UN WOMEN Jobs - 48856- UN Women: Programme and Grantmaking Specialist

UN Women: Programme and Grantmaking Specialist

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

TA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

21-Aug-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-3

Duration of Initial Contract :

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

6 months

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The Fund for Gender Equality (FGE) is a $76 million, multi-donor initiative designed to advance innovative, high-impact programmes that focus on women’s economic and political empowerment at local and national levels, in line with national development plans and priorities. Launched in 2009 with an initial contribution from the Government of Spain, and subsequently joined by the governments of Norway, Mexico, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Japan, the Fund for Gender Equality provides grants on a competitive basis to civil society and governmental partners in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, the Arab States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe and Central Asia (ECA). The Fund is unique in its focus on supporting partners to turn local and national laws and policies into tangible gains for women’s rights.

The FGE initiated its first cycle of grantmaking in 2009-2010, awarding $38.2 million to 40 inaugural programmes implemented by national organizations and government machineries. In the second grantmaking cycle 2011-2012, the Fund awarded $18 million to 56 programmes. In total, FGE has funded 96 programmes, totaling $56 M awarded in 72 countries.

The Fund sets ambitious and forward-thinking goals to significantly advance implementation of gender equality laws and policies and strengthen gender equality advocates in government and civil society to deliver real gains for women. A successful grantmaking process is central to achieving these goals by ensuring the selection of innovative and high-impact grant programmes. Therefore, the Programme and Grantmaking Specialist position is fundamental to delivering the promised results of the Fund and UN WOMEN's Strategic Plan. The current Programme and Grantmaking Specialist has been temporarily assigned to another Unit. In order to ensure business continuity, the Fund is hiring for a temporary Specialist to lay the preparatory work and launch the 3rd Grantmaking Cycle 2014-2015.

Under the Guidance of the Chief of the Fund for Gender Equality, the Programme and Grantmaking Specialist will be responsible for supporting the design and execution of grantmaking systems and documentation to facilitate a high-volume, multi-lingual and regionally-based application review process that is independent, accountable and transparent (estimated at $10 million USD per grantmaking cycle). This will also include coordinating the Fund’s Technical Committee and serving as the primary liaison with all internal and external stakeholders (i.e. UN Women staff in the regional, multi-country and country offices as well as the programme and policy advisors in HQ, and the corpus of external consultants who will be recruited to support the application review process). Moreover, in order to reflect the realities of UN Women’s new Regional Architecture, the Programme and Grantmaking Specialist will be tasked with overseeing the coordination and consultation with field offices in key phases of the grantmaking cycle.

The Programme and Grantmaking Specialist will also contribute to fundraising efforts, including research, presentations, and follow up with donors (specifically Member States and representatives from the private sector) in order to replenish the Fund’s budget and secure funds for future grantmaking cycles. In this vein, the Programme and Grantmaking Specialist will also be tasked with supporting engagement with the Steering Committee in grantmaking and fundraising processes.

In parallel, the Programme and Grantmaking Specialist will also be responsible for ensuring on-going programme management and support – particularly to ensure the effective integration of the fund’s current portfolio of grantees into communications and fundraising events and knowledge products – to ensure grantee visibility and highlight the Fund’s impact and concrete results. Finally, the Programme and Grantmaking Specialist will be responsible for providing ongoing support to the programmatic work of the Fund and support to the Chief of the Fund on an as needed basis.

Duties and Responsibilities

Grantmaking:

Lead the design and execution of global grantmaking cycle 2014-2015 (estimated at $10 million USD) for the Fund for Gender Equality. Strengthen existing systems to facilitate high-volume, multi-lingual and regionally-based application review, including design and production of assessment criteria and deployment of statistically-sound scoring and ranking procedures that are independent, accountable and transparent (for 1000+ applicants, in a minimum of 4 languages, across Africa, Arab States; Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and Central Asia);
Develop external/public programmatic guidance, including the Call for Proposals and online Frequently Asked Questions;
Manage and maintain ongoing engagement with the Fund’s Technical Committee (high-level regional experts in economic and political empowerment) – including overseeing the Technical Committee nomination process; conceptualizing and conducting trainings on the independent review process; supporting Technical Committee use of the online database system; and compiling and analyzing their inputs during the grantmaking review process;
Conceptualize and implement the strategic phases of the Fund’s grantmaking in alignment with UN Women’s Regional Architecture. Manage the involvement of the Fund’s Monitoring and Reporting Specialists in the provision of Technical Assistance to and the implementation of due diligence processes with Semi- Finalists (i.e. development of Full-Fledged proposals and completion of the NGO Assessment);
During grant review, oversee communication with appointed UN Women Focal Points (at Headquarters and the regional, multi-country and country offices) in order to ensure UN Women strategic engagement in grantmaking process;
Oversee and manage 50+ external consultants as needed for grant review, translation; provide technical assistance for database use during grant review, etc.;
Collaborate with Knowledge Management and Information Systems (KM & IS) Specialist and to extract technical/technological requirements of the grantmaking process and contribute to the updating of the Fund’s online grant application and grants database;
Provide technical assistance to potential grant applicants to support the completion of applications, including Concept Notes and Full-Fledged Proposals, and ensure compliance with Fund’s policies (including results-based management) and application technologies.

