State Technical Coordinator (SB4) - Gender Budgeting - Odisha, India

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.

All human development and human rights issues involve gender dimensions. UN Women globally focuses on key priority areas that are fundamental to women s equality, and that can unlock progress across the board. UN Women s priority areas include increasing women s leadership and participation in political spaces, ending violence against women, enhancing women s economic empowerment, engaging in all aspects of women peace and security processes, making gender equality central to national planning and budgeting through Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) and advancing gender in intergovernmental processes.

Achieving gender equality and women s empowerment is an essential element of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development - the roadmap to a more equal, just, peaceful, and sustainable world. UN Women India is going to implement a donor funded project titled: Gender Equality Xcelerate: Transformative Pathways towards Gender Justice for women s social, economic, and political equality and empowerment towards achievement of the 2030 agenda.

The overarching objective of this project is to strengthen women s leadership in economic, social, and political spheres. The project will be implemented in India over a period of four years (2024-2027) in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh.

The following are the broad intended outcomes of the project:

• UN Womens institutional impact on advancing gender equality is accelerated through outcome-driven advocacy efforts.
• Government and non-government stakeholders prioritise, monitor, and evaluate GEWE investments at the grassroots level.
• Transforming norms, strengthening response mechanisms, and empowering stakeholders for a survivor-centric environment through effectively utilising the Nirbhaya Funds.

UN Women through this programme will work with state partners at the panchayat level in 3 states, namely, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha to deepen anchoring of GB. The project will aim to enhance capacities of government officials and other stakeholders to implement gender responsive planning and budgeting measures.

Within this context, UN Women seeks the services of State Technical Coordinator - Gender Budgeting (GB) to be placed within the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha . Reporting to the Country Programme Manager-GRB, UN Women India, the State Technical Coordinators- GB will be responsible for implementing programme activities on gender budgeting in the respective states.

Under the overall guidance and direct supervision of Country Programme Manager-GRB, the State Technical Coordinator- GB will provide support to the State Partners and select government departments to advance gender budgeting at the panchayat level. The State Technical Coordinator- GB will work with the State Partners to ensure that the project produces the results in the State to the required standards of quality and within the given time and cost specifications. The State Technical Coordinator- GB will work closely with the State Partners and officials in state Panchayat department and have the following Roles and Responsibilities.

Functions:

Strengthening Coordination and GB Efforts at the state level:

• Assist the panchayat department in undertaking actions to advance GB in the state as per the mandate and priorities of the department;
• Advocate for organising pre-budget consultation with CSO, women s groups, academia and other stakeholders in collaboration with WCD, Finance and line departments.
• Establish/strengthen effective coordination mechanisms within and among Panchayati Raj department in select states to institutionalize and promote GB in the respective panchayats;

Research and Documentation:

• Undertake mapping and documentation of the planning, budgeting and auditing processes at the panchayat level in the select states;
• Strengthen the state diagnostic report on gender budgeting initiatives at panchayat level to map the current status;
• Document and disseminate resources and knowledge products on GB, such as case studies and good practices at the state level;
• Support State Partners in developing policy briefs on GB at Panchayat level.

Facilitating Training and Capacity Development of relevant constituents on GRB:

• Support in compiling/developing training tools, manual, and other resource material on GB for the panchayat level for the respective states;
• Support in organizing gender budgeting capacity development training programmes for officials, relevant stakeholders and create a pool of local GB experts at the Panchayat level;
• Monitor the training outcomes by undertaking pre- and post-assessments and developing quality training reports.

Implementation of Project at State Level:

• Coordinate with state partners for timely completion of project deliverables including periodic reporting;
• Support in organising policy dialogues and development of policy briefs based on insights from the same;
• Support the State Partners to facilitate convening CSOs and womens groups to strengthen the feminist ecosystem;
• Support in generating mass public awareness in vernacular languages on issues and the impact of budgeting for women and girls;
• Support in establishing a Community of Practice at the state level.

Any other tasks assigned by the supervisor.

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:

• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
• Focuses on impact and result for the partners and responds positively to feedback;
• Sound understanding of development issues and gender;
• Adheres to deadlines and follows up on time-bound issues;
• Maintains diplomacy, tact and strict confidentiality with internal and external partners and clients.

Education:

• Master s Degree or equivalent in Economics, Social Sciences//Social Work /Gender Studies/Public Administration/Policy or related 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.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of experience at the national/state level working with development projects including hands-on experience of design, implementation and monitoring/evaluation of projects, preferably on Gender Responsive Governance, Gender Equality and Women s Empowerment.
• Progressive experience of working with national/ state governments on gender issues, preferably with panchayats. State specific experience will be preferable.
• Experience of working on GRB with the government will be an added advantage;
• Experience of undertaking budgetary/ policy analysis and capacity building of government officials.
• Proficiency in the use of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.).

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and Hindi is required.
• Good command over language of the State is desired.

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 womens 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.)