Gender, Education and Peacebuilding Specialist vacancy in USA,

If you are a committed, creative professional and are passionate about making a lasting difference for children, the world's leading children's rights organization would like to hear from you.

 Position Title: Gender, Education and Peacebuilding Specialist, P-4, New York (Temp Appointment)

Vacancy No:  E-VN-2014-000441

Duty Station:  New York

Country:  USA

Region:  NY HQ

Position#:  PDTAGEPP4

Application Close:  13-Mar-14

Contract Type:  Temp/Short-term Staff

 Backgound Infromation:

For 60 years, UNICEF has been working on the ground in 190 countries and territories to promote children's survival, protection and development. The world's largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

Purpose of the Position

The Gender and Rights Section at UNICEF NY is seeking a specialist to serve as the Technical Lead on gender analysis and gender integration in UNICEF's Peacebuilding and Education Initiative.  The position is for 364 days, with possibility of extension.

Background:

In 2011, UNICEF received funding for a new global programme on education and peacebuilding from the Government of the Netherlands.

The four-year Peacebuilding, Education and Advocacy Programme - designed as a partnership among UNICEF, the Government of the Netherlands, the national governments of participating countries and other key partners - is an innovative, cross-sectoral programme focusing on education and peacebuilding. The goal is to strengthen resilience, social cohesion and human security in conflict-affected contexts, including countries at risk of - or experiencing and recovering from - conflict. Gender equality is one of the key principles that underpin UNICEF's approach to education and peacebuilding in contexts affected by conflict.

Purpose:

It is critical for UNICEF to ensure that gender equality issues are systematically addressed through the Peacebuilding Education and Advocacy programme, from analysis to planning, to review and documentation.  Furthermore, linkages that illustrate the nexus between gender-sensitive social services provision and peacebuilding need to be understood and highlighted in work plans as well as annual reports.

The Gender, Education and Peacebuilding Specialist will work in the Gender and Rights Section in NY, and under the strategic guidance of the Principal Advisor, Gender and Rights.  The specialist will support the Peacebuilding Management Team [PMT] as well as regional and country offices in realizing the gender dimension of the activities in the portfolio.  S/he will also coordinate and provide technical assistance to the Gender and Rights Section's initiative 'Gender Socialization in Schools and Communities: Enhancing the transformative power of education for peace building in Uganda'.

The incumbent of this TA position should have substantive experience in analyzing, synthesizing and prioritizing issues related to gender, education and peacebuilding including addressing these issues through programmes in countries.

Key Expected Results

1. Expansion of evidence base on how gender equality and education programming relates to longer-term peacebuilding

- Complete gender review of all country office conflict analyses that identify gaps and propose ideas for the improvement of conflict analysis template/methodology for the future;

- Conduct gender review of the 2013 PBEA country reports and the synthesis report;

- Perform other activities as needed to address the distinctive role for research that generates new knowledge and insight into how gender equality and education programming relates to longer-term peacebuilding (building sufficient evidence base);

- Develop 4-5 brief case studies to provide contextualised in-depth qualitative information to complement data collected through the Country Results Frameworks, focusing on gender, education and peacebuilding;

- Identify opportunities for and engage in advocacy activities that highlight the nexus between gender-sensitive social services provision, and peacebuilding.

2. Regional and country offices receive guidance in fully realizing the gender dimension of the activities in their PBEA portfolio.

- Technical support provided to review and refine 2014 country and regional PBEA programme plans and identify entry points for gender equality programming.

- Provide targeted support to PBEA country offices on strengthening gender components of their programme throughout implementation as needed.

3. Coordination and technical assistance provided to GRS-led PBEA programme 'Gender Socialization in Schools and Communities: Enhancing the transformative power of education for peacebuilding in Uganda'

- Coordinate work to develop an intervention for teachers in Uganda, in collaboration with Uganda CO, including:

- Teacher training programme in northern area of Karamoja, including all related materials and tools (such as training modules, training agenda, and trainer/facilitator guide), on promoting gender equality and understanding of positive models of masculinity and femininity.

- Provision of intensive on-going interactive support for teachers with the mobilization of the U-Report and other means.

- Provide high quality technical support oriented towards the design of research to evaluate the impact of the programme intervention on changes in attitudes, experiences and behaviours related to gender equality and social cohesion.

- Ensure that research results are communicated and disseminated through brief reports and case studies to clearly inform evidence-based scale up in country and potential implementation in other contexts.

- Undertake missions to Uganda as needed to provide technical assistance, coordinate intervention, and build capacity on gender issues as needed and to ensure generation of knowledge to enhance the transformative potential of education for peacebuilding for boys and girls and their communities.

Qualifications of Successful Candidate

- Advanced university level degree in the social sciences (political science, international development sociology, education policy), preferably with focus on peace and conflict studies and on gender equality, and/or with relevant experience in gender and education related sectors.

- At least 8 years of project and programme experience, including practical field experience.

- Strong substantive and programmatic experience in gender and education issues, with an understanding of the impact on social change, is essential.

- Sound quantitative and qualitative research skills; understanding of and experience with rigorous evaluation design and implementation.

- Experience at the national and international levels in research and analysis, and especially monitoring and evaluation on education and gender issues.

- Proven ability to communicate complex matters in a concise and user-friendly manner.

- Excellent written and oral communication skills in English with strong interpersonal and presentation skills; proficiency in French also a strong asset.

Competencies of Successful Candidate

- Strong understanding of programming in country contexts, especially Francophone Africa.

- Strong coordination, negotiation, and synthesis skills, and ability to navigate challenges in completing tasks and deliverables in a timely manner.

- High level of initiative and ability to undertake complex tasks while proactively seeking relevant input, cooperation, and guidance from key constituents.

- High level proficiency in standard computer software, in particular, Microsoft word, Excel, PowerPoint.

Remarks

This is a Temporary Appointment position required for an initial 364 days, with possible extension for a maximum of an additional one year.  NYHQ based with possible travel to international conferences and workshops as well as UNICEF Country offices.  This temporary position is subject to the availability of funds.

 UNICEF is committed to diversity and inclusion within its workforce, and encourages qualified female and male candidates from all national, religious and ethnic backgrounds, including persons living with disabilities, to apply to become a part of our organisation.

How to Apply:

If you are qualified and interested in discussing this engagement in more detail,

please submit your resume in confidence to the website on the link below:

https://careers.unicef.org/sap/bc/webdynpro/sap/hrrcf_a_posting_apply?PARAM=cG9zdF9pbnN0X2d1aWQ9NTMwMDRGMjMxNDlDNjA0RUUxMDAwMDAwOUU3MTBGMEYmY2FuZF90eXBlPUVYVA%3d%3d&sap-client=100&sap-language=EN&sap-accessibility=X