Gender Associate – Home-Based (Open to all applicants)
Qualifications of Gender Associate:
- Location: Mexico, Mexico
- Vacancy No: 28238
- Salary: N/A
- Organization: UNDP United Nations Development Programme
- Deadline: 8/18/2025
Brief details about Gender Associate:
About
Information about the organization that has offered the job:
Mexico is a “megabiodiversity” country, the fourth most biodiverse in the world, and is home to approximately 12% of the world’s species. This includes an estimated 544 terrestrial and marine mammal species (surpassed only by Indonesia and Brazil), 804 reptile species, between 300,000 and 425,000 estimated insect species, and 23,522 known plant species. The country is the richest in the world in terms of reptile species, the second richest in mammal species, and the fourth richest in amphibian and plant species. An estimated 32% of the national vertebrate fauna is endemic to the country, and 52% is endemic to Mesoamerica. The country is located in 51 of the 191 recognized terrestrial ecoregions worldwide.
The cross-cutting nature of tourism positions it as an important driver of development and a powerful tool for improving local and regional development; for providing a better quality of life for host communities; and for ensuring the preservation of natural and cultural capital. However, to date, conventional tourism development and management models pose a significant threat to Mexico’s globally important biodiversity, undermining tourism assets and, therefore, the sustainability of the industry itself. Therefore, there is an urgent need to include biodiversity conservation criteria in tourism development models and practices.
Considering the country’s current context, the project recognizes the direct causes of ecosystem degradation and the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services in tourism development areas. It also addresses the following pillars, all direct causes that promote biodiversity loss and degradation:
- Lack of biodiversity conservation safeguards for tourism development, which has progressively encroached on fragile ecosystems, including biodiversity-rich coastal areas,
- Inadequate financial and compensatory mechanisms/incentives to promote sustainable tourism development, resulting in incessant biodiversity-intensive tourism activity, mainly related to navigation, fishing, diving, among others, and
- Lack of demonstrative models for sustainable tourism development to provide viable and replicable best practices for other tourism development initiatives in the rest of the country, as well as feedback for improving the sustainable tourism development model.
Taking this context into account, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Mexico are implementing the project: Integration of Biodiversity Conservation Criteria in Mexico’s Tourism Sector with an Emphasis on Biodiversity-Rich Coastal Ecosystems. This is the first GEF project awarded to the tourism sector in Mexico and is executed by the Ministry of Tourism (SECTUR) in collaboration with WWF in the Huatulco region of Oaxaca, ISLA in Baja California Sur, and Friends of Sian Ka’an in Quintana Roo. It is also implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The project is based on the proposal that laying the groundwork for long-term public policy regarding biodiversity-friendly tourism and encouraging specific activities that demonstrate the viability of Sustainable Tourism Development models that integrate biodiversity conservation safeguards will ensure biodiversity conservation while contributing to the maintenance of important ecosystem services. The project also offers a coherent legal and institutional basis, emphasizing the participation of local communities and developers, to generate lasting change in the planning and management of tourism development in Mexico’s coastal areas.
The Gender Associate will support the mainstreaming of a gender perspective in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of project activities to ensure their improved management with a gender, human rights, intersectionality, and interculturality focus. They will also be responsible for strengthening the relevant capacities of both project implementers and beneficiaries, as well as UNDP and its partners.
Duties and Responsibilities
Mainstreaming the gender perspective in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of project activities to ensure their optimal management with a gender, human rights, intersectionality, and interculturality approach.
- Identify progress in mainstreaming gender and human rights equality in existing project instruments and documents.
- Generate a summary of materials and documents for the project toolbox.
- Establish a proposal for activities and a one-year schedule for implementation in the field.
- Develop and record online training modules on gender issues for partners and allies, based on UNDP training and materials developed for the project.
Provide substantial support for capacity building in gender and environmental issues for partners, as well as for strengthening training for beneficiaries and promoting knowledge exchange.
- Participate in meetings with partners to present strategy.
- Monitor capacity building in gender issues.
Review and supplement the knowledge products produced by the project with a gender perspective, as well as provide technical and administrative advice for them .