Fundraising and Strategic Communications:

Support the implementation of the Fund’s Resource Mobilization and Fundraising workplan;
Support Steering Committee engagement in grantmaking and fundraising processes;
Conduct outreach, meetings and follow up with potential donors (i.e. Permanent Missions, private sector entities, and national development agencies, foundations and trusts) to present on the Fund’s achievements, impact and results;
Prepare effective and strategic written contributions donor constituencies, on an as needed basis;
Draft and conceptualize strategic communications pieces (i.e. news briefs, updates for UN Women Senior Management and other stakeholders (i.e. Steering Committee, external audiences);
In collaboration with the Fund’s Monitoring and Reporting Specialist, draft analytical contributions on grantee progress and results in order to contribute to select communications products (i.e. case studies, short topical papers, FGE annual donor reports, speeches, and related products);
Collaborate with Knowledge Management & Information Systems Specialist on the development of strategic content about the Fund for UN Women’s website and other external communications, as well as the intranet and extranet;
Research and keep abreast of emerging trends and key learnings related to rights-based grantmaking;
Manage the Fund’s internal grantmaking systematization, in alignment with UN Women’s new Regional Architecture, including compilation of good practices and lessons learned on effective and efficient grantmaking procedures and policies;
Conduct research and comparative analysis on grantmaking as a fast track modality within UN Women and the UN System more broadly.

Programme Management and Support:

Under the guidance of the Chief of the Fund, provide programmatic and operational support for the effective and efficient management of the Fund’s portfolio of grantees, on an as need basis;
Organize and participate in internal meetings and events with other UN WOMEN Units in order to raise awareness of and facilitate knowledge exchange about the Fund and respond to programmatic inquiries of different Units;
Organize, participate in and/or represent the Fund in internal and external Committees, interagency Task Forces, PACs, UN inter-agency networks, on financing and grantmaking for women’s economic and political empowerment (i.e. conceptualize and create presentations on technical aspects of the Fund and its grantmaking work).

Competencies

Core values and Guiding principles:

Integrity:

Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity:

Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

Ethics and Values:

Demonstrating / Safeguarding Ethics and Integrity.

Organizational Awareness:

Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment;

Developing and Empowering People/Coaching and Mentoring:

Self-development, initiative-taking.

Working in Teams:

Acting as a team player and facilitating team work.

Communicating Information and Ideas:

Facilitating and encouraging open communication in the team, communicating effectively.

Self-management and Emotional intelligence:

Creating synergies through self-control.

Conflict Management / Negotiating and Resolving Disagreements:

Managing conflict.

Knowledge Sharing/Continuous Learning:

Learning and sharing knowledge and encourage the learning of other.

Appropriate and Transparent Decision-Making:

Informed and transparent decision making.

Functional Competencies:

Reporting and Project Management:

Strong experience in grantmaking, especially in the areas of women’s rights and empowerment and gender equality;
Knowledge of women’s organizations and governmental agencies working on women’s empowerment and gender equality globally;
Experience in programmes related to women’s economic and/or political empowerment is desirable;
Experience in project management;
Experience in supporting capacity development;
Experience in results-based management (RBM).

Management and Leadership:

Ability to manage for results: translate strategy into achievable plans, with established priorities, monitor them, making periodic adjustments as required;
Ability to process and systematize large amounts of information;
Outstanding organizational and communication skills;
Capacity to work with diverse partners including governments, civil society and women's groups; high-level experts;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
Ability to work under pressure and meet strict deadlines.

Communication:

Good interpersonal and diplomacy skills;
Ability to liaise with a diverse and remotely located team;
Ability to use critical thinking, conceptualize ideas, and articulate relevant subject matter in a clear and concise way;
Excellent oral and written communication skills in English;
Working knowledge in other UN official languages is highly desirable;
Ability to communicate effectively with and relate to people of different cultures, demonstrating an ability to see issues from other perspectives.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Advanced University degree or equivalent in Political Science, International Development Studies, Gender/Women’s Studies, Economics or Sociology.

Experience:

At least 5 years of relevant national/international working experience in international development, in gender equality and women’s empowerment issues. Knowledge and experience working on women’s economic and political empowerment highly desirable;
In-depth knowledge of programming on women’s human rights and gender equality;
Substantive experience in grantmaking;
Project management experience for at least 3 years – managing the deliverables, organizing implementation timelines, managing for deadlines, issues management, and conducting quality assurance;
Research and Strategic Communications experience – supporting the strategic analysis, drafting, and dissemination of programmatic content to a diverse audience of stakeholders;
Experience in the United Nations, a governmental, other multilateral or civil society organization in a developed or developing country highly desirable.

Computer Skills:

Proficiency in Microsoft Office software;
Proficiency in translating programmatic into technological requirements;
Proficiency with online communication, including Skype, etc.

Languages:

Fluency in English and at least one other UN language.

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment.
Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.
Previous applicants need not reapply as their previous submissions will be considered.

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.