Organization: UNV – United Nations Volunteers
Location: Kenya
Grade: Level not specified – Level not specified
Occupational Groups:
Women’s Empowerment and Gender Mainstreaming
Closing Date: 2024-08-21
Details
Mission and objectives
Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women will work 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. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women is leading and coordinating United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. UN Women’s vision is a world in which societies are free of gender-based discrimination, where women and men have equal opportunities, where women and girls are empowered to lead the change that they want to see, and where women’s rights are upheld in all efforts to further development, human rights, peace and security.
Context
Kenya is a lower-middle-income country in the horn of Africa, with a population of 47.6 million as of 2019 and a multi-party parliamentary system. Kenya’s score on the Human Development Index has risen steadily from 2019 to 2022, positioning it at 143 out of 189 countries and territories in 2022. It is the third largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa after Nigeria and South Africa. The economy has since recovered from the effects of COVID-19, with growth projected despite facing global food price increases and drought conditions. Inequality persists, including gender inequality, exacerbated by climate change leading to inter-communal violence. COVID-19 caused job losses and other sources of livelihood for women more so than men. At the same time, there are increasing risks of sexual exploitation, physical violence, harassment and child marriages due to prolonged drought and displacement due to flooding experienced in 2024. Over the past decade, Kenya has made important governance and structural reforms that have contributed to impressive political gains, economic growth and social development. As part of enhancing its legal frameworks and policies, Kenya incorporated development of a National Care Policy document in its Medium-Term Plan (MTP) III of vision 2030 and its Women Economic Empowerment Strategy 2020-2025 and by extension, UN Women has unpaid Care work as an output in its Strategic Note 2023-2026. Additionally, UN Women has supported State Department of gender and Affirmative Action (SDfGAA) to develop a National Care Policy which should be adopted and implemented. This will require intensive socialization to communities which are largely patriarchal, to enable Recognition that care is an issue that limits women’s participation in the economic space, Reducing care, Redistributing it especially with the male members of households, Rewarding it and ensuring decent employment for paid care and, Representing the same at policy level (5Rs). Kenya Country Office has received funding from the Bill and Gates Foundation to finalise the development of the Care policy and has also received funds from UNPRPD for a disability in care project to be implemented together with UNDP, UNICEF and ILO.
Task description
Under the overall guidance of the Team Leader-Women Economic Empowerment, the Gender Advocate-Care shall be responsible for the coordination of the implementation of the National Care Policy and the Disability and Care projects. The position’s responsibilities will span Programme Management Support; Administrative Support to the Care Project; Provide Technical and Advisory, Support; Provide Substantive Inputs to Building Partnerships and Resource Mobilization Strategies; Provide substantive inputs to advocacy, knowledge building, and communication efforts. • Provide programme and administrative support to the WEE Unit on the National Care and the Disability in Care programmes in the preparation of programme work plans, budgets, and proposals on programme implementation arrangements. • Provide technical inputs and analysis to various gender-related strategic and policy documents, joint programmes, and communication materials on issues of women’s rights, gender equality, gender legislation and policy, gender-based violence and access to justice, gender-sensitive work environment with regards to care. • Support preparation for advocacy and learning events and conduct relevant training sessions when necessary. • Attend with team members relevant forums and support coordination within the UN Women economic empowerment. • Ensure close follow-up for the effective implementation of a strategic partnership between UN Women, the UN Agencies that are part of disability in Care, the Government through the State Department of Gender and Affirmative Action (SDfGAA), and civil society organizations implementing the care projects, to promote gender equality and especially care, in line with the commitments. • Undertake relevant environment scanning on political, environmental, economic, and social development trends and issues affecting gender equality and women’s equal rights in the area of care and disability and provide timely updates to the WEE team and management; participate in developing innovative projects and intervention summaries with a focus on both care, disability in care and gender equality aspects. • Assist in conducting research on new areas of engagement and in developing concept notes to support resource mobilization for upscaling the Care and disability in care work. • Support monitoring & evaluation, documenting, and reporting to donors and the host entity of the outcomes, impact, and lessons learned. Review and monitor the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports on care. • Undertake field visits to monitor performance of commitments by implementing partners and ensure programme objectives are being met. • Provide administration/procurement support to the project: organization of conferences, workshops, seminars, missions, budget the events. • Make travel arrangements as necessary including preparation of travel requisitions and claim. • Create and maintain appropriate folders for reference materials received electronically. • Prepare presentation material/slides in PowerPoint for presentations for the meetings/workshops and keep all papers ready for meetings. • Prepare relevant documentation such as project summaries, conference papers, briefing notes, speeches, and donor profiles. • Participate in donor meetings and public information events, as delegated. • Organize advocacy campaigns at county and grassroots level, events, trainings, workshops, and knowledge products. • Identify best practices and lessons learned to guide programme improvement and strategy planning. • Contribute to develop knowledge management strategies, products, and methodologies on care.