Job: Training for Gender Equality Community of Practice Consultant

Location: Home-based 
Deadline: Friday, 20 September 2013

Description

UN WOMEN TRAINING FOR GENDER EQUALITY COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE CONSULTANT - REISSUED

Location :

Home-based

Application Deadline :

20-Sep-13

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Post Level :

International Consultant

Languages Required :

English   Spanish  

Starting Date :
(date when the selected candidate is expected to start)

07-Oct-2013

Duration of Initial Contract :

7 months

Expected Duration of Assignment :

7 months

Background

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.

UN Women Training Centre (TC) as the UN leading centre of excellence in training for gender equality offers training for gender equality and women’s empowerment to UN Women staff and UN agencies, as well as to government, civil society and partners. 

The TC Training for Gender Equality Community of Practice (CoP) is an online community and platform that provides an open forum for dialogue on new and emerging issues related to training and capacity development processes, as well as a platform for articulation and knowledge exchange between training for gender equality practitioners, gender equality specialists, and other key stakeholders from all around the world. 

Activities in English, French, and Spanish include virtual dialogues (VD) on UN Women priority areas; collective development of an extensive database of training institutions, courses and materials; collection and discussion of good practices in capacity development for gender equality; and participatory development of related documents. Topics for virtual dialogues include how training for gender equality has been implemented (perspectives, methodologies, evaluation, levels of commitment and results) and how training can be a concrete mechanism for building capacity for gender mainstreaming, and a way to make development cooperation more inclusive and responsive.
 
At the moment, there are 555 members from all regions and institutional affiliations in the CoP. During the first months the discussions focused on training for gender equality needs and gaps in UN Women focus areas. Some key issues mentioned include evaluation and impact of training and the gaps between policy and practice and between training and practice. 

The CoP aims to become a reference on gender training at the international level, achieving the following specific outcomes:

• Ongoing discussion and debate on key issues related to training for gender equality in UN Women priority areas and other topics;
• Ongoing discussion forum to provide input and feedback on TC methodologies, conceptual frameworks, reference documents, resources, courses, etc;
• Network of training for gender equality trainers, experts and other stakeholders;
• Dissemination of information on TC courses and other activities;
• Dissemination of information on global and regional Training for Gender Equality institutions, opportunities and resources;
• Ongoing identification, documentation and dissemination of good practices in gender training.

Objective: 

The consultant will further develop and maintain the Training for Gender Equality Community of Practice (CoP) that includes moderation of thematic groups, virtual dialogues, on-line database of training institutions, resources and opportunities, and other activities as necessary.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Training/Capacity Development Specialist, the consultant will be responsible for undertaking the following activities and delivery of the following products in English and Spanish:

Virtual Dialogues

• Develop concept note;
• Contact thematic experts;
• Coordinate logistical aspects (discussion forum, webinars, etc.);
• Moderate discussion;
• Prepare a report with summary of discussions and recommendations.

Working groups

• Create, coordinate and moderate working groups established for specific TC activities or UN Women Focus Areas;
• Develop specific resources for each thematic area (interviews with experts, etc.);

Training for Gender Equality Network

• Contact CoP members;
• Contact potential members;
• Encourage communication and knowledge sharing between members of this network through all CoP activities.

Compendium of Good Practices in Training for Gender Equality

• Analysis of existing experiences and good practices in Training for Gender Equality, including the ones identified by UN Women Mapping and Needs Assessment for the good practice compendium;
• Circulation of good practices criteria and template among key stakeholders;
• Establishment of a working group and procedure for evaluating submitted good practices;
• Creation of a user-friendly online database to make good practices easily available.

Online clearing house for Training for Gender Equality institutions, opportunities and resources

• Supervise updating and maintenance of database;
• Contact training institutions to improve and update existing database.

Training for Gender Equality CoP Newsletter

• Develop and send newsletter.

CoP guidelines and monitoring and evaluation tools

• Develop guidelines, templates and “how to guides” to improve functioning of the CoP;
• Monitor activities and complete the monitoring and evaluation matrix;
• Manage the membership of the CoP, ensuring regular communication and synthesis of best practices and lessons. learned.

Competencies

Core values and Guiding Principles:

Integrity:

• Demonstrate the values of United Nations and UN Women, act without consideration of personal gain, resist undue political pressure in decision-making, no abuse of power or authority, stand by decisions in the organization’s interest, and take action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behavior.

Professionalism:

• Show pride in work and achievements, demonstrate professional competence and mastery of subject matter, conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments and achieving results, motivated by professional rather than personal concerns, show persistence when faced with challenges, and remain calm in stressful situations.

Respect for Diversity:

• Work effectively with people from all backgrounds, treat all people with dignity and respect, treat men and women equally, show respect for and understand diverse opinions by examining own biases and behaviours to avoid stereotypical responses, and do not discriminate against any individual or group.

Core Competencies:

Ethics and Values:

• Promoting Ethics and Integrity / Creating Organizational Precedents.

Organizational Awareness:

• Building support and political acumen.

Developing and Empowering People / Coaching and Mentoring:

• Building staff competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation.

Working in Teams:

• Building and promoting effective teams.

Communicating Information and Ideas:

• Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication.

Self-management and Emotional intelligence:

• Creating an emotionally intelligent organization

Conflict Management / Negotiating and Resolving Disagreements:

• Leveraging conflict in the interests of the organization & setting standards

Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning:

• Sharing knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning

Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making:

• Fair and transparent decision-making; calculated risk-taking.

Functional Competencies:

Technological Awareness:

• Experience in working in a multicultural and web-based environment;
• Fluency in office software, email, web-based applications and databases.

Client Orientation:

• Monitor ongoing developments inside and outside the client's environment to keep them informed and anticipate problems;
• Meet timeline for delivery of products or services to clients.

Planning and Organizing:

• Ability to plan own work and manage conflicting priorities;
• Ability to develop clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies;
• Identifies priority activities and assignments and adjusts priorities as required.

Ability to organize and facilitate Training for Gender Equality Knowledge Networks and Online Communities:

• Outstanding networking, team-building, organizational and communication skills;
• Capacity to work with diverse partners including governments, donors and civil society;
• Interest and commitment to the empowerment of women particularly through gender training and capacity development;
• Ample knowledge of gender issues;
• Knowledge and interest in Training for Gender Equality is required.

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• Master degree or equivalent in Gender, Education, Knowledge Management or other related fields.

Experience

• At least 3 years of experience in the fields of Gender, Training/Capacity Development and/or Knowledge Management;
• Experience in the facilitation and coordination of knowledge networks, communities of practices and other knowledge sharing activities;
• Experience within the UN system is highly desirable.

Language Requirements

• Excellent skills in written and spoken English and Spanish are required. Additional command of French is an asset.

Note:

All applicants 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.

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.

More Info and Application