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Vacancy No.: UNAIDS/23/FT66 Title: Officer , Equality and Rights for All, Bamako , Mali Grade: NO-C Contract type: Fixed-term Appointment Duration of contract: 2 years
Date: 17 July 2023 Application Deadline: 30 July 2023 Organization unit: AI UNAIDS Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (AI) Duty station: Bamako Mali
About UNAIDS: Serving Communities and Countries to End Inequalities and AIDS
We, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, lead the global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. By placing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to reduction of inequalities at the heart of our work, we lead the global response to AIDS by: (i) maximizing equitable and equal access to HIV services, (ii) breaking down barriers to achieving HIV outcomes, and (iii) integrating efficient HIV responses into wider health and protection systems. We are committed to creating an equal, safe and empowering workplace culture where all people in all their diversity thrive. We live our values of Commitment to the AIDS Response, Integrity and Respect for Diversity. You can access the full UNAIDS Competency Framework at www.unaids.org.
MANDATE OF THE DEPARTMENT: The Country Office provides leadership and coordinates the expanded UN system response in Country towards ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. Using an equity and equality lens as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Country Office scales up HIV services focused on key populations, and other groups living with or at risk of HIV (I.e. women and girls in all their diversity, people with disabilities, indigenous peoples) and in locations most at risk. The Country Office promotes effective use of strategic information to better understand and track the epidemic and its trends, and to measure progress and sustainable impact of the response in Country. It supports efforts to strengthen the capacities of communities and their meaningful engagement in health, social protection, human rights and social justice mechanisms, and gender transformative approaches, and provides intellectual support and technical guidance as necessary to partners, communities, civil society , organizations and policymakers.
The Equality and Rights for All Practice team delivers on the UNAIDS Secretariat’s goals of reducing inequalities. This specifically refers to ensuring that the HIV response is gender-transformative, rights-based and people-focused in a manner that is community-led, people centered, inclusive and progresses societal enablers. The team also delivers on the organizational agenda to remove human rights barriers and intersecting gender inequalities. It does that by developing and sharing policies, guidance, research and tools that support legal, policy and social norm change; by advocating for a greater political commitment; convening communities of practice and leveraging existing and new partnerships to continuously identify and respond to the inequalities driving the HIV epidemic.
Main tasks and Responsibilities of the Position: The Officer Equality and Right for All is responsible for contributing to the practice area objectives in the office and with UNAIDS partners and counterparts, coordinating specialist expertise and contributing to the overall coordination of the UNAIDS response in the functional areas described below.
Within the matrix management reporting structure of the Country Office and the Regional Office, and as part of the global Equality and Rights for all Practice, the Officer, Equality and Rights for All focuses on a set of deliverables that are aligned with the UNAIDS equality and rights for all vision, the epidemic trajectory, the social norms and the needs in the country. This post, like all ERA posts, includes a focus on key populations, customized to respond to the regional and subregional contexts and epidemic, and to match the focus of the post (i.e. gender equality posts include a focus on women and girls living with HIV, women key populations, human rights posts include a focus on the rights of people living with HIV and key populations, youth posts include a focus on young people living with HIV and young key populations etc.)
