Background

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is dedicated to advancing gender equality globally, recognizing it as both a fundamental human right and a key driver of sustainable development, peace, and prosperity. Through policy advocacy, institutional capacity-building, and strategic partnerships, UNDP works to empower women and girls, combat gender-based violence (GBV), and enhance women’s participation in economic and public life. These priorities are embedded in UNDP’s Strategic Plan, which guides efforts to promote women’s economic empowerment, legislative reforms, and inclusive governance.

In Serbia, UNDP tailors its gender equality initiatives to address specific challenges and structural inequalities that hinder women’s full participation in society. By adopting an integrated approach, UNDP Serbia works to dismantle systemic barriers, including gender-based discrimination in employment, unpaid care work, and the underrepresentation of women in decision-making roles. In close collaboration with government institutions, civil society, academia, and the private sector, UNDP Serbia plays a key role in supporting national policies, strengthening institutional capacities, and promoting gender-sensitive approaches across multiple sectors. Support to development and implementation of gender-responsive policies ensures that institutions have the necessary mechanisms to prevent discrimination and promote equal opportunities, in line with international gender equality standards.

A key component of UNDP Serbia’s work is building institutional capacity by providing training, mentorship, and professional development opportunities for public servants, law enforcement, media professionals, and civil society organizations. Awareness-raising and behavioral change initiatives are designed to challenge societal norms and reduce gender discrimination. Through collaborative projects with national institutions, civil society organizations, and international partners, UNDP Serbia fosters environments where women and men can equally contribute to and benefit from societal progress.

UNDP Serbia is actively engaged in combating gender-based violence, a widespread issue that affects many women and girls. By working with law enforcement agencies, social protection institutions, and community organizations, UNDP strengthens response mechanisms and survivor protection services. This work includes advocacy, training for professionals in the justice, police, social welfare, and healthcare sectors, and public awareness campaigns that promote zero tolerance for violence.

UNDP Serbia has a leadership role as a country office in the Western Balkans region dedicated to integrating gender perspectives into Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) control policies. Within the framework of the Regional Roadmap for SALW Control, the CO actively contributes to regional initiatives and the implementation of the Women, Peace, and Security Resolution. The CO efforts in this domain specifically focus on preventing domestic violence, suicides, and other forms of firearm-enabled violence.

Women’s economic empowerment is another major focus, particularly in emerging fields such as STEM, digitalization, and the green economy. Economic independence is a critical factor in reducing women’s vulnerability to violence and discrimination, and UNDP actively works to increase access to skills development, education, and employment opportunities.

To ensure that gender equality is effectively integrated across all programs, UNDP Serbia has established its Gender Equality Portfolio within the SDG Integration Center. This cross-sectoral approach allows gender considerations to be embedded into development planning, program design, and implementation. The Gender Equality Portfolio provides technical expertise and strategic guidance to mainstream gender perspectives across all UNDP initiatives while also implementing gender-focused projects.

UNDP Serbia aligns its efforts with key UN frameworks, including the UN System-Wide Action Plan (UN-SWAP), which enhances accountability for gender mainstreaming, and the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) framework, ensuring a zero-tolerance approach to sexual misconduct. UNDP Serbia also co-chairs the UN Country Team Gender Theme Group (GTG), which coordinates joint UN actions on gender equality in Serbia.

Furthermore, the organization is committed to institutional gender mainstreaming through the Gender Seal Initiative, ensuring that gender equality is embedded across all aspects of its operations. Through these comprehensive efforts, UNDP Serbia remains at the forefront of gender equality advocacy, supporting systemic change and empowering women and girls to fully participate in all aspects of life.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provides strategic advice, technical lead and coordination of the Gender Seal process, focusing on the achievement of the following results:

• Advise on the implementation of  CO Gender Equality Strategy taking into consideration UNDP corporate recommendations as well as comparative best practices;
• Advice and support the CO Senior Management to build strong institutional commitment and leadership to implement UNDP’s Gender Seal benchmarks;
• Advise that the gender inclusivity focus within the country office is clearly articulated, communicated, and supported by all spheres of operations and programming;
• Advocate and promote a more gender-balanced composition of CO; with special focus on attracting, retaining, and promoting qualified candidates irrespective of gender in UNDP;
• Provide strategic advice to CO’s communication and advocacy activities with a view to achieving broader recognition of UNDP’s contribution to gender equality results in Serbia by national stakeholders and development partners.

