Programme Specialist - Gender Coordination

|

UN Women

  • Career category: Advocacy/ Policy, Programme/ Project design & management
  • Job type: Job
  • Organisation type: Inter-governmental
  • Remote option: No
  • Right to work requirements: Nationals-only contract
  • Remuneration: Remuneration not disclosed
  • Work schedule: Full-time
  • Length of contract: Temporary/ Fixed-term
  • Deadline: 27/10/2026
  • Location: Namibia
Gender equality and Social inclusion (GESI)
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.

The UN Women Regional Office for East and Southern Africa (ESARO) advances gender equality and women’s empowerment across the region through its triple mandate: normative support, UN system coordination and operational activities. In countries where UN Women has no physical presence, ESARO provides demand-driven support to Resident Coordinators and UN Country Teams through a non-physical presence modality, drawing on regional and global expertise.

In Namibia, the Programme Specialist will be embedded in the Resident Coordinator’s Office (RCO) and will support the Resident Coordinator and UN Country Team (UNCT) to strengthen the integration of gender equality and women’s empowerment across UN Cooperation Framework implementation, inter-agency coordination, accountability, partnerships and joint initiatives. The position will work closely with the RCO, the Gender Theme Group (GTG) and relevant Results Groups, while serving as a bridge to UN Women ESARO’s technical, normative and coordination support.

The position will be under the overall supervision of the UN Women ESARO Regional Coordination & Normative Specialist and the day-to-day supervision of the Head of the Resident Coordinator’s Office. The post does not constitute a stand-alone UN Women country programme function; its primary purpose is to strengthen coherent UNCT support for gender equality in Namibia and facilitate access to UN Women’s regional expertise.

Recruitment Qualifications

Education and certification:
  • Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Gender Studies, International Development, Human Rights, Public Policy, Social Sciences or a related field.
  • 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:
  • Minimum 5 years of progressively responsible experience in gender equality/women’s empowerment, development planning, policy, programme coordination, monitoring or related work. 
  • Demonstrated experience in gender mainstreaming and results-based planning is required. Experience with UN system coordination, Cooperation Framework processes, UNCT-SWAP/GEM, normative frameworks, and partnership building with government, civil society and UN entities is highly desirable. 
  • Experience in the Namibian development context is an asset.

Language Requirements:
  • Fluency in English is required. 
  • Knowledge of a national language of Namibia is an asset. 
  • Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable.

*When clicking on “Apply”, you will be redirected to the original job announcement and details

Apply

*There are individuals who may use GenderJobs.org name and trademark in emails and on websites in an attempt to solicit fees from interested job-seekers. Some examples of these fees are placement fees or immigration processing fees. GenderJobs.org does not use recruiting or placement agencies that charge candidates an up-front fee of any kind. If you suspect that you have been a victim of fraud from someone pretending to be GenderJobs.org, please contact us at [email protected]