- Based on the documents generated and in coordination with the UNDP Gender Unit, a guide for implementing a gender perspective in tourism and biodiversity conservation must be developed.
- Review all project products and ensure the integration of the gender approach into them.
- Disseminate the gender guide in coordination with the UCP.
Provide support in meetings, information gathering, and document preparation.
- Define mechanisms and formats for information retrieval, as well as generate a knowledge management system on gender issues.
- Train partners to gather information.
- Monitor information tracking, analyze and systematize information.
Provide substantive input for advocacy, knowledge building, and communication efforts with a gender perspective and inclusive, non-sexist language.
- Systematize information for different publications.
- Support the development of the gender learning community.
- Contribute to integrating the gender perspective into project events, as well as promoting gender-related projects within the project.
The incumbent performs other duties within his or her functional profile that are deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.
Institutional Agreement
The project’s Gender Associate will report directly to the Project Coordinator and will be supported by the Gender Officer. They will maintain effective collaboration with local project partners, the private and public sectors, and communities, ensuring the successful implementation of project activities.
Competencies
Core
| Get results: | LEVEL 1: Plans and supervises own work, pays attention to detail, delivers quality work within the established deadline. |
| Thinking innovatively: | LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic in problem solving, makes improvements |
| Continuous learning: | LEVEL 1: Open and curious mind, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback. |
| Adapt with agility: | LEVEL 1: Adapts to changes, constructively manages ambiguity and uncertainty, and is flexible. |
| Act with determination: | LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to act calmly in the face of adversity, self-confident |
| Participate and join: | LEVEL 1: Shows compassion/understanding towards others, establishes positive relationships. |
| Promote diversity and inclusion: | LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, be aware of unconscious biases, confront discrimination. |
Technical and functional skills
| Thematic Area | Name | Definition |
| Business management | Working with tests and data | • Ability to inspect, debug, transform, and model data to uncover useful information, base conclusions, and support decision-making. |
| Business management | Digital awareness and literacy | • Ability and inclination to quickly adopt new technologies, either by mastering their use or by understanding their impact and training others to use them as needed |
| Business management | Customer Satisfaction/Customer Management | • Ability to respond promptly and appropriately with a sense of urgency, provide coherent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to meet and understand customers’ real needs. Contribute to the development of the customer service strategy. Look for ways to add value beyond immediate customer requests. Ability to anticipate future customer needs and concerns. |
| Business management | Communication | • Ability to communicate clearly, concisely, and unambiguously, both in writing and verbally; to tailor messages and choose communication methods based on the audience. Ability to manage internal and external communications through the media, social media, and other appropriate channels. |
| Business management | Supervision | • Ability to provide managers and key stakeholders with regular feedback on the consistency or discrepancy between planned and actual activities and program performance and results |
| Agenda 2030 | Gender | • Gender and environment. |
| Agenda 2030 | Gender | • Gender equality and institutional transformation. |
Required Skills and Experience
| Minimum Academic Requirements
| Secondary education is required (high school certificate) University studies (Bachelor’s or Bachelor’s level) in Social Sciences, Human Rights, Environment, Geography, Gender/Women’s Studies, International Development, International Relations, Economics, or related fields will be given due consideration, but it is not a requirement. |
| Minimum Years of Relevant Knowledge and Experience | Minimum 7 years (with secondary education) or 4 years of experience (with a bachelor’s degree) in: Environment and resilience, sustainable development, green economy with a gender perspective. |
| Required Skills |
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| Desired Skills in addition to the competencies mentioned in the Competencies section |
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| Required Language(s) | Fluency in Spanish is required. A working knowledge of English is desirable. |
Equal opportunity
As an equal opportunity employer, UNDP values diversity as an expression of the multiplicity of nations and cultures where we operate and, as such, we encourage qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply for roles in the organization. Our employment decisions are based on merit and suitability for the role, without discrimination.
UNDP is also committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all personnel are empowered to contribute to our mission, are valued, can thrive, and benefit from career opportunities that are open to all.
Sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse of authority
UNDP does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, exploitation, discrimination and abuse of authority. All selected candidates, therefore, undergo relevant checks and are expected to adhere to the respective standards and principles.
Right to select multiple candidates
UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.