Management of projects within the Gender Inclusivity Portfolio and provision of Programme/Project development and management advice, focusing on the achievement of the following results:

• Be responsible and accountable for the overall implementation of the projects in the assigned portfolio, and the timely and quality delivery of all portfolio outputs;
• Lead the portfolio team;
• Identify opportunities and lead in the conceptualization of strategic project interventions that respond to the needs and concerns of women and men in line with UNDP’s Country Programme Document;
• Provide guidance to UNDP programming to ensure that a sound gender analysis informs programme/project design and management; identify strategic actions to be undertaken to improve the quality of implementation, support achievement of related results, and manage the effective application of the Gender Marker;
• Provide advice on appropriate gender-sensitive indicators across projects, and support colleagues in the monitoring and reporting of results/outputs and objectives against agreed indicators, in close collaboration with M&E focal points;
• Monitor political, economic, and social development trends and issues affecting women’s rights in Serbia, producing analytic reports, and informing a strategic response to opportunities and challenges within the context of UNDP’s projects and gender inclusivity portfolio in Serbia including close partnership with the relevant ministries and agencies;
• Support knowledge building and sharing at the country office on gender equality focusing on achievements, lessons learned, and methodologies utilized in gender equality implementation and mainstreaming;
• Provide technical leadership to CO-led gender inclusivity-related knowledge documents and action plans in Serbia;
• Work closely with UNCT, UN Women, UNFPA and other UN agencies working in support of gender equality, inclusivity and women’s empowerment to ensure smooth joint programming as applicable, complementarity and avoid overlap.

Provides advocacy and partnership building support, focusing on the achievement of the following results:

• Promote the role of UNDP in fora and meetings related to gender equality and inclusivity (e.g. Gender Theme Group (GTG), gender focal team among others);
• Participate in and actively engage in activities to highlight key gender equality and women’s human rights issues, and advocate for integration of gender equality and inclusivity issues into the development agenda;
• Maintain relationships with UNDP’s partners including other UN agencies, donors, government partners, and NGOs, on matters related to the promotion of national commitments to gender equality with a view of ensuring strategic partnerships and strengthening collaboration;
• Initiate and coordinate strategic advocacy activities to maximize support of the UN system, government and civil society partners on gender equality in line with international commitments to CEDAW, gender targets of SDGs especially SDG 5.

Support to resource mobilization, focusing on the achievement of the following results:

• Identify and follow-up on strategic opportunities for resource mobilization for implementation of UNDP Serbia’s Gender Portfolio programmes/projects guided by the Gender Strategy across all programmatic interventions;
• Build strong partnerships with donor agencies, including private sector in Serbia focusing on gender issues, to ensure coordination and alignment with national action plans and policies.

Facilitates knowledge building and knowledge sharing as required by the organization, focusing on the following results:

• Organization and conduct of trainings on gender advancement, gender equality, women’s empowerment, women’s issues, and social development thematic areas related to UNDP’s Gender Strategic Plan in the Country Office;
• Collate and document lessons learned and recommendations for policy dialogue, public advocacy and future programming, and organize dissemination of learning within the CO and with partners;
• Monitor and report on the implementation of the CO Gender Equality Strategy and action plan;
• Contributions to knowledge networks and communities of practice;
• Monitor and document CO’s contribution to gender equality results for reporting and further communication purposes;
• Ensure that all staff are equipped to sustainably mainstream gender equality objectives/goals in their respective areas of work in operations/programming;
• Acts as the SH/PSEA focal point and ensures a gender perspective in CO risk reviews, such as the PSDD and SES processes;
• Any other duties as requested by the supervisor.

