Chief, Political Analysis and Programme Development Unit (PAPDU)

The Chief leads the Political Analysis and Programme Development Unit (PAPDU) providing gender-responsive political and contextual country and regional analysis to inform strategic decision-making and advance UN Women’s mandate. The role involves overseeing the unit's work, providing strategic advice, building partnerships with Member States, and leading cross-regional collaboration and knowledge management.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of gender responsive political analysis and strategic advice to inform UN Women’s strategic foresight, programming, and global policy engagement.
• Provide political insights and periodic global and cross-regional analysis on key issues, trends and crisis situations to support executive leadership and decision-making.
• Serve as a resource hub for UN Women Country and Regional Offices throughout the programme cycle, ensuring alignment with the UN Women Strategic Plan and UN reform perspectives.
• Coordinate UN Women’s contributions and facilitate strategic executive engagement within the system-wide prevention platform.
• Establish and sustain regular communication with Permanent Missions from programme countries and regional groups, providing information and facilitating access to advisory services.
• Support political outreach with Member States related to major intergovernmental processes and collaborate with regional offices on intergovernmental activities.
• Contribute to the development of UN Women’s strategy for work in LLDCs, SIDS, Middle-Income, and High-Income Countries, including domestic resource mobilization efforts.
• Coordinate UN Women’s involvement in South-South and Triangular Cooperation on gender equality issues, acting as liaison with Permanent Missions and UN agencies.
• Support engagement of UN Women’s senior leadership with Permanent Missions and government delegations.
• Collect and disseminate best practices on programming at regional and country levels and contribute to knowledge management efforts.
• Facilitate effective communication and feedback between headquarters, regional, and country teams to promote coherence and monitor emerging political trends.
• Lead team management and oversight ensuring team coherence, well-being, and compliance with training and performance reviews.
• Prepare annual work plans and budget allocations and ensure timely completion of quarterly monitoring reports.
• Perform other duties within functional profile as necessary for efficient functioning of the Office and Organization.

Requirements

• Master`s degree (or equivalent) in development related disciplines, political science, economics or public policy or other social science fields.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• A project/programme management certification would be an added advantage.
• At least 10 years of extensive development programme experience, including in gender equality and women’s rights at the international level, preferably in developing countries within the UN system, Agencies, Funds or Programs.
• Technical expertise in one or more thematic areas covered by the UN Women Strategic Plan is required.
• Experience in inter-agency processes is desirable.
• Experience of political analysis and context analysis is desirable.
• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.
• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese or Russian).

Skills

• Development Programme Management
• Gender Equality Expertise
• Women Rights Advocacy
• Political Analysis
• Context Analysis
• Inter-agency Coordination
• Program Development
• Strategic Decision Making
• Partnership Building
• Knowledge Management
• Project Management Certification
• ERP System Experience
• Oracle Cloud
• UN Women Strategic Plan Expertise

Languages

English