Democratic Republic of the Congo: Gender Advisor, Stabilization and Support Unit, MONUSCO

JOB TITLE: Gender Advisor

GRADE: P3

DUTY STATION: Goma Stabilization Support Unit (SU) HQ, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

DURATION: 1 year

SUPERVISOR: SSU (Deputy) Team Leader

BACKGROUND AND ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

MONUSCO’s Stabilization Support Unit (SSU), established within the Integrated Office of the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General (DSRSG)/Resident Coordinator (RC)/Humanitarian Coordinator (HC) provides coordination between the Government of the DRC (GoDRC), international partners and United Nations (UN) agencies through the International Security and Stabilization Support Strategy (ISSSS) and related Provincial Stabilization Plans in the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri, in close collaboration with the Stabilization and Reconstruction Plan for the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (STAREC). The ISSSS Technical Secretariat housed within SSU is in charge of the management of the Stabilization Coherence Fund, the coordination of bilaterally funded programs aligned to the ISSSS, the provision of policy advice and up to date conflict analysis as well as the overall monitoring, evaluation and documenting lessons learned of the ISSSS. SSU’s headquarters is based in Goma, with a Liaison Office based in Kinshasa and field personnel in North Kivu (Goma and Beni), South Kivu (Bukavu) and Ituri (Bunia).

Both the ISSSS and STAREC were initially developed in 2008 - 2009 to consolidate the security and political gains from the 2008 Goma Accords and the 2009 Peace Agreements between the GoDRC, the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) and 14 local armed groups. However, an evaluation of the first phase of the ISSSS (2008 - 2012) demonstrated the limitations of technical responses alone and concluded that one-size-fits-all approach has proven ineffective in addressing highly complex conflict situations.

At the request of the Security Council (UN Security Council Resolution 2053) the ISSSS went through a profound revision in 2012 to address the short falls of the first phase. The revised ISSSS links the concept of stabilization to the specific conflict dynamics in Eastern DRC (security, land and identity, natural resources and regional dynamics). The revised strategy aims at transforming the relationship between the DRC state and population in the East to enable them to jointly address these main drivers of conflict. The approach emphasizes that high-level political engagement is essential to provide coherence and guarantee the sustainability of stabilization investments; and the development of mechanisms to enable the communities to drive the peace efforts at local levels and support the state in delivering on the solutions identified by the populations to restore mutual trust and state legitimacy.

As part of the operationalization of the revised ISSSS, SSU guided the implementation of two pilot projects in Kalehe and Mambasa between 2014 and 2016. As initial results were promising, these pilot projects paved the way for four additional stabilization programs in the East which were all launched in 2017. All the four programs are financed through the Stabilization Coherence Fund (with funds from the UN Peacebuilding Fund, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Germany). Implementing partners include UN agencies, local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and MONUSCO.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the SSU (Deputy) Team Leader, the Gender Advisor will be responsible for the following duties within the Stabilization Support Unit (SSU):

Policy advice, strategic technical guidance and analysis

• Analyze political, security and program trends from a gender in peacebuilding perspective, drawing on available information from ISSSS implementing partners and other MONUSCO sections/UN agencies and ensure conflict analysis produced by SSU is gender-sensitive

• Conduct a desk review of existing research on the gender dynamics and the different roles of women in relation to stabilization processes in Eastern DRC and develop policy and programmatic recommendations to be implemented

• Monitor the implementation of the ISSSS gender strategy and provide guidance and training to ISSSS Technical Secretariat and ISSSS stakeholders to ensure gender is mainstreaming within all policy and programming documents of the ISSSS

• Lead on the revision of ISSSS pillar 5 to integrate the Women, Peace and Security agenda as part of the overall pillar revision process

• Manage gender specific information within the SSU such as knowledge management and sharing of best practices with partners

• Enable SSU and STAREC to align stabilization priorities with the DRC National Action Plan on 1325

  Communications and reporting

• In collaboration with SSU’s Reporting Officer ensure SSU's standard reports (monthly field updates, quarterly reports and annual report) systematically include progress and best practices on gender

• In collaboration with SSU’s Policy Advisor, ensure ISSSS contributions on gender are integrated in MONUSCO's regular reports, including gender reports which are presented to the Secretary General (SG) to measure the progress made on the SG's Women's Participation and Peacebuilding 7-point action plan

• Ensure gender equality considerations are integrated in SSU’s communication and resource mobilization strategy and oversee implementation

  Program management

• Provide technical assistance to ensure gender is systematically integrated in proposal development, in particular as part of the call for proposal process

• Monitor the implementation of the gender components of existing stabilization programs, including the application of gender responsive budgets

• Provide technical assistance to partners and other provincial Technical Secretariats through development of tools, training, mentoring and accompanying their engagement with women, peace and security agenda, including gender budgeting

• Support implementing partners to collect data related to gender as part of the ISSSS M&E framework

• Monitor the delivery of high quality results as per stated objectives and outcomes within the M&E framework in regular program reports and provide recommendations where necessary

  Coordination

• Coordinate and provide technical assistance to SSU provincial Gender Focal points

• Coordinate with other MONUSCO sections such as Gender Affairs, DDRRR, Civil Affairs, Political Affairs, UNPOL and the Force to ensure a coherent approach to gender in mission stabilization efforts in line with the ISSSS

• Coordinate with and inform and exchange with UN agencies, other international and local organizations and authorities regarding the ISSSS gender approach, results and good practices

  Promotes gender equality within the organization

• Supports SSU management with the integration of gender results in SSU’s internal management tools, including annual and individual work plans and ensures monitoring mechanisms are in place

• Provides technical assistance to SSU staff to mainstream gender in their annual work plan and performance reporting

• Supports SSU management in the evaluation of individual staff’s gender results

• Acts as SSU’s resource person and Focal Point for cases related to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA).

  Any other related duties as may be required.

Competencies

Respect for diversity and gender

• Works effectively with people from all backgrounds

• Threats all people with dignity and respect

• Treats men and women equally

• Shows respect for and understanding of diverse points of view and demonstrates this understanding in daily work and decision-making

• Examines own biases and behaviors to avoid stereotypical responses

• Does not discriminate against any individual or group

  Planning and organizing

• Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies

• Identifies priority activities and assignments, adjusts priorities as required

• Allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work

• Foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning

• Uses time efficiently

Teamwork

• Work collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals

• Solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others

• Supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position

• Supports and acts in accordance with final group decisions, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position

Communication

• Excellent drafting skills in English and French and ability to communicate effectively verbally; excellent public speaking skills.

Education

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in political science, history, international affairs or related fields. Military Staff College graduation, or first level university degree, in combination with extensive experience in operational and analytical work in the field of international affairs, may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work experience

• A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience international level in design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development/peacebuilding projects

• Demonstrated experience working on gender and peacebuilding/women, peace and security agenda

• Previous experience in mainstreaming gender at organizational level is a plus

• Experience in successfully engaging with host government institutions and authorities as well as local partners is required

• Experience working on gender in Integrated Missions, including in coordinating joint initiatives UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) - UN Country Team and INGOs is a plus.

Languages

Full professional proficiency in English (both written and spoken) as well as proficiency in French (both written and spoken). Commitment to continuous language learning would be accepted in lieu of full proficiency in French.

https://www.webcruiter.no/wcmain/CvJobRespond1.aspx?oppdragsnr=3696686434&link_source_id=5465334666&company_id=1536508415&culture_id=EN