Organizational context:

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. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, the UN Women leads and coordinates the 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 triple mandate, along with its global network and deep policy and programming expertise, continues to endow the Entity with a unique capacity to: (i) support Member States to strengthen global norms and standards for gender equality and women’s empowerment, and mainstream gender perspectives in other thematic areas; (ii) promote coordination and coherence across the UN system to enhance accountability and results for gender equality and women’s empowerment; and (iii) undertake operational activities to support Member States, upon their request, in translating global norms and standards into legislation, policies and strategies at country level.

UN Women plays an innovative and catalytic role in the State of Palestine since its inception in 1997 (as UNIFEM). In line with the national priorities, the work of UN Women for the period 2023-2025 is aligned with three of the Palestine United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework’s (UNSDCF) outcomes:

•     Palestinians have greater access to economic opportunities that are inclusive, resilient, and sustainable, including decent employment and livelihoods opportunities in an empowered private sector.
•     Palestinians, including the most vulnerable, have equal access to sustainable, inclusive, gender responsive and quality social services, social protection, and affordable utilities.
•     Palestinian governance institutions, processes, and mechanisms at all levels are more democratic, rights-based, inclusive, and accountable.

Its three-year Strategic Note supports the efforts to achieve measurable results in country in terms of four UN Women global Strategic Plan impacts (2022-2025): (SP Impact 1). Governance and participation in public life; (SP Impact 2). Women’s Economic Empowerment; (SP Impact 3). Ending Violence Against Women and Girls and; SP Impact 4. Women peace and security, Humanitarian & Disaster Risk Reduction.

Under the direct supervision of the Head of Office and working closely with the Deputy Special Representative, the Programme and Executive Assistant works in close collaboration with all units in the Palestine Country Office to ensure consistent and reliable programming and administrative support.   

Scope of Work: 

1.    Provide executive support to the UN Women Head of Office and Deputy Special Representative (DSR)

• Coordinate meetings, appointments and briefings for the Head of Office, and DSR.
• Draft correspondence, interoffice circulars, general briefing notes, mission’s agendas, English/Arabic translations when required.
• Arrange travel, security and hotel accommodations for the Head of Office and DSR.
• Establish and maintain a network of contacts to ensure effective liaison in support of management.
• Meet and greet officials/visitors; ensure protocol matters, receive high ranking visitors/officials, coordinate logistical arrangements related to visits. 
• Maintain and organize up to date files for easy access and retrieval; ensure safekeeping of confidential materials.

2.    Provide administrative support to the UN Women Head of Office and Deputy Special Representative

• Provide administrative support for meetings, events, and workshops.
• Respond to and/or direct inquiries to appropriate units for timely action/response.
• Prepare minutes and summaries of meetings (actions to be taken); tracking of progress on planned actions; follow-up with focal points (inside Palestine office and with other partners and stakeholders). 
• Assemble briefing materials and prepare PowerPoint presentations for the Head of Office for meetings, missions, and other key events.
• Assist in organizing field visits for Country Office missions in coordination with the relevant team members 
• Facilitate flow of information and communication between the UN Women Special Representation Office and other units within or outside of UN Women.
• Review, prioritize, and route correspondence to and from the UN Women Special Representation Office
• Respond to and/or direct inquiries to appropriate units for timely action/response.

3.    Provide Programming/Administrative supports assigned by the Head of Office and/or DSR

• Provide administrative and logistical support including preparation of payment requests and other related requests in accordance with the applicable financial and procurement rules. 
• Raise e-requisitions in Quantum purchase of goods and services for interventions that are decided by the Head of Office.   
• Provide support in managing core resources, preparation of budget and procurement plans and monitoring expenditures under core funds. 
• Assist in the preparation of core activities progress reports. 
• Support in budget creation in Quantum and conduct budget revisions in line with project workplans as requested.  
• Assist in the preparation of internal and external evaluation and regional/ global missions.  
• Ensure timely submission of the monthly reporting and planning sheets by the concerned team members. 
• Liaise and follow up with UN Women partners for organizing events/ sessions and submit progress reports and agreed deliverables (by civil society organizations, government organizations, consultants) as requested by the Head of Office and DSR.  
• Assist in preparing relevant documentation for contracting and payments.  
• Liaise and follow up with vendors/ suppliers for any matter related to contractual commitments and conditions.  
• Assist in interventions/initiatives formulation and reporting. 

4.     Act as the secretary of the Local Project Appraisal Committee (L-PAC)

• Coordinate with submitting unit in preparing full submission of documents for L-PAC review, 
• Coordinate with L-PAC members for scheduling meetings and taking meetings minutes
• Liaise with the relevant team members in responding to the committee’s feedback. 

5.    Contribute to knowledge building and knowledge sharing: 

• Provide administrative support for effective knowledge management and sharing within the office and other offices/HQs. 
• Build and share knowledge and experience related to administrative and operations support. 

6.  The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office

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:

• Organizing skills: Ability to prioritize work assignments, organize own schedule, perform routine work independently, meet deadlines, adapt to constantly changing demands and multitask. Ability to manage a heavy workload under time pressure. 
• Focus on quality: Ability to work with a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail in a busy office environment. 
• Interpersonal skills: 
• Ability to act with tact, diplomacy, discretion and respect for confidentiality. 
• Ability to work effectively as a team member in a multicultural environment and to establish and maintain a range of contacts and deal appropriately with counterparts. 
• Ability to convey verbal information effectively and to draft routine correspondence and correct documents in accordance with established standards and requirements.  
• Ability to maintain a high level of discretion regarding all aspects of the SR’s work.  
• Ability to perform a wide range of varied, inter-related administrative services 
• Strong IT skills knowledge  
• Ability to work with minimum supervision, and to plan and organize work 

Minimum Qualifications

Education and Certification

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 women's 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.)

Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.