The 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, the 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.
Over the past three decades, Paraguay has made a successful transition to democracy and progressed toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). However, one-third of the Paraguayan population is poor, and one in five is extremely poor. Paraguay is also one of the Latin America’s most unequal countries. The country continues to confront deep-rooted economic, social, and political instability and democratic institutions are still fragile.
Profound social and economic inequalities are directly related to gender discrimination and unequal access to opportunities. UNDP’s Gender Equality Index ranks Paraguay lowest amongst its neighbors (with a score of 87). Women from marginalized groups, including Afro-descendants, indigenous women, rural residents, migrants and domestic workers suffer disproportionately from extreme poverty, flaws in the health system, violence, and lack of educational and employment opportunities. Women’s average salaries are 72 percent of men’s, and 70 percent of working women are employed in the informal sector (compared to 55 percent of women in Latin America as a whole.) Thus, a vast majority of Paraguayan women works in unstable conditions, unprotected by a social security net. As domestic workers, many are exposed to exploitation and harassment, and in the countryside many indigenous women and those of indigenous ancestry work in the fields, amid poverty, with scant recourse to labor rights. Current Paraguayan laws to protect the physical integrity of women are weak and require that violence must be "habitual" before legal proceedings can be initiated against the offender. And much work remains to train personnel involved in attention to victims, including police, public safety, health, justice and legal professionals, including judges. Finally, women occupy just 14 percent of parliamentary seats. The Women’s Secretariat is a ministerial level institutional partner of UN Women, and theThird Equality Plan for Women and Men (2008-2017) is an instrument that promotes incorporation of gender perspectives in public policies and programmes through applying international normative frameworks.
The UN Women Country Representative reports to the Director, Regional Center who provides general direction and guidance.
The UN Women Country Representative is responsible for translating the UN Women's Strategic Plan (SP), in line with regional and national priorities, into development initiatives and results by developing, implementing and managing programs and projects; and developing effective partnerships with Government counterparts, UN system agencies and organizations, CSOs, and with bilateral and non-traditional donors in order to promote inter-agency partnerships, support for UN reform, and mobilization of visibility and resources to advance gender equality and women's empowerment.
Duties and Responsibilities
Summary of key functions:
Strategic country program development and planning
Country program management and oversight
UN inter-agency coordination
Representation and advocacy
Strategic partnerships and resource mobilization
Knowledge management
Strategic program development and planning:
Assess national social development trends and identify emerging issues of relevance to the mandate of UN Women to identify opportunities for development planning to advance UN Women goals and objectives in each of the countries under his/her supervision.
In close consultation/collaboration with national development stakeholders and partners, identify strategic program opportunities, approaches and modalities to strengthen UN Womencountry presence and relevance.
Lead the formulation, planning and preparation of the Country SP, based on UN Women's SP and regional and national priorities, in collaboration/consultation with government, civil society, UN partners and stakeholders and the Regional Director, Regional Center and the Director of the Programme Division.
Manage and ensure the completion of high quality, results-based and rights based country programs and projects. Oversee the appraisal and approval of UN Women programs in line with corporate guidelines and consistency with corporate policies and strategies.
Country program management and oversight:
Establish the CO annual work plans in collaboration and discussion with the country team and set objectives, performance measurements, standards and expected results. Ensure regular program monitoring and evaluate progress for timely action and intervention to achieve results.
Set performance plans and evaluation standards. Regularly conduct performance assessments, provide feedback and guidance to ensure optimum performance and accountability according to UN Women standards of integrity, ethics and accountability framework.
Oversee, monitor and ensure quality control in the implementation of high quality, results-based and rights-based for each country programs and projects under the CO in line with corporate policies, guidelines and strategies.
Lead and manage the COs budget preparation and submission processes to ensure budget proposals are correctly presented and submitted in a timely manner.
Monitor the utilization of CO allocated funds to ensure transparency and compliance with UN Women financial policies and accountability framework. Decide on the optimum and appropriate allocation and management of resources.
Lead and manage the preparation of UN Women mandated country reports and submit timely reports ensuring relevancy, quality and appropriateness of content and presentation.
Contribute to regular assessments of the regional, and country strategic plans and implementation plans and identify lessons learned and areas of emphasis to underpin consistently improved programming and future Strategic Plan development.
Plan and manage monitoring and evaluation of programs and projects. Evaluate results and take appropriate action.
Establish CO security strategy, plan and measures to ensure the protection and security of UN Women staff, eligible dependents, property and operations and to enable effective program planning, implementation and delivery within the framework of all UN security policies and procedures.