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

Impact of Results

Key impact of results will include maintaining gender inclusivity mainstreaming, achievement and advancing the gender inclusivity portfolio further with effective and measurable gender inclusivity mainstreaming across all aspects of UNDP Serbia’s operations and programming, in accordance with UNDP’s corporate guidelines and standards (including for the Gender Seal Certification requirements); positioning of UNDP Serbia as a key player in helping Serbia to achieve SDG 5; proposing adequate funds to support gender inclusivity mainstreaming actions to be mobilized by the Country Office, and overall ensuring UNDP Serbia maximizes its contribution to improving the enjoyment of equal socio-economic, environmental and political rights by all men, women, girls and boys in Serbia.

Institutional Arrangement

Under the overall guidance and supervision of the SDG Integration Center Team Leader and Deputy Resident Representative through matrix management, the Gender Analyst will provide strategic direction and advice on gender across the work of the CO to ensure that gender equality inclusivity are effectively mainstreamed within all projects and operational areas in line with UNDP standards and the criteria outlined in the UNDP Gender Seal Certification criteria, and that the gender focus of the new CPD achieves maximum impact.

The Gender Inclusivity Analyst will also work closely with all relevant stakeholders  within the UNDP CO, in the identification, design and implementation of critical gender interventions for UNDP in Serbia, while maintaining a strong contribution to resource mobilization.  Additionally, the position will also require extensive engagement, networking and partnership building with international and national partners, including other UN agencies, government counterparts, civil society and non-governmental organizations, women’s organizations and networks, bilateral and multilateral donors, and private sector actors. The Gender Inclusivity Analyst will supervise two Gender Associate positions.

Competencies

Core Competencies

• Achieve Results:
  • LEVEL 2: Scale up solutions and simplifies processes, balances speed and accuracy in doing work.
• Think Innovatively:
  • LEVEL 2: Offer new ideas/open to new approaches, demonstrate systemic/integrated thinking.
• Learn Continuously:
  • LEVEL 2: Go outside comfort zone, learn from others and support their learning.
• Adapt with Agility:
  • LEVEL 2: Adapt processes/approaches to new situations, involve others in change process.
• Act with Determination:
  • LEVEL 2: Able to persevere and deal with multiple sources of pressure simultaneously.
• Engage and Partner:
  • LEVEL 2: Is facilitator/integrator, bring people together, build/maintain coalitions/partnerships.
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion:
  • LEVEL 2: Facilitate conversations to bridge differences, considers in decision making.

Cross-Functional & Technical Competencies

• Gender:    
  • Gender Equality Seal for Development.
  • Gender Equality and Institutional Transformation.
  • Data and Research on Gender Equality.
  • Gender responsive conflict analysis.
  • Gender-based violence.
  • Women, Peace and Security.
• 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:

• Master’s degree in Social Sciences, Gender or Women’s Studies or other relevant field is required, OR;
• Bachelor’s degree in the areas stated above, in combination with an additional two years of qualifying experience will be given due consideration in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• Minimum 2 years (with Master degree) or 4 years (with Bachelor degree) of relevant experience at the national or international level in providing advisory/technical support services, and managing and implementing initiatives/projects in the area of gender mainstreaming, social inclusivity, social protection, community livelihood or any other relevant areas.

Required Skills: 

• At least 2 years of working experience with the international organizations and/or government and/or private sector and/or research institution, think tank and/or civil society organization.

Desired Skills:

• Experience liaising with a diverse range of partners including Government, Civil Society and Private Sector would be an advantage;
• Experience working with UNDP/UN system  is an asset;
• At least 2 years of progressively responsible professional experience addressing the promotion of gender equality, inclusivity and women’s empowerment is an advantage.

 Required Languages:

• Fluency in English and Serbian is required.

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

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