Gender Equality Specialist - Social Inclusion

The Asia Pacific Regional Office, based in Bangkok, Thailand, provides strategic leadership and oversight for UNOPS operations across 17 countries, ensuring high performance, operational excellence, and alignment with organizational goals. Operations currently span Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Pacific Islands. Across these countries, we work closely with key stakeholders to strengthen partnerships and maximize impact through five main operating units: Afghanistan (AFCO), Myanmar (MMCO), South Asia Multi-Country Office (SAMCO), East Asia and Pacific Multi-Country Office (EAPMCO), and the Asia Regional Health Cluster (ARHC). Through these entities, we provide agile, client-focused service delivery across diverse sectors - including infrastructure, health, procurement, and project management - supporting the implementation of sustainable development solutions across the region.

The East Asia and Pacific Multi-Country Office (EAPMCO), headquartered in Bangkok, supports UNOPS operations across 24 countries in Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, and the Pacific. Established in January 2023, EAPMCO provides strategic direction, operational support, and quality assurance to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of projects across its portfolio. EAPMCO implements initiatives in priority areas such as energy transition, climate change, and sustainable development, drawing on UNOPS' core expertise in human resources, procurement, infrastructure, fund management, and programme management.

Established in 2016, UNOPS Philippines supports the government and development partners in advancing sustainable development through services including sustainable procurement, project and grant management, infrastructure, and logistical support. UNOPS projects in the Philippines focus on key areas such as governance, justice, health, and infrastructure, with a strong emphasis on capacity building, community resilience, and accelerating progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Partnership for Peace and Development in Mindanao (PPDM) Programme, known as EU4BARMM, is a European Union-funded initiative supporting peacebuilding, institutional strengthening, and inclusive governance in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The programme operates across multiple thematic work packages addressing the tri-justice system — encompassing formal, Shari'ah, and customary justice systems — reflecting the region's socio-cultural, historical, and constitutional identity under the Bangsamoro Organic Law.

Gender equality and social inclusion are not peripheral concerns within this programme context — they are central to the legitimacy, effectiveness, and sustainability of justice sector reform in BARMM. Women, girls, Indigenous Peoples, and other marginalized groups face compounded barriers to accessing justice within each of the three justice systems. The intersection of plural legal frameworks with deeply embedded patriarchal norms, socio-economic inequality, and post-conflict vulnerabilities creates specific and acute risks of rights violations, exclusion, and harm if gender and inclusion considerations are not systematically integrated from the outset of programme design.

At the same time, gender and inclusion initiatives must be carefully contextualized within the local socio-cultural, economic, and political realities of the Bangsamoro, including the specific legal and normative frameworks of the Shari'ah system and customary practices of Indigenous Peoples' communities. Approaches that are not grounded in this context risk being inappropriate, ineffective, or counterproductive. Accordingly, the programme requires a Gender and Inclusion Specialist who can navigate this complexity with cultural competence, technical rigor, and a deep commitment to rights-based approaches.

The Gender and Inclusion Specialist will serve as the programme's crosscutting technical resource on gender mainstreaming, social inclusion, and safeguards, ensuring coherent and consistent integration of gender-responsive approaches across all work packages and at all levels of programme intervention.

The Gender and Inclusion Specialist provides targeted, on-demand high-level technical advisory support to ensure the systematic, coherent, and context-sensitive integration of gender equality, social inclusion, and safeguards across all programme work packages, spanning legal, institutional, and community-level interventions. The incumbent operates as part of the programme's crosscutting advisory and quality assurance layer, functioning under the overall supervision of the Programme Manager.

The Specialist supports the integration of gender and inclusion considerations in programme design, implementation, and reporting, including in terms of reference (TOR) development, activity design, output quality review, and capacity development processes across the full programme cycle. The role places particular emphasis on contextualizing gender equity objectives within the local socio-cultural, economic, and political environment of the Bangsamoro, and on ensuring the consistent and non-ad hoc application of safeguards — including Protection from Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment (PSEAH), gender-based violence, and Indigenous Peoples (IP) rights are consistently applied across work packages. The position is advisory in nature and works in close coordination with all work package focal points, the M&E Specialist, the Justice Sector Institutional Adviser, and the Communications Specialist.

Reporting to the Senior Project Manager, the Gender Equality Specialist will be responsible for:

1. Gender and Social Inclusion Analysis

• Provide technical support to gender and inclusion analysis relevant for the BARMM tri-justice system, including identifying key risks, gaps, and opportunities across programme interventions, particularly in areas related to capacity development, community engagement, legal system strengthening, and access to justice for marginalized groups.

• Ensure that gender and social inclusion analyses are grounded in the socio-cultural, economic, and political context of the Bangsamoro, drawing on relevant national frameworks, BARMM-specific legislation, and applicable international human rights standards.

• Advise on appropriate analytical methodologies and data collection approaches, including the use of gender-disaggregated and context-sensitive data.

• Contribute targeted gender and inclusion inputs to programme-level assessments, strategic reviews, and donor reporting as required.

1. Mainstreaming Gender and Inclusion in Programme Design

• Review and provide structured advisory inputs on terms of reference (TORs) for work package consultancies, activities, and procurement processes across the programme, ensuring that gender and inclusion considerations are integrated at the design stage

• Advise work package teams on the incorporation of gender-responsive objectives, indicators, methodologies, and participation strategies in activity design.

