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.

In the context of Syria, UN Women works to promote women’s participation in relief, recovery, and peacebuilding. For years, UN Women convened dialogue and nurtured trust among women’s groups, women leaders, and women’s rights actors operating inside and outside of Syria – seeking to create a strategic vision around Syrian women’s participation in shaping the future of Syria.

UN Women’s approach is outlined in its flagship programme “Supporting Syrian Women’s Engagement in the Syrian Political Process – Building a Homegrown Constituency for Peace” which is guided by UNSCR 2254 (2015) and UNSCR 1325 (2000) and is being implemented in partnership with the Office of the Special Envoy for Syria, sister UN Agencies, and women-led organizations.

UN Women has supported Syrian women’s engagement in peace and security since 2013. As part of this work, UN Women has partnered and works closely with the Office of the Special Envoy (OSE) for Syria, including by supporting Syrian women’s leadership and effective engagement in the political process through the Syrian Women’s Advisory Board (WAB). Since 2022, UN Women has also provided capacity enhancement and technical support to Syrian civil society organizations and women-led organizations to strengthen women’s resilience and capacity at the grassroots level within Syria and in the diaspora. After the 2023 earthquake, UN Women provided gender-mainstreaming technical assistance to the Gaziantep-based Humanitarian Liaison Group (HLG) and supported the meaningful engagement of women-led organizations in the Gaziantep cross-border humanitarian response to the Syrian crisis.

With the collapse of the Assad regime in 2024, Syria stands at a critical juncture. The meaningful engagement and participation of women and minorities, across Syria’s diverse tapestry of identities, in an inclusive political transition and post-conflict recovery process is essential to ensure sustainable socio-economic development and long-term stability.

In contribution to the UNCT and HCT work on mainstreaming gender across coordination and response efforts, UN Women will deploy a Senior Gender Advisor/Secondee to the RC/HC Office in Damascus. The secondee will work closely with the RC/HC, UN Women teams, and UNCT members.

Key Functions and Accountabilities

• Contribute to the work of the RC/HC in Damascus as requested, including through reviewing documents from a gender lens, contribution to analyses, policy briefs and talking points, and provision of senior technical and policy advice to strategic planning and assistance frameworks and processes.
• Lead and contribute to analyzing the gender-specific dimensions of the changing context in Syria and its impacts on women and girls. Integrate the findings of the analysis in RC messages, strategic planning, and assistance documents.
• Provide advice to the work of the UNCT/HCT and the RC/HC on the integration of gender across all phases of planning processes. This includes and is not limited to the UN Strategic Framework and its Joint Work Plans, the HRP, the sector planning, etc. The Gender Advisor is also expected to provide advice about the gender marker in the UNCT/HCT planning processes.
• Carry out regular consultations with Syrian female leaders and women-led organizations inside different geographical areas in Syria and in the diaspora and utilize the findings and recommendations of these consultations to inform the RC/HC, UN Women, and UNCT efforts.
• Support the inclusion of platforms such as the Syrian Women’s Advisory Board, the Women-Led Organizations (WLO) platform, the Gender-Working Group (GWG), and other Syrian women’s and civil society networks in key relief, recovery, peacebuildin,g and political processes.
• Establish and maintain relationships with national and sub-national constituencies, including Syrian civil society organizations, women’s groups, networks and women’s rights leaders, and any other relevant partners including institutes and academia working on the Syrian political process and women’s issues, to strengthen key alliances and partnerships, enhance collaboration, and influence agenda-and priority-setting.
• Contribute to identifying practical ways and solutions to addressing the priorities of women interlocutors and stakeholders in all facets of the Syrian political transition process.
• Contribute to designing, implementing, and monitoring the implementation of the UNCT’s gender strategy.
• Provide technical inputs for the monitoring of results and reporting on the UN Women Syria Programme.
• Support the UN Women regional office to prepare briefings and analysis for UN Women senior leadership’s participation in key decision-making and coordination forums related to peace and security and humanitarian action.
• Regularly prepare analytical reports and updates for the UN Women Regional Office for Arab States as well as UN Women Headquarters.
• Provide substantive inputs to UN Women’s Syria programme through participation in weekly UN Women coordination meetings.
• Design a plan to provide the UN agencies with relevant capacities that could sustain the GEWE efforts in the future.
• Engage and establish a connection with the newly established Office of Women Affairs to build a channel of advocacy relevant to strategic subjects pertaining women empowerment.
• Lead the UN joint efforts in developing and mobilizing resources for joint programmes that focus on GEWE.
• As requested by the RC/HC Office, UN Women and UNCT, represent the organization in events and meetings.
• The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the RC/HC Damascus Office, UN Women regional office, and UNCT.

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:

• Expert knowledge in women empowerment and rights and Women, Peace, and Security.
• Proven ability to advocate and provide policy, substantive and strategic advice on women’s empowerment and rights, gender in humanitarian action, and women, peace, and security.
• Ability to develop and maintain strong partnerships.
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making.
• Excellent analytical and communication skills are required.
• Strong knowledge of UN programmes management systems.

Required Skills and Experience:

Education:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in development studies, gender, conflict prevention, peacebuilding, law, human rights, or any other related area is required.

Experience:

• At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level in managing complex and multi-component programme interventions related to gender equality, Women, Peace and Security, and gender in humanitarian action, including policy advice and technical assistance is required.
• Experience in facilitating high-level consultative processes with Government officials, Development partners, and non-state actors is required.
• Practical knowledge on Results Based Management is desirable.
• Experience working on inclusive politics in a fragile context, with a demonstrated ability to deliver is desirable;

Language:

• Proficiency in oral and written English and Arabic.

Statements :

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.)

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements