GENDER AND MEDIATION JOB OPPORTUNITY -- Firm deadline March 3rd

If interested contact :   Gichinga, Jacqueline <Jacqueline.Gichinga@americanbar.org>

GENDER AND MEDIATION
Location : New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Additional Category Women’s Empowerment
Type of Contract : Individual Contract
Post Level : International Consultant
Languages Required : English
Starting Date :
(date when the selected candidate is expected to start) 17-Mar-2014
Duration of Initial Contract : 4 months
Expected Duration of Assignment : 4 months

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. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women will lead and coordinate United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.
The Policy Division develops and implements the UN Women programme of work on analysis, research and knowledge management that provides the evidence base for the advice and guidance UN WOMEN provides to the intergovernmental processes, the UN system, and to UN Women staff working at country and regional level on issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment. It identifies emerging issues and trends, and develops and proposes new strategies for achieving the agreed goals through innovative approaches and lessons learned about what works in practice. It also designs and oversees the training and capacity development programs of UN WOMEN, working closely with the UN Women training facility in Santo Domingo.
The Policy Division staff is organized in Thematic sections, bringing together technical experts who: undertake issues-based research; analyze data on country, regional and global trends; build a knowledge-base on policy commitments and their implementation; propose evidence-based options for global policy, norms and standards and for UN WOMEN global programme strategies; and contribute substantive inputs to policy advocacy and technical cooperation programmes.
The consultant will be responsible for donor reporting, supporting resource mobilization, supporting trainings on conflict prevention, resolution and mediation, and updating a resource on women’s organizations involved in mediation globally.
Duties and Responsibilities
• Work with three regional or country offices engaged in mediation processes during this period to develop context specific and relevant analytical briefs of developments in international conflict prevention, resolution and mediation, including in the workings of major relevant intergovernmental and non-governmental institutions and in the politics of particular conflict-affected situations;
• Review, update and manage the online database of women’s peacebuilding organizations;
• Support organization of global meeting on current peace processes and inclusivity;
• Develop briefing packages on the policy rationale for various aspects of efforts to promote women’s engagement in conflict prevention, peacebuilding, conflict resolution;
• Support development of messaging and talking points on gender and mediation as needed.
Competencies
• Familiarity with UN and regional intergovernmental processes, with a focus on gender equality and women’s empowerment and knowledge of UN system gender architecture and strategic stakeholders/partners in the mediation field is required;
• Proven record of writing and/or publishing on policy and programmatic aspects of women peace and security issues including conducting and directing research, data collection and publication;
• Proven ability to organize and manage knowledge development processes and tools;
• Demonstrate strong oral and written communication skills.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
• Master degree (or equivalent) in development or peace and security- related disciplines, gender issues, economics, political science, international relations, public policy, law or other social science fields.
Experience:
• A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in development, government, diplomacy, law, policy analysis, sociological/gender equality or related areas, and in managerial leadership;
• Experience living or on extended missions in conflict-affected environments is desirable.
• Experience in mediation, negotiation of peace or other types of agreements including constitutions is highly desirable.
Language Requirements:
• Written and oral proficiency in English and at least one other UN language is required.