Background

The Istanbul Regional Hub (IRH) is UNDP’s main knowledge and advisory hub for the countries and territories serviced by UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Europe and CIS (RBEC). The Gender Equality Team at the UNDP IRH supports UNDP Country Offices in 19 countries and territories in the Europe and Central Asia region with a range of advisory services to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment.

In line with UNDP’s Gender Equality Strategy 2022-2025 and Regional Gender Equality Strategy for Europe and Central Asia (2024-2025), the IRH Gender Equality Team works to deliver opportunities and improve skills for women’s economic empowerment, especially in a just transition that put women at the centre; address gender inequalities in care work and builds in a feminist approach to economics. and invest in adequate and efficient social care infrastructures as a cornerstone of sustainable development; address and prevent violence and all forms of discrimination against women and girls; support women’s leadership and participation in decision-making processes at the local, national and regional level; foster women’s resilience in fragile and conflict-affected areas, and enhance their contribution as agents of change in disaster risk reduction and peace strategies.

The IRH Gender Equality Team also supports the design and implementation of regional and sub-regional initiatives to counter the gender employment gap, the underrepresentation of women in political and decision-making roles, and in green and STEM jobs, and to release the disproportionate burden of unpaid care work on women. These goals have become increasingly important in light of rising gender-based violence, regressive trends, and shrinking civic space across the region, which threaten the advancement of women’s rights and democratic values. The Equal Future platform reinforces this vision by offering a centralized resource for data, good practices, and tools to foster women’s leadership in politics and public administration across Europe and Central Asia. In partnership with the University of Pittsburgh and #ShePersisted, Equal Future monitors progress in women’s representation, analyzes barriers to women’s leadership, including unpaid care burdens and gendered disinformation, shares stories of women leaders, and provides resources and successful practices from UNDP and other institutions within and beyond the region.

Building on previous achievements, the Mayors for Economic Growth (M4EG) Facility, entering its third phase for 2025-2028, is a central initiative aimed at promoting inclusive, green, and resilient economic growth in cities across Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. The project aims to empower local authorities through innovative financing, public-private partnerships, and capacity-building initiatives, thereby fostering inclusive and green economic growth. The third phase of the M4EG initiative prioritizes gender equality and social inclusion throughout its activities, including by supporting women’s economic empowerment, introducing gender responsive budgeting (GRB) and other mechanisms, and providing gender responsive capacity building through the Urban Learning Center and the Leadership Track. Synergies with Equal Future and other UNDP initiatives are also envisioned, to amplify the work on gender equality and women’s empowerment at the regional and sub-regional level.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the Team Leader, Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, and the Manager, Mayors for Economic Growth, at the UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub, the Gender Analyst will undertake the following tasks:

Lead the policy, research and programmatic work in the areas of care work, women’s leadership and gender responsive governance

Care work and care economy:

• Lead policy, research and programmatic work on the care economy, including by preparing and reviewing reports, Terms of Reference, briefing documents, methodological notes, and project proposals;
• Explore synergies within UNDP and beyond to enhance UNDP’s approach to care systems, unpaid care work, and addressing gendered norms related to care responsibilities;
• Provide technical advice to regional, sub-regional and national initiatives focusing on care systems, women’s unpaid care work and economic empowerment, and gender norms associated with unpaid work.

Women’s leadership and gender responsive governance:

• Integrate gender mainstreaming tools into local economic development initiatives envisioned as part of the M4EG project, and support the development and implementation of specific initiatives aimed at enhancing gender equality and fostering women’s empowerment and leadership;
• Align M4EG project outputs with the EU Gender Equality Action Plan (GAP) III 2021-2025 and the UNDP Global Gender Equality Strategy 2022-2025 and UNDP Global Gender Equality Strategy 2024-2025 for Europe and Central Asia, especially by leveraging gender-disaggregated data and gender statistics, working strategically with women’s organizations, amplifying women’s voices and leadership, and fostering inclusive, innovative and green economies;
• Manage the Equal Future platform, by coordinating regular data updates, developing success stories of women leaders, and organizing platform events and activities, in collaboration with partners at the University of Pittsburgh and #ShePersisted.

