UN WOMEN Jobs - 49704- Programme Manager - (Open to Kyrgyzstan Nationals

Programme Manager - (Open to Kyrgyzstan Nationals Only)

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Bishkek, KYRGYZSTAN

Type of Contract :

Service Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

26-Sep-14 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

SC-8

Duration of Initial Contract :

12 month (with extension subject to performance and funds availability)

Languages Required :

English Russian

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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

As part of a 5-year global joint initiative launched by the Executive Heads of UN Women, FAO, IFAD, and WFP in October 2012, the project ”Acceleration of Rural Women’s Economic Empowerment ” will focus on rural women’s economic empowerment in the Kyrgyz Republic. The Programme will use a Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) modality to ensure transparency, accountability and efficiency.

Together, this partnership between UN Women, FAO, IFAD and WFP is expected to generate synergies that capitalize on each agency’s mandate, comparative advantage and institutional strength to generate more lasting and wider scale results. Project Objectives: promoting rural women’s economic empowerment in the Kyrgyz Republic corresponds with the Global Programme goal to secure rural women’s livelihoods and rights in the context of sustainable development and the post-MDGs agenda. The agencies aim to provide a harmonized, political, and institutional framework for complex programme interventions aiming at overcoming deep-rooted inequalities in rural areas. The current programme will be premised on the experience of a successful partnership between UN Women, FAO and WFP from previous joint projects. The new joint programme details are presented in the Case Study on Successful Partnership between UNW-FAO-WFP-WB. Efforts will be made to build support for the programme within the UN country teams and to link it with existing relevant joint programmes.

The programme is to be linked to on-going specialized large programmes on land rights, animal husbandry, seed & vegetable production, food security, pesticides management, irrigation, pasture management , agricultural value chains etc. implemented by the four participating agencies. The partnership of four UN agencies, each having a specialized mandate is premised on a successful support model provided by UN Women, FAO and WFP during their joint Delivering as One programme. This proved to be effective and mutually reinforcing. Group solidarity and membership discipline in self-help groups mobilized by UN Women ensured accurate use of seeds, fertilizers, and food, as well as consistent and systematic application of new knowledge on agricultural technologies and food security. Following this model, the programme will utilize the comparative advantages of four agencies: FAO’s policy assistance on agriculture and food security, value chain training and normative work; IFAD’s rural investment programmes; WFP’s food assistance innovations; and UN Women’s technical expertise on women’s economic empowerment and its mandate to promote accountability for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of work

The Project Manager will be working under the direct supervision of the Representative of UN WOMEN as Lead Agency for this programme. The Representative will act also on behalf of UN FAO, WFP and IFAD when directing the incumbent. The position is physically based in the UN Women Kyrgyz Republic Country Office.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Provide technical leadership of the programme and substantive advice to all stakeholders;
Ensure that funds are mobilized by soliciting donor interest and preparing proposals for funding in close coordination with participating agencies;
Prepare and compile an integrated operational and financial Annual Work Plan (AWP) in coordination with all involved stakeholders adopting a results based management approach;
Ensure synergies and complementarities between the different activities and outputs to ensure achieving the envisaged outcomes of the joint programme;
Preparation of quarterly and annual joint programme progress reports, funds, requisition, financial reports, and any other reports as requested by the participating agencies;
Coordinate and follow up with the UN Agencies and donor involved in the joint programme to follow up on progress, proactive identification of joint programme issues and risks and reporting on any foreseen problems that could affect joint programme overall progress or delivery;
Serves as the Secretariat for the Programme National Steering Committee including managing the preparation for the NSC meetings and follow up on the NSC meetings decisions;
Convene quarterly Joint Coordination meeting and circulate minutes of the meetings to all members;
Organize joint programme events to ensure integration among the various programme components, including the design and performance of pulse surveys, awareness raising, advocacy and networking activities amongst various constituents;
Ensure the integrity of the joint programme and information sharing among the main stakeholders of the programme; facilitation of monitoring and evaluation missions;
Document success stories and lessons learnt and share them with the NSC;
Provide such information as may be requested by national authorities and the RC and the RCO;
Perform and other duties as requested.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN's values and ethical standard;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UN Women;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Functional Competencies:

Knowledge Management and Learning

Shares knowledge and experience;
Actively works towards continuing personal learning, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills;
Ability to analyse complex situations from a position of impartiality;
Ability to concisely and to the point document information and findings, targeting a specific audience.

Development and Operational Effectiveness

Ability to perform a variety of specialized tasks related to Results Management, including support to design, planning and implementation of the projects, managing data, reporting;
Ability to provide input to business processes re-engineering, implementation of new system including new IT based systems;
Good knowledge of Results Management Guide and Toolkit;
Demonstrated skills in results-based programme planning and management;
Self-starter and proactive;
Strong interpersonal, communication and presentation skills.

Leadership and Self-Management

Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure, uses skills of diplomacy;
Ability to prioritize and manage competing priorities, grasping the situation quickly;
Ability to conduct advocacy on sensitive issues, not avoiding but processing conflict.

Required Skills and Experience

Education"

Master’s Degree in Development Studies, Gender, Political Science, Social Sciences or another field relevant to the nature of the programme.

Experience:

At least 7 years of experience in project and/or programme management and implementation of development projects preferably in the area of gender equality and women’s empowerment;
Good knowledge of gender and women issues in Kyrgyzstan, key players both at the institutional as well as grassroots levels;
Understanding of development challenges in Kyrgyzstan as well as substantive technical knowledge related to the nature of the programme;
Previous work experience with UN Agencies, government agencies and international development partners-highly desirable.
Strong software application skills including MS Word, Excel and Outlook.

Language:

Fluency in English and Russian language;
Working level knowledge of Kyrgyz.

Note:

Applications without the completed P-11 form will not be considered for further assessment.