• Support integration of gender and inclusion dimensions within the programme's Theory of Change and Results Framework, including in the identification of gender-specific outcome and output indicators, in coordination with the M&E Specialist.

• Support the alignment of programme gender mainstreaming approaches with applicable EU gender equality commitments, UNOPS environmental and social safeguards, and the BARMM socio-cultural context.

• Advise on strategies for promoting the meaningful participation of women, IPs, and marginalized groups in programme activities and consultation processes.

1. Safeguards Integration — PSEA, GBV, and Indigenous Peoples' Rights

• Provide technical advice on the integration of safeguards across programme design, implementation, and monitoring, including Protection from Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment (PSEAH), gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response, and the rights and inclusion of Indigenous Peoples (IP).

• Advise on the development and contextualization of PSEAH protocols, GBV referral pathways, and IP inclusion frameworks relevant to the BARMM justice sector context.

• Review implementing partner and subcontractor arrangements for safeguards compliance, and advise the Programme Manager on risk mitigation measures as required.

• Support the integration of safeguards considerations into programme monitoring frameworks, in coordination with the M&E Specialist.

• Advise on the establishment of accessible, confidential, and culturally appropriate complaint and feedback mechanisms for programme beneficiaries.

1. Quality Assurance and Validation of Outputs

• Review and provide technical feedback on programme outputs across relevant work packages to assess their gender-responsiveness, social inclusiveness, and safeguards compliance.

• Provide structured technical review and strategic inputs to ensure gender equality, inclusion, and safeguards considerations are consistently integrated across programme outputs and key documents.

• Identify and advise on risks, gaps, and areas for improvement related to gender mainstreaming and inclusion, and recommend appropriate corrective measures.

1. Capacity Development and Advisory Support to Partners

• Provide targeted advisory inputs and limited capacity development support to programme staff, work package consultants, and implementing partners on gender mainstreaming and safeguards, as required.

• Support the development or review of guidance materials and tools to facilitate integration of gender and inclusion in programme implementation.

1. Knowledge Development and Strategic Inputs

• Provide targeted gender and inclusion inputs to knowledge products, policy briefs, analytical reports, and programme publications 

• Provide strategic advice to communications and visibility outputs to ensure gender-responsiveness.

• Support the generation and documentation of evidence on the gender-differentiated impacts of tri-justice system interventions for application to adaptive management and donor reporting.

• Advise on emerging gender and inclusion issues,  risks, gaps, and opportunities within the programme's operating environment, including developments in the Bangsamoro peace process with relevance to women's rights and IP inclusion.

• Contribute inputs to the preparation of quarterly and annual programme reports, providing expert narrative on gender equality and inclusion dimensions of programme progress and results.

1. Programme Coordination .

• Operate as an integral part of the programme's crosscutting advisory and quality assurance layer, in close coordination with the Justice Sector Institutional Adviser, M&E Specialist, and Communications Specialist.

• Maintain regular communication with work package focal points to remain abreast of implementation progress and provide timely gender and inclusion advisory inputs.

• Prepare periodic gender and inclusion advisory notes summarizing key findings, safeguards risk assessments, and recommendations for the Programme Manager, as required.

• Participate in programme coordination meetings, strategic reviews, and quarterly adaptive management sessions.

Required

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Gender Studies, Social Sciences, Development Studies, Law, Human Rights, or a related discipline, with 9 years of relevant experience OR

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in any of the above or related fields with 7 years of relevant experience is required

Desired

• Specialization or graduate-level coursework in one or more of the following: women's rights and Islamic law, Indigenous Peoples' rights, transitional justice and gender, or gender-based violence prevention and response is desired.

• Formal certification or training in PSEA, safeguards management, or UN inter-agency GBV guidelines is desired.

Required

• Relevant experience is progressively responsible work in gender mainstreaming, social inclusion, or safeguards within development, governance, or peacebuilding programmes.

• Demonstrated experience conducting gender analysis or gender impact assessments in complex, multi-stakeholder programme environments is required.

• Proven track record in integrating gender-responsive approaches across programme design, implementation, and monitoring at legal, institutional, and community levels is required,

• Demonstrated experience in PSEAH, GBV prevention and response programming, and/or Indigenous Peoples' rights and inclusion is required.

• Experience providing quality assurance review and validation of programme outputs for gender-responsiveness and safeguards compliance is required.

Desired

• Experience working in Muslim-majority or plural legal system contexts, with familiarity of Shari'ah law and its intersection with women's right is an asset.

• Prior engagement in conflict-affected or post-conflict settings in Southeast Asia or the Pacific, with specific knowledge of the Philippine or BARMM context is an asset..

• Experience providing gender advisory services to UN system organizations, multilateral development banks, or EU-funded programmes is an asset.

• Familiarity with IP rights frameworks in the Philippines, including the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act (IPRA) and its interaction with the Bangsamoro Organic Law is desired.

• Experience designing and facilitating capacity development sessions on gender mainstreaming and safeguards for diverse institutional audiences is an asset.

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
• UNOPS has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, and other forms of abusive conduct, including discrimination, abuse of authority, and harassment. To uphold these standards, background checks are conducted for all final candidates to help ensure that individuals with a history of such conduct are not hired. By applying for a position with UNOPS, candidates acknowledge and consent to these verification processes.
  

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here [link removed]. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click here. [link removed]
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.