Digital and Gender Expert – UN Women

Job Title: Digital and Gender Expert

Organizational Unit: UN Women Rwanda Country Office

Type of Contract: Special Service Agreement

Post Level: National Consultant

Starting Date: 01-June-2020

Duration of Contract: 12 months

Languages Required: English. Knowledge of another UN language is an added advantage

II. 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. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women
leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on
gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world.
It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and
efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.
UN Women Rwanda works with the Government, UN Partners, Civil Society, the Private
Sector, Development Partners and other key partners to promote gender equality and
the empowerment of women and girls in the country through its programmes.

Background Information

In the Smart Rwanda Master Plan (SRMP), Rwanda’s commitment under the He4She
movement, as well as the National Strategy for Transformation, women empowerment
through technology (WEM-TECH) is a key priority. Rwanda aspires to become an
information-rich knowledge-based economy and the leading ICT hub in Africa. This
cannot be achieved if women don’t play an active role in the digital transformation. In
same regard, the Government of Rwanda (GoR) through Ministry of Gender and Family
promotion (MIGEPROF) is finalizing the elaboration of the WEM-TECH Strategy 2020-
2024, a policy document to provide orientation on the vision and strategic initiatives
towards bridging the gender digital divide and ensuring that women actively participate
in the digital economy.

There are many initiatives, by either GoR or its stakeholders from civil society
organizations and private sector, speaking to the cause of WEM-TECH including: The
Women in Technology Campaign launched by MIGEPROF and MINICT; Girls in ICT and
the Ms. Geek Africa Competition; African Girls Can Code by UN Women; We Code
program; SheCanCode, TechKobwa boot camp; STEAM fairs; and many more. There are
also other programs contributing to empowering women in the digital era like
initiatives to encourage girls to join STEAM and the digital ambassadors program that
focuses on ensuring women also attend the training. Moreover, bridging the gender
digital divide is considered as one of the main topics by the Smart Africa Alliance, where
the Smart Women and Girls Summit is featured among main sessions of the annual
Transform Africa since 2017. However, the coordination of all these activities is still on
ad hock basis, which makes it not easy to ensure the different projects are harmonized.
Tracing the impact is not consistent as key performance indicators vary and are
reported differently according to stakeholders’ focus areas.

It is against this background that the MIGEPROF has sought a focal person to finalize
and closely follow up the execution of interventions under the WEM-TECH, coordinate
and liaise with stakeholders. The resource person is expected to be a full time Digital &
Gender Expert based at MIGEPROF, with a proven sound knowledge in gender studies,
with experience in mainstreaming ICT, or women empowerment.

III. Functions and key results expected

Under the direct supervision of the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Gender and
Family promotion (MIGEPROF), the Digital & Gender Expert will perform the following
key tasks:

• Coordinate the finalization of the WEM-TECH strategy of MIGEPROF on the basis of the existing draft;

• Support the development and manage the implementation of an actionable WEM-TECH, as well as monitor and evaluate the plan of execution;

• Map and create collaboration platforms for MIGEPROF and the WEM-TECH stakeholders according to their categories

• Provide technical advice on coordination of the existing programs and initiatives on women empowerment in technology

• Elaborate and enforce a reporting framework that allows visibility of the contribution and impact of various initiatives, as well as harmonization of efforts by different stakeholders

• Advise and propose innovative programs that support MIGEPROF to continue leading and achieving its mandate in the digital epoch;

• Perform any other duty assigned by the supervisor

IV. Qualifications

Education Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Information technology, Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering ICT systems, ICT infrastructure or related studies;

Experience • Proven 3 years’ working experience in ICT industry in either public or private sector;

• Proven experience in drafting, analyzing and mainstreaming ICT, gender and women empowerment strategies for large public or private organizations;

• Detailed knowledge of the level of ICT development in Rwanda and the region, including key gender constraints in the digital world;

• Strong communications skills, including the ability to communicate digital concepts to non-expert audiences, both orally and in writing;

• Ability to work independently, and to deliver complex assignments in the stipulated deadlines;

V. 4. Reporting and Supervision

The Digital & Gender Expert will report to the Permanent Secretary in MIGEPROF and will also act as Advisor to the Ministry in Digital & Gender related matters. His/her activities will be included in the overall MIGEPROF planning, be monitored and evaluated by the MIGEPROF planning team accordingly.

VI. Duration of the assignment

The assignment will be for 12 months (commencing on 01 June 2020 and completed on
01 June 2021).

VII. Expected Outputs

• A finalized and approved WEM-TECH Strategy 2020-2024

• A detailed work plan for the implementation of the WEM-TECH Strategy 2020-
2024

• An analysis and harmonization of various initiatives and programs aimed at
bridging the gender digital divide in Rwanda, including managed partnership
with relevant Ministries of the Government of Rwanda, academic institutions
and development partners

• Advisory support to MIGEPROF to continue leading and achieving its mandate
in the digital epoch;

VIII. Competencies

Core Values / Guiding Principles

• Integrity: Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

• Professionalism: Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge
of the pertinent substantive areas of work.

• Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity: Demonstrate an appreciation of the
multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff.
Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and
learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies

• Ethics and Values: Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity

• Development and Innovation: Take charge of self-development and take initiative

• Work in teams: Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

• Communicating and Information Sharing: Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.

• Self-management and Emotional Intelligence: Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others.

• Conflict Management: Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.

• Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing: Encourage learning and sharing
of knowledge

Functional Competencies:

• Ability to perform a broad range of specialized activities aimed at effective and efficient functioning of the Programme;

• Ability to provide input to business process re-engineering, elaboration and implementation of new data management systems;

• Creates, edits and presents information in clear and presentable formats, using appropriate IT functionality;

• Ability to organize and complete multiple tasks by establishing priorities;

• Ability to handle a large volume of work possibly under time constraints;

• Ability to establish, build and sustain effective relationships with Implementing Partners,

• Ability to manage data, documents, correspondences and reports information
and workflow;

How to apply

Interested candidates should apply by sending a cover letter and CV to
rwanda.offers@unwomen.org not later than Friday 29 May 2020, 5pm Kigali time.