Background

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls, the empowerment of women, and the achievement of gender equality in development, humanitarian action, peace and security.

Within the  UN Women is mandated () to lead more effective coordination, coherence and gender mainstreaming.  reiterates that its UN Coordination role continues to endow the entity with a unique capacity to promote coordination and coherence across the UN system in support of enhanced accountability and results for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Building on this coordination mandate, UN Women West and Central Africa Regional Office (WCARO) positions itself as go-to-hub for Resident Coordinators (RC), UN Country teams (UNCTs) and UN Gender Teams (UNGT) of all the 24 countries of the region, including Ghana, for technical support related to gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE).

Over the past year (2022-2023), to the request of Ghana’s Government and under the lead of the Resident Coordinator (RC)’s Office, UN Women has deployed an in-person support to strengthen GEWE in the country. During that period, 4 key areas of intervention, in alignment with CCA and CF implementation process in Ghana, were identified:

Women’s Leadership and Participation: (1) address the decline or the under representation of women in political and public life, ahead of the 2024 elections: in ministerial positions, in parliament, at district and regional levels as well as on the boards of major Ghanaian companies; (2) passage of the Affirmative Action (Gender Equality) Bill.

Women’s Economic Empowerment: (1) strengthen Women’s active participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Women in Trade Protocol drafting process. The process also opens opportunities to strengthen Women Business Associations (WBA) and protect vulnerable categories of women traders. (2) support the activation of Ministry of Finance’s policy on Women in Procurement:  this 2021 policy aims to have 20 % of procurement awarded to women. (3) develop actions to support rural women farmers affected by climate crisis.

Women, Peace and Security: Developments in the Sahel have heightened concern amongst coastal countries in the Gulf of Guinea. There’s been an uptick in terrorist activity which is threatening the rule of law and security, not only in Ghana, but in the wider subregion. Northern Ghana’s proximity with Burkina Faso poses a need to prevent potential extremist groups there from rallying and launching terrorism in the country. Security actors must collaborate with traditional leaders, opinion leaders, CSOs, religious groups, youth groups and women groups to sensitize the population and ensure terrorism is prevented and countered in Northern Ghana.  The active involvement of women, as both participants and beneficiaries of any development effort, must be critical actors in conflict prevention and peacebuilding mechanisms.

Gender mainstreaming: Support the Resident Coordinator (RC), UN Country Team (UNCT) and UN Gender Team (UNGT) in key areas of work on GEWE, including coordination and technical and policy advisory support, continued monitoring of implementation and reporting, engagement with the civil society, the private sector, the media and other relevant actors. 

To allow pursuing these priorities, The RCO together with UN Women is seeking a Gender Equality Coordinator to further strengthen GEWE mainstreaming in overall UNCT’s work, to develop GEWE related programming and to sustain these programs through resource mobilization.

This position reports to the UN Women Regional Director and is under the direct daily matrix supervision of the Resident Coordinator. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Lead the design of programming initiatives or provide technical inputs to joint programmes related to GEWE in alignment with the Cooperation Framework, the CCA and UN Women’s decided priority areas of interventions (above mentioned)

• Provide overall GEWE programming advisory support to the RCO, the UN in Ghana and UN WOMEN Regional Director.
• Coordinate the needed technical expertise in country and region during programme/ project formulation.
• Review and provide feedback to programme strategies and project documents, workplans, case studies and related knowledge products and publications, as needed.
• Draft policy documents, briefs and other strategic materials to support programmatic positioning.

Lead strategic partnerships building and resource mobilization:

•  Develop partnerships and resource mobilization strategies and partner/ donor engagements to support the development of GEWE related portfolio in Ghana, including through joint initiatives and in support of the Cooperation Framework.
• Provide technical and substantive inputs to resource mobilization documents related to UN Women and UN joint GEWE initiatives.
• Coordinate proposal development in support of UN Women-led GEWE related initiatives.
• Develop and steward the relationships with key stakeholders from Government, academia, civil society, the private sector and key international actors to build and strengthen strategic alliances.
• Coordinate, and review the development of interagency briefs on possible areas of GEWE cooperation and advocacy, including identification of opportunities for cost sharing.
• Coordinate the needed technical inputs from regional office’s experts on the above-mentioned

Provide continuous guidance to the UNCT on GEWE during the development and implementation of the Cooperation framework.

