of the gender review are integrated into the Country Programme strategy and action plans and humanitarian strategies and action plans in emergency contexts.

4. Advisory services and technical support
• Provide technical support and guidance to national government, NGOs, UN Agencies and other country-level and local-level partners on aspects of gender programming and to ensure incorporation of gender indicators and measures in programmes/projects, policy initiatives, proposals, and M&E systems.
• Provide technical support and advocacy to reporting and follow-up on international and regional gender equality commitments made by the countries
• Support the development of adequate emergency preparedness measures, updating of contingency plans and establishment of early warning mechanisms that reflect gender needs.
• Support the development and deployment of emergency training that incorporates gender issues and relevant strategies.
• Participate in needs assessment missions on gender, and in the event of an emergency, be deployed as a member of the Emergency Response Team.
• Support implementing/operational partners and implementing arrangements in order to ensure an effective, gender-inclusive emergency response
.
5. Advocacy, networking and partnership building
• Liaise and consult with sections, government and other external partners (civil society, NGOs, private sector) to support convergence, and develop and reinforce partnerships in gender programming.
• Provide technical guidance to ensure that gender programming is inclusive of persons with disabilities and minority populations, aligning with the principles of the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy.
• Support building and maintenance of internal and external partnerships and networks in the development of harmonized, gender-transformative programme interventions.
• Support building and maintenance of strategic alliances for gender equality with various partners, including institutional links with UN agencies and other relevant entities. Collaborate with other UN agencies and partners to enhance robust gender results in sectoral programmes at the country level. If necessary, represent UNICEF in external.
• meetings on gender integration into sectoral and cross-sectoral results, including UN Country Team meetings and UnDAF preparations.
• Support mapping of potential new partnerships and leverage existing partnerships to accelerate GAP implementation at the country level in determined priority areas.

6. Innovation, knowledge management and capacity building
• Support documentation and sharing of the country-level experience in gender programming and and lessons learned, which will be shared with internal network and external partners and utilised for South-South cooperation.
• Forge partnerships with organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) and minority-led organizations to ensure inclusive gender-transformative programming.
• Represent the gender section at sectoral, country-level and regional-level network meetings, and ensure best practices on gender programming according to 5 GAP principles are highlighted in these forums
• Bring best practices in gender programming and measurement to the attention of senior management and sectoral colleagues, as well as Regional Gender Advisor and gender section staff at HQ
• Supporting innovative research of senior gender staff, if present
• Support Regional Gender Advisor in advancing the technical and research capacity of country-level staff, offices and programs on gender to continue to build evidence base for programming and to ensure continuous capacity in gender at Country Office level.
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Before applying, please make sure that you have read the requirements for the position and that you qualify.
Applications from non-qualifying applicants will most likely be discarded by the recruiting manager.
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