He /she has the following key responsibilities: 1-Coordination and technical advice -Provides support to and coordinates with partners and civil society organizations to ensure that: -key considerations and analysis on how advances in gender equality, human rights, community and youth engagement and leadership affect the HIV response including in humanitarian settings. -barriers to HIV services are incrementally removed through active promotion and protection of human rights, gender equality, youth empowerment and social justice, particularly for key and vulnerable population groups community priorities are integrated into relevant AIDS response and broader plans, programmes, initiatives and budgets. -Provides technical support, shares information, guidance tools and resources to partners and civil society organizations. Supports demand creation for the inclusion in national AIDS plans of programmatic interventions addressing the integration of key populations, communities, gender equality, human rights and youth responses as they impact on prevention, treatment, care and support, with emphasis on reduction of discrimination, including in the health sectors, stigma and punitive approaches to HIV, driving social norm change, and achieving scale and efficiency. -Works towards maximizing the potential of grant opportunities and bilateral aid available to broker aligned, harmonized resources to address priorities for communities, key populations, women and girls in all their diversity, gender, and youth, including for human rights based and gender transformative community systems strengthening. 2-Partnerships and collaboration -Builds, fosters and expands strategic alliances with communities, key and vulnerable populations, youth (including AGYW) to support tracking and monitoring government accountability for attainment of HIV strategic objectives as articulated in the Political Declaration and the 2030 Agenda, including resources made available to different stakeholder groups (governmental and non-governmental), including for community led responses. -Supports and strengthens alliances between PLHIV networks, youth and women led organisations and key populations-related civil society organisations, and social justice movements, including those relating to human rights, sexual and reproductive health and rights, women’s rights, access to justice, youth engagement, among others. -Provides support to cosponsors and other partners to ensure that: key considerations on how advances in gender equality, human rights, community and youth engagement affect the HIV response and community priorities are integrated into relevant AIDS response and broader plans, programmes, budgets, and initiatives
3-Knowledge management and communication -Identifies and promotes good practices, including in relation to knowledge development, sharing and management, to benefit the response in the country, in the region or globally, through appropriate representation of UNAIDS positions on gender equality, human rights, community engagement and youth leadership as central to the HIV response. This specifically includes the participation in communities of practices. -Stays abreast of current issues and tensions and ensures a coordinated communication as regards to pertinent strategic information and analysis to support communities during crises. 4-Gender Equality -Works on the positioning of gender equality at the centre of UNAIDS efforts to implement the global AIDS strategy in the country, emphasizing gender transformative, women / key populations / people living with HIV-led interventions at scale. -Establishes effective leadership, mentorship and capacity building of networks of women key populations, that include and/or are led by women living with HIV, women who use drugs, female sex workers and transgender women, and AGYW for effective representation and advocacy on human rights, gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights. -Analyzes the HIV epidemic, context and response in the country from a substantive gender equality perspective, as well as relevant data on sexual and reproductive health and rights, sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) and comprehensive sexuality education (CSE). Support the conduct of the gender transformative assessments and monitor trends and opportunities across regions to advocate, build political commitment and mobilize allies and resources. -Organizes or participates in communities of practice on gender equality issues for joint coordination, information sharing, quality assurance, capacity building and mutual support.
5-Human rights -Supports the engagement and/or engages with human rights mechanisms, governmental fora, missions, civil society organizations, human rights defenders, and others as appropriate, particularly on decriminalization, stigma, discrimination, sexual and gender-based violence, rights of people living with HIV and key/populations, as well as women, adolescent girls and young women in all their diversity. -Supports legal and human rights analysis of proposed law reform to ensure that the HIV response in the country is grounded on human rights and informed by the latest public health evidence. -Facilitate the development and/or implementation of a national framework/plan to guide the operationalization of the Global Partnership for Action to eliminate all forms of HIV related stigma and discrimination -Undertakes or supports country advocacy efforts to reform laws, policies and regulations, including providing country advice for leveraging UNAIDS and UN country teams plans on human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals. -As required, provides substantive technical advice, including on law reforms, human rights violations and tracking and facilitate the establishment of appropriate redress mechanisms and response to human right crisis. -Support the network of PLHIV and key populations to conduct stigma index surveys
6-Community Engagement -Regularly meet with national and local networks of people living with HIV, and key population networks, including networks led by women and young people for two-way information sharing, to identify and support network priorities, and to assist in increased understanding and collaboration across PLHIV and KP networks. -Support community-led organizations and national governmental HIV responses to meet the 30-60-80 targets for community-led responses in the 2021-2016 Global AIDS Strategy and the 2021 Political Declaration, with particular attention to encouraging, guiding and championing the inclusion of community-led responses into national AIDS strategies, plans and policies for prevention, treatment, care and support, with support for advocacy and interventions to increasingly limit, and ultimately end, criminalization and other forms of stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV and key populations. -Convene networks of PLHIV, key populations, and other affected populations with national decision makers and facilitate meaningful engagement of PHLIV, key population, and other affected community networks in decision making mechanisms, always working to ensure strengthened relationships and cooperation to craft national AIDS responses that monitor and respond to barriers to access to health care and other societal enablers and that center the needs and priorities of communities living with and affected by HIV. -Within country offices, be a voice for the priorities and needs of people living with HIV and key populations, always supporting UNAIDS’ offices to be PLHIV and key population friendly and to keep communities at the center of UNAIDS’ work. -Support the effective leadership of communities, particularly of networks of people living with HIV and key populations, including women and youth-led PLHIV and key population networks, within strategic planning, policy, community development programmes and service delivery, including through community systems strengthening. -Build and sustain strategic relationships with civil society and community leaders, ensuring UNAIDS stays abreast of current/hot issues and tensions at national level and provides support, as we are able, to communities during human rights crises.
