Mission and Objectives
Timor-Leste (or East Timor) became an independent nation in 2002 after centuries of Portuguese colonial rule, followed by Indonesian occupation and devastating conflict which left most of the population displaced and 70 per cent of the infrastructure decimated.
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 goal in Timor-Leste is to promote women’s human rights and gender equality as the country works towards sustaining and furthering achievements in stability and development. This includes efforts to ensure women’s right to live free from any form of violence, efforts to advance women’s economic empowerment, and women’s leadership and participation in support of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda, and advance international agreements and commitments related to gender equality and women’s empowerment, including through adequate planning and budgeting.
UN Women provides support to the Government of Timor-Leste in implementing its commitments to promoting gender equality and women’s rights in line with international, regional and national normative and legal frameworks, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and its Concluding Observation 2023, Beijing Platform for Action, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Programme of IX Constitutional Government of Timor-Leste, National Strategic Plan (2011-2030), National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence (2022-2032), and the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security 2024-2028 (NAP 1325) and Third Maubisse Declaration for Rural Women.
Context
Under the leadership of the IX Constitutional Government, Timor-Leste officially adopted its second-generation National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security 2024-2028 (NAP 1325) (2024-2028). This comprehensive five-year strategy is designed to advance gender equality and women's leadership in areas of conflict prevention, peacebuilding, post-conflict recovery, and humanitarian response efforts across Timor-Leste, ensuring a multi-stakeholder and gender-responsive approach to sustainable peace and security. The NAP 1325 approval signifies a robust commitment of the IX Constitutional Government of Timor-Leste to plan, develop, implement and invest in its national WPS agenda in the context of post-COVID-19 recovery, and its integration into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). To advance the national WPS agenda in Timor-Leste, UN Women has been providing technical support to line ministries in strengthening institutional capacities to plan, implement, finance, monitor, and report the national WPS commitments. UN Women has been providing support to the Government of Timor-Leste to promote gender mainstreaming and Gender-Responsive Budgeting in policies and programmes, and advance women’s meaningful leadership in decision-making processes at all levels towards accountable policy implementation, gender-responsive conflict prevention and peacebuilding, and to promote services that meet the security needs of women and girls in Timor-Leste.
Besides, as Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) stands as a core pillar of UN Women’s programmes in Timor-Leste, it supports government partners through knowledge exchange, research and capacity-building to strengthen gender-responsive policies and address the discrimination and structural barriers that limit women’s participation in the economy and income-generating activities. UN Women works with civil society organizations and women entrepreneurs to build the skills, knowledge, and networks needed to access decent work and sustainable livelihoods. In partnership with government partners, UN Women provides technical assistance in generating and sharing evidence to advance gender-responsive policy making in line with CEDAW Concluding Observations, for example, promoting unpaid care work, addressing discriminatory policies and practices affecting women (particularly women with disabilities) in economic participation, and promoting inclusive social protection.
The UNV Programme Support Associate will work with UN Women Timor-Leste’s Women’s Economic Empowerment and Governance, Peace and Security Programme Teams to promote implementation of national commitments to gender equality and women’s empowerment in Timor-Leste, and to work with women leaders and local communities in strengthening women’s meaningful participation and decision-making across all spheres of life.
Task Description
Under the direct supervision of the Women’s Economic Empowerment and Women, Peace and Security Programme Manager, and under the overall guidance of the UN Women Head of Office, the UN Volunteer will undertake the following tasks:
- Support the implementation of UN Women’s programme activities, events, trainings, and workshops to promote women’s leadership in peacebuilding, and women’s participation in economic activities in Timor-Leste.
- Contribute to the development of training materials and implement innovative training programmes to strengthen government and civil society partners’ capacities in promoting gender equality in Timor-Leste.
- Contribute to WEE and WPS-related knowledge building, advocacy, and communication efforts. Provide assistance in developing background documents, briefs, and presentations related to WEE and WPS.
- Contribute to monitoring, reporting, and documentation of WPS and WEE knowledge products, such as reporting, case studies, impact stories, articles, and newsletters.
- Provide assistance in preparing relevant documentation such as project summaries, conference presentations, briefing notes, speeches, and minutes as requested.
Furthermore, UN Volunteers are required to:
- Strengthen their knowledge and understanding of the concept of volunteerism by reading relevant UNV and external publications and taking an active part in UNV activities (for instance, in events that mark International Volunteer Day);
- Be acquainted with and build on traditional and/or local forms of volunteerism in the host country;
- Reflect on the type and quality of voluntary action that they are undertaking, including participation in ongoing reflection activities;
- Contribute articles/write-ups on field experiences and submit them for UNV publications/websites, newsletters, press releases, etc.;
- Promote or advise local groups in the use of online volunteering, or encourage relevant local individuals and organizations to use the UNV Online Volunteering service whenever technically possible.