UNDP Technical Specialist, Gender Machinery Job Vacancy in Lilongwe, Malawi

Starting Date :(date when the selected candidate is expected to start) 02-Apr-2012
Duration of Initial Contract : 1 Year

Background
Gender inequalities are still high in Malawi. This is evidenced by the Millennium Development Goals lagging behind that have pronounced gender connotations. In order to assist the Government of Malawi (GoM) address these issues and accelerate the achievement of gender-related MDGs, UNDP commissioned a review of the gender machinery in Malawi through the development of a white paper to provide a gender machinery framework for empowerment of women and improved gender equality in the country.

Major issues of concern identified in the White Paper include the fragmentation of the Gender Machinery; weak coordination mechanisms and unfocussed leadership; limited understanding of gender and its dimensions amongst policy-makers; lack of clarity on mandates, roles and responsibilities of stakeholders of the Gender Machinery; and lack of institutional and individual capacity for joint programming.

Globally, UNDP has the mandate to develop national capacities in three focus areas:
• Participation of women in governance and leadership;
• National policy-making and planning that reflect women’s needs, contributions and interests;
• Strengthening the national knowledge base on gender equality through increased research, data collection and analysis.

Based on this mandate and in line with the capacity strengthening needs of the Malawi Gender Machinery, the UNDP Malawi office is committed to providing policy and technical advisory support to the Gender Machinery through the Ministry of Gender, Child and Community Development (MGCCD). As a consequence and in response to Government of Malawi’s request for technical assistance for strengthening teh Gender Machinery, UNDP Malawi would like to provide financial support for the recruitment of a Gender Machinery Technical Advisor to be located in the MGCCD.

The incumbent will work closely with the Gender Affairs and Planning Departments of the MGCCD. The advisor will be under overall guidance and supervision of the Policy Advisor (in Policy Advisory Unit) and the Principal Secretary of MoGCCD. The main functional areas for the position will involve technical and policy advisory support, capacity building, knowledge management, partnership strengthening and resource mobilization.

Duties and Responsibilities
Technical and policy support for capacity strengthening of Gender Machinery:
• Ensures the re-establishment of the National Gender Machinery with strong coordination mechanisms for the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the National Gender Agenda;
• Ensures that the Gender and Youth sector strategy is aligned to the MGDS II;
• Ensures that Gender is mainstreamed in MGDS reporting guidelines;
• Ensures the Gender Machinery White Paper recommendations are incorporated in the National Gender Strategic Plan;
• Ensures that sector-specific gender mainstreaming guidelines are developed and disseminated at all levels of administration (National, District and Local levels);
• Ensures high-level buy in for increased national budget allocation for gender.

Capacity building for the coordination and management of national Gender agenda planning, programming, monitoring and evaluation:
• Ensures that gender and rights-based approaches (RBA) are mainstreamed in sector strategies and plans;
• Ensures continued capacity strengthening of public and private sector institutions including civil society organizations (CSOs) that support efforts for the advancement gender equality ;
• Ensures the acceleration of delivery of Government’s gender-related development objectives using the MDG Acceleration Framework (MAF) for Malawi;
• Ensures that sectors have gender experts with degrees in Gender and Development from accredited universities;
• Ensures capacity building for transformative leadership among women in decision-making/management positions in public and private sector institutions including CSOs.

Networking and knowledge management:
• Ensures sectors have gender disaggregated data;
• Ensures establishment of a Gender Information Management System (GIMS);
• Ensures that best practices and lessons learnt are shared widely (internally and externally) and rolled out in country;
• Ensures that national Gender Policy and Gender-related Legal Frameworks are evidence-based;
• Ensures quality and timely donor reporting;
• Ensures public awareness of the importance and benefit of affirmative action and increased women participation in decision-making.

Partnership building and resource mobilization:
• Ensures strengthened Government-CSO partnerships for advocating Gender issues as well as planning and implementation of the National Gender Agenda;
• Ensures establishment of high-level public-private partnership dialogue forum on Gender for timely policy level decision-making.
• Ensures development and implementation of a Resource Mobilization Strategy for Gender;
• Ensures development and implementation of Communication Strategy for Gender.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:
• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional Competencies:
• Knowledge Management ;
• Promotes gender knowledge management and a learning environment through leadership;
• Contributes to Gender knowledge networks locally and internationally;
• Demonstrates research and analytical skills with gender lens.

Programme Operational Effectiveness
• Ability to analyze and coordinate results-oriented strategic interventions;
• In-depth knowledge and understanding of principles relating to gender;
• In-depth knowledge of current gender equality issues pertaining to developing countries ;
• Ability to conceptualize gender issues;
• Good policy and technical advisory skills including grasp of methodological and operational dimensions;
• Ability to link corporate, regional and country level gender issues within the context of national and international policy and legal frameworks;
• Results oriented;
• Flexible self-starter accustomed to working with strict deadlines.

Management, Leadership and Public Relations :
• Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Strong interpersonal and diplomatic skills to deal with a wide range of national and international stakeholders.;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Leads teams effectively and shows mentoring as well as conflict resolution skills;
• Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:
• Minimum of Master’s Degree in economics or related field.

Experience:
• At least 7 years’ work experience in Gender Machinery reform, development policy and legal framework development,
gender-related capacity development and gender-related research, data analysis and advocacy;
• Understanding of socio-economic and development policy environment in Africa in general and Malawi in particular;
• In-depth understanding of gender equality issues and the role of the public and private sector including non-state actors in advancing gender agenda;
• Good understanding of the functioning of public sector and non-state actors;
• Fluency in English with excellent verbal and written communication, drafting and presentation skills.

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.


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Closing Date: Monday, 30 January 2012