UN Women: Research and Data Specialist - Flagship Reports, Nairobi, Kenya, P-4 (Fixed-Term Appointment)

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. UN Women’s Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Division (PPID) provides global support to UN Women offices at Headquarters and in all field locations to deliver results in support of UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2026-2029 and internationally agreed goals on gender equality and women’s empowerment, including the Beijing Platform for Action and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Division provides intellectual and strategic leadership on normative support and the delivery of integrated policy and programme advice, including through research, gender data production and dissemination, policy analysis and gender mainstreaming. The Division leverages innovation, knowledge management and cutting-edge technical expertise to support UN Women programmes and to build the capacity of partners to deliver results on gender equality and women’s empowerment. The Research and Data (R&D) Section in PPID is responsible for leading UN Women’s research and data agenda and for positioning UN Women as a global knowledge broker on gender equality and women’s empowerment. It produces knowledge products including UN Women flagship publications such asProgress of the world’s women, theProgress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The gender snapshotannual series,World survey on the role of women in developmentand other mandated reports such as Beijing Reviews. The section also leads the implementation of UN Women’sWomen Countflagship programme on gender statistics. Under the guidance and direct supervision of Deputy Chief of R&D, the Research and Data Specialist is responsible for implementing key elements of UN Women’s Research and Data strategy, in particular by substantively leading the research for UN Women’s flagship reports, including the World Survey on the Role of Women in Development and Progress of the World’s Women, building and maintaining research partnerships and networks, and using gender research substantively to inform and support intergovernmental normative processes.  In doing so, the Research and Data Specialist will contribute to the overall impact of the organization by supporting UN Women’s position as a thought leader on gender equality, building the credibility and substantive leadership of the organization. The Research and Data Specialist supervises and leads Programme Analyst, and various affiliate personnel. Key Functions and Accountabilities: 1.    Lead research, and data and policy analysis for UN Women’s flagship reports, in collaboration with PPID thematic sections and UN Women regional and country offices. - Lead on the preparation of the World Survey on the Role of Women in Development report, including commissioning background research, designing and convening expert group meetings, drafting chapter and maintaining overall editorial leadership over the report. - Provide substantive leadership in the research design, content development and writing of Progress of the World’s Women reports, in collaboration with the Section’s Deputy Chief, the research team and the data team; - Lead the UN Women peer reviewed policy brief series, including identifying topics for briefs, commissioning authors, and maintaining editorial oversight. - Keep abreast of emerging development issues to galvanize UN Women’s analytical capacity to respond; - Commission and manage research on key cross-cutting issues and in order to help UN Women to forecast and respond to emerging research issues; - Contribute substantively to the development and implementation of peer review and quality assurance mechanisms for UN Women’s research products; 2.   Provide substantive support for the development and implementation of UN Women’s research and data strategy, with a particular focus on influencing normative processes - Support the preparation of reports for inter-governmental bodies (e.g. Secretary General Reports for CSW), mapping existing work on gender research and data, etc.; - Co-lead the development of the Beijing review reports every five years, including liaising with the Intergovernmental Support Division, Regional Commissions and UN Women’s regional and country offices, developing and fielding a survey for Member States on their implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, and drafting the chapters of the Secretary General’s report. 3.    Develop and maintain strategic research and data partnerships, including with UN Women regional and country offices, other UN agencies, regional commissions, global development research institutes, leading global thinkers on development, and civil society among others - Lead preparation for processes such as an Expert Group Meetings, consultations and advisory group meetings to identity research and policy priorities and gaps; - Expand R&D’s research networks in countries in the Global South, particularly through the commissioning and coordination of country-level research; - Strengthen R&D’s partnerships with research institutions and sections across the UN system though concrete collaboration where interests overlap (Unicef/Innocenti, UNRISD; ILO; etc.); - Convene groups of key thinkers on gender to input, advise and steer UN Women’s research and data agenda. 4.    Contribute substantively to UN Women’s organizational effectiveness and knowledge management - Support colleagues across the organization to translate research findings into programmatic approaches and tailored policy advice. - Play a leading role in internal and external outreach for UN Women’s research and data outputs, including flagship reports, through participation in events, conferences and webinars. - Contribute to resource mobilization efforts by networking with donors and developing fundable proposals for gender equality research and data initiatives that can inform policy. - Input research insights into briefings for UN Women senior leadership on key gender equality issues, with a particular focus on new and emerging issues. - Supervise staff and consultants, and oversee their performance; 5.   The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization. Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities:The Research and Data Specialist leads team which consists of P2 Programme Analyst and various affiliate personnel. 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 visitthis linkfor more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: Functional Competencies: - Substantial knowledge and expertise at the intersection of gender and public policy, in at least one of the following areas: economic empowerment, social or environmental policy, governance, and/or policies to end violence against women; - Advanced analytical skills with a firm disciplinary grounding in relevant social science disciplines; - Ability to conduct research and analysis and draft high quality clear and concise outputs; - Proven record of in-depth research using qualitative and quantitative research methods, particularly in relation to gender; - Familiarity with statistical analysis and indicators, especially gender-related statistics and indicators; - Ability to develop and maintain partnerships with UN agencies, donors, academics and NGO partners; - Proven excellent written and oral communication skills; - Proven analytical and