Background

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.

Under the overall guidance and direction of the Country Director, the Programme Specialist exercises overall responsibility for planning, implementing, and managing UN Women interventions under his/her portfolio.  She/he works in close collaboration with the programme and operations teams, UN Women HQ and Regional Office staff, Government officials, multi and bi-lateral donors and civil society ensuring successful UN Women programme implementation under portfolio.    

Duties and Responsibilities

Provision of top quality advisory and programme development services:

• Thorough analysis and research of the political, social and economic situation in the country related to the thematic/sectorial areas assigned and preparation of substantive inputs to the UN Women country office programme planning in those areas;
• Constant monitoring and analysis of the programme environment, timely readjustment of programme interventions;
• Identification of areas for support and interventions within the EVAW area;
• Design and formulation of programme initiatives within the area of responsibility, translating UN Women’s priorities into local interventions;
• Provision of programme advisory support to the Office Management within the thematic area/portfolio assigned.

Management of EVAW Unit and supervision of the EVAW unit team:

• Under the guidance and oversight of the supervisor, exercise overall responsibility for planning, implementation, management, and coordination aspects of the programmes/projects under the EVAW unit;
• Ensure effective application of RBM tools and monitoring achievement of results;
• Manage the portfolio of on-going programmes/projects within the EVAW unit through technical monitoring and administrative and financial supervision ensuring the proper application of a monitoring system to track progress on program results and indicators;
• Lead programmes/projects appraisal and evaluation according to results-based management requirements;
• Coordinate and supervise the activities of EVAW Unit staff, projects staff, experts and consultants working on assignments related to the EVAW portfolio;
• Responsible for the timely preparation and quality control of all substantive technical reports, briefs and required documents within the area of responsibility;
• Ensure timely production and submission of all partial and/or progress reports by all members of the unit team, contractors and project partners;
• Conduct field visits to supervise, coordinate and monitor field level activities of portfolio.

Inter-Agency Coordination Support:

• Provide substantive support senior management on inter-agency coordination related activities related to EVAW;
• Take part in country level Comprehensive Country Assessment (CCA)/UNDAF processes and similar exercises related to the RC system ensuring that EVAW are clearly reflected and mainstreamed in process;
• Prepare EVAW-related substantive inputs to CCA/ UNDAF and other documents thoroughly analyzing and researching the political, social and economic situation;
• Prepare analytical and regular progress reports on UN Women’s EVAW program experiences in support of UN Women’s inter-agency coordination role.

Strategic partnerships building and resource mobilization Support:

• Support the implementation of the Office partnerships and resources mobilization strategies to achieve programme outcomes within the area assigned;
• Create and coordinate within the assigned portfolio, partnerships with the relevant UN Agencies, government institutions, bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors, private sector, civil society etc.;
• Determine programmatic areas of cooperation, based on strategic goals of UN Women, country needs and donors’ priorities;
• Analysis and research of information on donors, preparation of substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation within the assigned portfolio, identification of opportunities for cost-sharing;
• Follow up on resource on mobilization activities for fund raising for new projects in coordination with the UN Women senior management.

Advocacy support and facilitation of knowledge building and management:

• Support the establishment of advocacy networks at national level and linkages to international networks related to the sectorial/thematic area assigned;
• Proactively and substantively support and implement relevant, high-impact advocacy activities and campaigns with key partners;
• Identify and synthesize best practices and lessons learnt directly linked to programme country policy goals under the EVAW portfolio;
• Proactively contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice.

The post has an impact on the overall effectiveness and success of UN Women interventions and activities in EVAW thematic area, which impact in turn on the overall effectiveness of the UN Women programme in the CO.  By helping ensure effective design, planning, implementation, and M&E of the EVAW thematic area, and building networks and helping mobilize resources for this area, the incumbent enhances the organization’s capacity and credibility in implementation of highly effective programmes with strong impact.

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.

Organizational Awareness:

• Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

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.

Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making:

• Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making.

Functional Competencies

• Ability to lead formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes and projects;
• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
• Ability to formulate and manage budgets, manage contributions and investments, manage transactions, conduct financial analysis, reporting and cost-recovery;
• Ability to implement new systems and affect staff behavioral/ attitudinal change;
• Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Ability to advocate and provide policy advice;
• Lead teams effectively and shows conflict resolution skills;
• Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
• Focuses on impact and result for the partners and responds positively to feedback.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s Degree in Gender, Economics, Political Sciences, Social Sciences or related field.

Experience:

• Minimum Six (6) years relevant experience at the national or international level in design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects and establishing inter-relationships among international organizations and national governments, in the field of gender and human rights of women and specifically in the area of ending violence against women.
• Sound knowledge of international standards on gender equality and women’s empowerment and related instruments
• Prior experience of working with UN agencies will be an asset.
• A proven ability to liaise with a myriad of stakeholders and partners, including government, civil society, international organizations and grassroots organizations.
• Good knowledge of rights-based approach and result-based management.

Language:

• Fluency in written and spoken English and Arabic is required;
• knowledge of another UN official languages is an advantage.