Gender Expert

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is an operational arm of the United Nations, supporting the successful implementation of its partners' peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world.  Mandated as a central resource of the United Nations, UNOPS provides sustainable project management, procurement and infrastructure services to a wide range of governments, donors and United Nations organisations.  With over 6,000 personnel spread across 80 countries, UNOPS offers its partners the logistical, technical and management knowledge they need, where they need it.  By implementing around 1,000 projects for our partners at any given time, UNOPS makes significant contributions to results on the ground, often in the most challenging environments.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system, and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment.

The primary role of the Gender Expert is to ensure that gender needs are integrated into Early Warning Systems (EWS) and disaster risk management activities; tracking gender-specific indicators; and assessing progress towards achieving gender equality for the Project on “Enhancing Early Warning Systems to build greater resilience to hydro-meteorological hazards in Timor-Leste”.  Within this context, the Gender Expert will work towards gender mainstreaming throughout the Project to ensure that gender concerns are addressed, existing gender inequalities are not reinforced, and that greater resilience to climate change is possible for the entire population of Timor-Leste.

Project Information:

The project “Enhancing Early Warning Systems to build greater resilience to hydro-meteorological hazards in Timor-Leste” was approved by the Green Climate Fund Board in October 2021, with a total budget of USD 21.7 million. The United Nations Environment Programme serves as the Accredited Entity for the project. Activities will be executed by the State of Timor-Leste through the Secretary State for the Environment (SSE) and UNEP. The project will be implemented across five years and aims to deliver transformative impact to the entire population of Timor-Leste, including 1.03 million as direct beneficiaries (80% of the population), directly contributing to the attainment of selected targets and indicators of Article 7 of the Paris Agreement, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 on Climate Action, SDG 3 on Good Health and Well-Being and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

The project will address the urgent need for integrated and end-to-end climate information services and multi-hazard early warning systems (MHEWS) through comprehensive institutional, technical and technological capacity building from national to local level to generate and disseminate robust climate data and information at all stages of the climate services value chain. This will be achieved through four inter-related components – the Project Results:

Result 1. Strengthened delivery model and legislation for climate information and multi-hazard early warning services;

Activity 1.1 Establish institutional and policy frameworks, legislation and delivery models for climate services

Result 2. Strengthened observations, monitoring, analysis and forecasting of climate and its impacts;

Activity 2.1 Enhance infrastructure and technical support for observations and monitoring

Activity 2.2 Strengthen climate modelling and impact-based forecasting

Activity 2.3 Establish climate services for health

Result 3. Improved dissemination and communication of risk information and early warning;

Activity 3.1 Establish targeted multi-hazard early warning information systems

Result 4. Enhanced climate risk management capacity.

Activity 4.1 Build capacity to prepare for and respond to climate risks and hazards

Activity 4.2 Establish Forecast-based Financing (FbF)

Local Context: 

Timor-Leste is a Least Developed Country (LDC) and a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) whose infrastructure and governmental systems were devastated by a 25-year war of independence. Timor-Leste is highly vulnerable to both extreme climate and slow-onset events, with very limited capacity to prepare for and recover from climate impacts. As these events increase in frequency and intensity, Timor-Leste needs accurate, timely and actionable information and early warnings on local weather, water, climate and ocean conditions and related risks to human and environmental health. 

Summary of functions:

1. Gender mainstreaming

2. Technical Assistance, documentation and reporting

3. Gender-sensitive communication and capacity building

4. Gender safeguards

5. Coordination and knowledge sharing

• Minimum advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) or higher degree in social or environmental sciences or other relevant discipline, preferably with a specialization in gender management.

• A first university degree (Bachelor’s or equivalent) in above-mentioned fields or other relevant discipline with two (2) additional years of relevant experience may be considered in lieu of an advanced degree or higher degrees.

• A minimum of 5 years of practical experience in the field of gender equality and gender mainstreaming is required.

• Formal training in gender analysis and gender planning and demonstrated expertise in mainstreaming gender in projects and programmes, especially in specific area of intervention, is desirable

• Experience in the gender context in Timor-Leste, and experience working with government institutions and international or UN Agencies or non-governmental organizations supporting gender and development work in the specific area of intervention, is desirable

• Familiarity with gender analysis tools and methodologies in the specific area of intervention, is desirable

• Strong communication skills, and ability to liaise with various stakeholders, including government officials, is desirable

• Demonstrated working experience with Green Climate Fund, Global Environment Facility, or similar donor-funded projects is desirable.

• Fluency in English is required.

1. Contract type: Local ICA
2. Contract level: ICS 10 / LICA-10
3. Contract duration: 12 Months subject to organizational requirements, availability of funds and satisfactory performance.

• Please note that UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes.

• Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

• Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process, which involves various assessments.

• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of many diverse nationalities, cultures,  languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. UNOPS seeks to sustain and strengthen this diversity to ensure equal opportunities as well as an inclusive working environment for its entire workforce. 

• Qualified women and candidates from groups which are underrepresented in the UNOPS workforce are encouraged to apply. These include in particular candidates from racialized and/or indigenous groups, members of minority gender identities and sexual orientations, and people with disabilities.

• We would like to ensure all candidates perform at their best during the assessment process.  If you are shortlisted and require additional assistance to complete any assessment, including reasonable accommodation, please inform our human resources team when you receive an invitation.

Terms and Conditions 

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 

• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses ( they take around 4 hours to complete)  in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here.

• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.

• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.