UN Women: Chief, Political Analysis and Programme Development Unit (PAPDU), New York, P-5 FTA

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.

About the role

The Political Analysis and Programme Development Unit (PAPDU) is part of the Policy, Programme and Inter-Governmental Affairs Division (PPID). PAPDU provides gender-responsive political and contextual country and regional analysis to inform strategic decision-making and advance UN Women’s triple mandate. The Unit delivers high-quality analytical and strategic support to the Executive Leadership engagements and represents UN Women in UN interagency and system-wide coordination fora on programming approaches. It also facilitates strategic liaison with programme country Member States based in New York and strengthens programmatic partnerships and political alignment. PAPDU serves as an institutional bridge and facilitates the flow of strategic information and analysis to and from global, regional, and country office teams.

The Unit consists of Regional Specialists who cover Arab States, Asia-Pacific, East and Southern Africa, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and West and Central Africa regions, providing region-specific insights and support to strengthen UN Women’s policy, programme, and intergovernmental work.

Under the supervision of the Deputy Director of PPID, the Chief is responsible for overseeing the work of the section and is part of the PPID leadership team.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of gender-responsive political analysis and strategic advice:
  • Develop strategic, high-quality, and gender-responsive political analysis of countries and regions to inform UN Women’s strategic foresight, programming, and global policy engagement, in alignment with the UN Women Strategic Plan.
  • Provide political insights and periodic global and cross-regional analysis on key issues, trends, and crisis situations to support executive leadership, decision-making processes, institutional messaging, and effective intergovernmental and bilateral engagement with Member States.
  • Serve as a resource hub for UN Women Country and Regional Offices throughout the entire programme cycle, from CCA/UNSDCF formulation to SN development, quality assurance, and implementation, leveraging PAPDU regional focal points and facilitating technical inputs and support from across PPID, in close collaboration with regional offices and SPU.
  • Ensure all activities align with the UN Women Strategic Plan, informed by political analysis, operational feasibility, and the UN 2.0 reform perspective.
  • Promote cross-regional knowledge sharing and best practices.
  • Provide regional context and political insights into the strategic analysis process, including CCA/UNSDCF, Strategic Notes, and UN Women’s corporate Strategic Plan, and support on political trends and discussions on country configuration, including in relation to UN reform and implications for UN Women’s programme delivery.
  • Coordinate UN Women’s contributions and facilitate strategic executive engagement within the system-wide prevention platform, including participation at principal-level Executive Committee and Deputy Committee meetings.
  • Consolidate technical and policy expertise across divisions to develop high-quality, evidence-based analytical briefs and background documents, anticipating emerging trends from a gender equality standpoint.
  • Oversee systematic follow-up on EC/DC decisions assigned to UN Women, strengthening organizational accountability, knowledge transfer, and strategic influence within the UN prevention architecture.
• Build and maintain partnerships with Member States:
  • Establish and sustain regular communication with Permanent Missions from programme countries and regional groups.
  • Provide up-to-date information regarding UN Women’s initiatives and key gender equality concerns through both informal and regional briefings; disseminate UN Women knowledge products; facilitate access to technical and policy advisory services; and organize periodic knowledge-sharing sessions and cross-regional learning dialogues.
  • In close coordination with thematic teams and IGS, contribute to and support political outreach with Member States related to major intergovernmental processes, including the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and other global forums.
  • Collaborate with regional offices to support regional intergovernmental activities, ensuring valuable feedback and insights are shared across headquarters, regional, and country teams to inform their engagement with governments.
  • 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. Support the implementation of UN Women’s universal mandate.
  • Coordinate UN Women’s involvement in South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) on gender equality issues, acting as the primary liaison with New York-based programme country Permanent Missions and UN agencies, while closely engaging with UN Women’s country and regional offices.
  • Promote the integration of gender equality principles and financing within SSTC initiatives, leveraging UN Women’s normative, operational, and coordination roles to enhance collective impact and partnership.
  • Support the engagement of UN Women’s senior leadership with Permanent Missions and government delegations from national capitals.
• Lead cross-regional collaboration and knowledge management:
  • Collect and disseminate best practices on programming at regional and country levels, and contribute to UN Women’s knowledge management efforts.
  • Facilitate effective two-way communication and feedback between headquarters, regional, and country teams to promote coherence, guide policy and programmatic decisions, and monitor emerging regional political trends pertinent to UN Women’s mandate and global advocacy efforts.
• Team management and oversight:
  • Lead time management and oversight to ensure team coherence and well-being.
  • Ensure high-quality and timely annual performance reviews (PMDs).
  • Ensure the team is compliant with mandatory training courses.
  • Lead the work on preparation of annual work plans and budget allocations.
  • Ensure that quarterly monitoring reports are completed in a timely manner.
• Perform other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities

The incumbent leads a team of 5, which includes 4 direct reports (3 P4 and 1 G6), as well as 1 affiliate personnel (1 fellow).

Competencies

Core Values:

• Integrity
• Professionalism
• Respect for Diversity

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 Values and Competencies Framework.

Functional Competencies:

• Excellent programme formulation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation skills
• Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them
• Excellent knowledge of Results Based Management
• Ability to distill and synthesize policy and program information and data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making
• Excellent knowledge in thematic area
• Ability to lead formulation of strategies and their implementation
• Strong networking skills
• Ability to negotiate and interact with donors, identify and analyze trends, opportunities, and threats to fundraising

Requirements

• Education and Certification:
  • Master’s degree (or equivalent) in development-related disciplines, political science, economics, 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.
• Experience:
  • 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 in political analysis and context analysis is desirable.
  • Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.
• Languages:
  • Fluency in English is required.
  • Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, or Russian).

About UN Women

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.