• Provide advice on the UNSDCF Roadmap and implementation, in line with UNCT SWAP requirements.
• Provide technical guidance to strengthen monitoring and reporting on GEWE, as well as integration of a gender lens and analysis into the CCA.
• Provide technical advice for national GEWE policy and legal framework development and monitoring.
• Provide technical guidance and advice to the RC, UNCT, development partners and national counterparts on implementation of key UN frameworks and conventions on gender equality.

Coordinate inter-agency planning, analysis and programming for enhanced accountability to GEWE:

• Coordinate the UNCT-SWAP Gender Equality Scorecard exercise and implementation of its Action Plan and provide coordination and technical advisory support to the application of the UNCT Gender Equality Marker.
• Coordinate the implementation of system-wide UN strategies and frameworks at the country level and lead related monitoring and reporting, engaging with the Monitoring and Evaluation Inter-Agency Working Group, as well as respective Results Groups.
• Coordinate the Gender Thematic Group

Provide support to UNCT and national partners on GEWE intergovernmental and normative work

• Coordinate initiatives related to the Commission on the Status of Women.
• Provide technical support gender related SDG consultations.
• Facilitate regular review of the progress on implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action.
• Coordinate CEDAW, Voluntary National Review and Universal Periodic Review reporting on GEWE.
• Engage with the National Mechanism for Reporting and Follow-Up (NMRF) and with Civil Society Organizations with respect to the above.

Coordinate and advise the RC and UNCT in the analysis and monitoring of trends, opportunities and challenges around gender equality and women’s empowerment:

• Provide technical inputs to research and analysis work on GEWE, including supporting the development of Country Gender Equality Briefs/Profiles and identifying opportunities to support women benefitting from the assistance provided by the UNCT.
• Advise and lead on entry points for new initiatives for the UN Systems to strengthen capacities.

Coordinate interagency advocacy, knowledge building and knowledge management on GEWE

• Coordinate interagency efforts to establish advocacy networks and linkages to international networks.
• Develop capacity building initiatives on GEWE as needed.
• Provide technical inputs to the development of interagency advocacy strategies and their implementation.
• Oversee the process of identifying and synthesizing best practices and lessons learnt, according to priorities set by the UNCT; and contribute to their dissemination, coordinating with the Communications Inter-Agency Working Group.

Competencies

Core Values:

• Respect for Diversity
• Integrity
• Professionalism

Core Competencies:

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
• Accountability
• Creative Problem Solving
• Effective Communication
• Inclusive Collaboration
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Leading by Example

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:

FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

• Strong knowledge of general gender equality and women’s empowerment issues and their integration in one or more of the following areas – jobs and social protection, climate change; digital transformation; education; food systems; and energy transitions
• Knowledge and experience of coordination and cross-stakeholder team leadership;
• Ability to develop pragmatic policy and advocate and provide policy advice and interact with high level decision makers; 
• Resource mobilization skills
• Ability to envision, conceptualize and communicate strategic vision;
• Strong gender-focused results-based management, programme implementation and monitoring and evaluation skills;
• Excellent analytical and conceptual thinking skills;
• Strong negotiating, cultural sensitivity and diplomatic skills;
• Strong planning, goal-setting and prioritization and organizational skills;
• Familiarity with the region and women’s rights organizations and networks, as well as women leaders, in the region.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• Advanced university degree in the social sciences (i.e. sociology, demography, psychology, political science and economics), public policy or international development. A specialization in gender is a strong asset.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying work experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least five years of progressively responsible relevant work experience/ demonstrated track record that combines intellectual, strategic and managerial leadership in development programs. At least 4 years of which should include having undertaken and led substantive programming and research/analysis on gender and development in key issue areas;
• Experience in working in emergency and crisis/conflict contexts is desired;
• Experience with UN joint programming development and implementation in the area of gender equality and women’s empowerment;
• Experience in UN coordination and joint advocacy and/or programming is required;
• Experience in developing resource mobilization strategies and proposal writing, and in leading donor engagement is required;
• Experience in building and maintaining effective relationships with government institutions, CSOs is required.
• Knowledge of working with women in the private sector and of working with MSMEs is required.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

Application

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from: . 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.

In accordance with the UN Staff Regulation 4.5 (b) A temporary appointment does not carry any expectancy, legal or otherwise, of renewal. A temporary appointment shall not be converted to any other type of appointment. This temporary appointment is budgeted for a maximum term of 729 days.

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.

Diversity and inclusion

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.