7-Youth engagement and leadership -Coordinates the country office’s youth portfolio by leading, facilitating and promoting efforts to scale up and strengthen the HIV response by and for young people in all their diversity, particularly young key populations and adolescent girls and young women. -Provides advice to and engages with the government, cosponsors, youth-led organizations and networks on issues related to: -youth leadership and engagement; -capacity building and skills development; -investment in youth leadership and partnerships; -comprehensive sexuality education; -education and social protection policies and programmes for young people; -removal of policy, legal and societal barriers for adolescents to access services; -integration of services, including SRHR; -generation, analysis and use of data for programming and advocacy; -promotion of technological and other innovations to drive youth leadership and engagement and -the overall expansion and diversification of youth-led responses.
Supports the establishment of a culture of youth inclusion within UNAIDS including via strengthening and quality assuring of internship and other youth support Performs other duties as required.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Education: Essential: Advanced university degree at Master´s level or equivalent in Public Health, Human Rights, Gender or Women’s Studies, International Development, Public Policy or Administration, Business Administration, Law or another field related to the responsibilities.
Competencies: Core competencies: 1. Working in Teams 2. Communication with Impact 3. Applying Expertise 4. Delivering Results 5. Driving Change and Innovation 6. Being Accountable
Managerial competencies: 1. Leading Teams 2. Building Relationships and Networks 3. Developing and Empowering Others 4. Managing Performance and Resources 5. Vision and Strategic Thinking 6. Exercising Sound Judgemen
Experience: Essential: At least five years of experience in the programming, project management and advocacy, including as related to HIV or health, in one or more of the following areas: gender equality, human rights, community engagement, and youth engagement/leadership at the national level. Desirable: Experience in programme- / project- / initiative-based collaboration with a variety of national and international public sector organizations and international civil society institutions.
Languages: Essential: Fluency in French. Desirable: Knowledge of additional UN official languages.
Additional Information: Please note that for this vacancy, only nationals of Mali are eligible to apply. You are required to reside within reasonable commuting distance of the UNAIDS office located in Bamako. A valid passport will be requested.
Furthermore, only online applications will be accepted. Other similar positions at the same level may be filled from this vacancy notice.
Annual salary: (Net of tax) 26811 in thousands FCFA at single rate
Applications from people living with HIV are particularly welcome. Applications from women and from nationals of non- and under-represented member states are particularly encouraged.
Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to the Staff Regulations and Rules of the World Health Organization (WHO) adjusted, as necessary, to take into account the particular operational needs of UNAIDS, and any subsequent amendments. Only candidates under serious consideration will be contacted.
Note: The paramount consideration in the appointment, transfer or promotion of staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity. The medical criterion for recruitment is fitness to work in the particular post. The United Nations HIV/AIDS Personnel Policy clearly stipulates that no staff and/or potential candidates shall be discriminated against on the basis of real or perceived HIV status. HIV infection, in itself, does not constitute lack of fitness to work. There is no obligation to disclose HIV-related personal information. UNAIDS is committed to providing a work environment that respects the inherent dignity of all persons. UNAIDS has a responsibility to take all appropriate steps to prevent and respond to discrimination, abuse of authority, and harassment, including sexual harassment in the workplace or in connection with work. UNAIDS has zero tolerance towards abusive conduct.
Please visit UNAIDS’s e-Recruitment website at: https://erecruit.unaids.org to review and apply to positions. The system provides instructions for online application procedures.
All applicants are encouraged to apply online as soon as possible after the vacancy has been posted and well before the deadline stated in the vacancy announcement.
