The Position:
The Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies Specialist (GBViE) post is located in the Policy and Liaison Unit (PLU), Humanitarian Office (HO), New York. Under direct supervision of the Head, PLU, the post is part of an integrated, multidisciplinary team and contributes to strengthening global preparedness and risk analysis and emergency programming, including providing integrated technical guidance and tools for the implementation of gender-based violence policies and programmes and contributes to global capacity development for addressing gender-based violence in humanitarian settings.
How Can You Make a Difference:
UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young’s person potential is fulfilled. UNFPA’s new strategic plan 2018-2021, focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal death; to end unmet need for family planning; end gender-based violence and harmful practices.
In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction. UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results. We need staff who are transparent and exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.
Job Purpose:
The overall purpose of the Humanitarian Office is to facilitate the delivery of the UNFPA mandate by supporting humanitarian preparedness, response, and recovery actions in increasingly complex humanitarian situations, within globally agreed frameworks (2030 Agenda, Grand Bargain Commitments, Sendai Framework, ICPD@25, Oslo Conference Commitments on SGBV in Humanitarian Crises, etc.). The Humanitarian Office leads in leveraging and increasing effectiveness, efficiency and capacity of UNFPA staff and partners to scale up UNFPA’s role as a key global humanitarian actor. Through the Inter-Agency Standing Committee for Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (IASC) and other associated entities, the Humanitarian Office acts as a point of convergence on humanitarian activities, including policy, coordination, programming, advocacy, field capacity development, financing, innovation, partnerships, technical guidance and, crucially, thematic integration, ensuring complementarity between humanitarian and development action within the organization.
HO advocates among humanitarian agencies to include sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender-based violence prevention and response, the empowerment of young people, and population data into the overall humanitarian preparedness and response frameworks. The HO facilitates the development of UNFPA capacities to prepare and respond to emergencies and to ensure the fund is well equipped to carry out its mandate within the context of fragility and disaster risk reduction. Furthermore, HO advances UNFPA’s strategic global leadership for the Gender-Based Violence Area of Responsibility for the development system.
The Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies Specialist is responsible for developing and advancing fund-wide and partner-inclusive GBV Capacity Development Strategy towards strengthening the human resource pool for addressing GBV in humanitarian contexts and ensure high-quality programme interventions based on available evidence. The Specialist will also work to gain visibility for GBV in emergencies, and enable increased impact in the efforts to deliver life-saving services to end GBV and harmful practices. S/he will also represent UNFPA and provide technical inputs in inter-agency partnerships (such as Call to Action to end GBV in Emergencies, UN Action). S/he advances innovative research that drives the evidence-base for tailored GBV capacity development, norm and standard setting initiatives and programming.
The GBViE Specialist works closely with other GBV team members and the GBV Area of Responsibility (GBV AoR) based in Geneva, and relevant HQ, regional and country office staff to oversee implementation and evaluation of programme initiatives focused on GBV in emergencies.
Qualifications and Experience
Education
Advanced university degree in social sciences, gender studies, humanitarian practice, international development, public health or related field.
Knowledge and Experience:
- 7 years of increasingly responsible professional experience in GBViE programming in the field;
- Familiarity with IASC and other humanitarian coordination mechanisms, guiding principles and standards;
- Experience needed in programme development and management and reporting;
- Excellent command of English and working knowledge of French is an asset;
- Excellent interpersonal skills, creativity, strong project management skills, a positive and outgoing personality, and ability to interact successfully with people of different backgrounds and cultures.
- Experience in providing training/workshops is an asset.
Languages:
- Fluency in English;
- Knowledge of another UN language is an asset.