Facilitate knowledge and capacity building, knowledge sharing, and advocacy relevant to the assigned thematic areas

• Design and lead capacity-building sessions, workshops, and knowledge-sharing events that advance gender responsive governance, women’s leadership, and inclusive social care;
• Work with stakeholders – including partners in government, private sector, civil society organizations, donors, and academia – to ensure training and other initiatives are inclusive, consultative, and impactful;
• Participate in and ensure sound contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice in the areas of focus;
• Participate in national, regional and global conferences, panels, and other forums, presenting insights on key gender equality initiatives and advocating for expanded commitments to women’s leadership, gender responsive governance and inclusive social care systems.

Support the regional Gender Equality Team’s communications and outreach materials on gender equality issues, trends and developments in the ECA region

• Support the IRH Gender Equality and Communications Teams in the joint preparation, content development, coordination of production and dissemination of substantive online and offline knowledge products, and communications and advocacy materials;
• Liaise with IRH Communications Team on substantive gender equality content for strategic communications;
• Support the design of engaging gender equality content (articles, blogs, stories, videos, advocacy and social media campaigns, etc.) to advance gender equality in other thematic areas.

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

Institutional Arrangement

The Gender Analyst will report primarily to the Team Leader, Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, with matrix management from the Manager, Mayors for Economic Growth, at the UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub.

Competencies

Core Competencies:

• Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline.
• Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements.
• Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback.
• Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible.
• Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident.
• Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships.
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination.

Cross Functional and Technical competencies:

• 2030 Agenda: People- Gender 
  • Gender Equality and Institutional Transformation.
• 2030 Agenda: People – Gender
  • Data for Social Norms and Innovative Policies.
• 2030 Agenda: People- Gender
  • Monitoring and Evaluation on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment.
• 2030 Agenda: People – Gender
  • Inclusive governance and women’s participation and representation.
• Business Development – Knowledge generation
  • Ability to research information and to turn it into useful knowledge, relevant for context, or responsive to a stated need.
  • Ability to apply existing concepts to new situations, and to develop new concepts to generate workable solutions and new approaches. Knowledge of relevant concepts, conceptual models, and theories that can be useful in addressing new situations.
• Business Management – Communication
  • Communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience. Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media and other appropriate channels.
• Business Direction & Strategy – System Thinking
  • Ability to use objective problem analysis and judgement to understand how interrelated elements coexist within an overall process or system, and to consider how altering one element can impact on other parts of the system.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Social or Political Science, International Development, International Relations, Gender Studies, or related field is required Or
• A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) in the above mentioned fields in combination with additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• Minimum 2 years (with Master’s degree or equivalent) or 4 years (with Bachelor’s degree) at the national or international level in supporting initiatives on gender equality and development, with a special focus on the care economy and women’s leadership.

Required skills:

• Knowledge and experience in relevant thematic areas (care economy, women’s leadership and gender responsive governance);
• Experience with a broad array of stakeholders;
• Previous experience with policy research, programmatic work, and technical advisory services related to gender equality.

Desired skills:

• Experience in working, liaising, and collaborating with UN agencies, governments, civil society organizations, academia and public international organizations is an asset;
• Experience in using online platforms (e.g., Microsoft package, Miro, Canva and similar) is desirable;
• Experience on working on SDG targets and indicators is desirable.

Required language:

• Fluency in English is required.

The following documents shall be required from the applicants:

• Personal CV or P11, indicating all past positions held and their main underlying functions, their durations (month/year), the qualifications, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate, and at least three (3) the most recent professional references of previous supervisors. References may also include peers.
• A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) indicating why the candidate considers him-/herself to be suitable for the position.
• Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns or other materials.

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.

Scam alert

UNDP does not charge a fee at any stage of its recruitment process. For further information, please see www.undp.org/scam-alert.