UN inter-agency coordination:
Participate actively as a member of the UN Country Team (UNCT) in countries under the CO to ensure that gender equality and women's empowerment issues are fully integrated into UN programming processes such as Comprehensive Country Assessment (CCA)/ (UNDAF), Country Programs, etc.
Provide leadership and guidance to the UNCT in supporting enhanced response to national partners in advancing gender equality and women's empowerment and UN Reform.
Support the coordination and promotion of accountability within the UN Resident Coordinator System to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment and UN Reform.
Advise the UNCT on the implementation of key policy commitments to gender and women's rights.
Partner with UN system and agencies to enhance collaboration, resource mobilization and joint ideas to influence agenda and priority setting.
Actively seek out participation of UN Women in UN system thematic and other working groups to establish effective network and to keep abreast of ongoing debate and thinking on development, facilitate joint programming and promote UN Women competencies to advance gender equality and women's human rights.
Representation and advocacy:
Represent UN Women in intergovernmental forums and other key meetings and events, as designated/appropriate to speak on policy issues, participate in policy dialogue, discuss policy initiatives, report on progress achieved and/or present policy papers/ideas to influence setting of agenda and/or advocate UN Women competencies and mandate.
Represent UN Women in the UNCT to contribute to the mainstreaming of UN Women’s policies in joint programming and initiatives, under the leadership of the Resident Coordinator.
Participate in regional, country and other critical meetings and events to evaluate the impact and efficacy of UN Women policies and programs and provide input in strategic discussions and provide technical advice on policies and programs.
Advocate on behalf of UN Women to help raise awareness and stimulate action to advance gender equality and women's rights.
Carry out ongoing advocacy to ensure that UN support towards realization of the national plans and priorities are done in a gender responsive manner, and within agreed international frameworks that promote and protect gender equality.
Strategic partnerships and resource mobilization:
Maintain active relationship/partnership with the Governments, NGOs, UN system and agency partners, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, regional commissions, institutes, academia and media/private sector on women's issues to enhance collaboration, resource mobilization and/or share ideas and to influence agenda and priority setting.
Conceptualize, design and implement resource mobilization strategies for each country under the CO.
Plan and oversee the implementation public information and fund raising events for each country under the CO.
Knowledge management:
Introduce innovation and best practices to enhance program and operational performance.
Collaborate with UN Women units and other internal and external development partners to identify and/or share best program and management practices.
Lead and manage the process of developing, capturing, institutionalizing and disseminating lessons learned to build the capacity of clients and stakeholders and contribute to UN Women knowledge management efforts.
Contribute to the development and maintenance of global, regional and national knowledge networks and practices.
Produce knowledge products to meet UN Women needs and standards of quality.
Impact of Results:
The successful performance of the Country Representative of his/her key functions directly result in effective and strategic development, implementation and management of high quality country programs and projects and achievement of quality results which in turn directly impact on the credibility and image of UN Women as an effective and efficient partner and as the leading knowledge-based technical and advocacy organization for gender equality and the empowerment of women.
Competencies
Core values and guiding principles:
Integrity:Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.
Professionalism: Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.
Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity: Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.
Core competencies:
Ethics and Values: Demonstrate and promote ethics and integrity by creating organizational precedents.
Organizational Awareness: Build support for the organization and ensure political acumen.
Development and Innovation: Support staff competence development, and contribute to an environment of creativity and innovation.
Work in teams: Build and promote effective teams. Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.
Communication and Information Sharing: Create and promote an environment for open and effective communication.
Self-management and Emotional Intelligence: Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others
Conflict Management: Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.
Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing: Share knowledge across the organization and build a culture of knowledge sharing and learning.
Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making: Ensure fair and transparent decision making processes and manage risk.
Functional Competencies:
Ability to conceptualize and convey strategic vision from the spectrum of development experience.
Strong negotiation, advocacy and interpersonal skills.
Proven expertise in writing coherent and convincing documents
Strong communications and public speaking skills
Proven analytical and problem solving skills
Strong planning, goal-setting and prioritization skills
Effectiveness in establishing and fostering good relations with government counterparts, UN agencies, donors, and NGO partners
Effectiveness in strengthening accountability and results-based management in supporting organizational priorities, policy and decision-making processes.
Required Skills and Experience
Experience:
Master's degree or equivalent in development related disciplines, economics or public policy or other social science fields
Education:
A minimum of 10 years of extensive development experience that combines strategic and managerial leadership in aid development cooperation, some of which in gender and women’s issues programming, at the international level, preferably in developing countries within the UN system, Agencies, Funds or Programs or UN Mission.
Language:
Fluency in written and spoken English and Spanish.
Note:
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.
All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment
Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.
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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.
