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.

Under the overall guidance of the Representative the Programme Officer 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 team, UN Women RO 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 UNW 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 thematic/sectorial areas assigned;
• 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;
• Develop and write programme concept notes and proposals with support from the supervisor.

 Management of the sub-office Country Programme and Team Leader of the Programme team

• Under the guidance and oversight of the supervisor, exercise overall responsibility for planning, implementation, management, and coordination aspects of the programmes/projects;
• Ensure effective application of RBM tools and monitoring achievement of results, including actively follow up with Implementing Partners to monitor programme delivery;
• Manage the portfolio of on-going programmes/projects 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 programme staff, projects staff, experts and consultants working as part of the technical assistance team;
• Responsible for the timely preparation and quality control of all substantive technical reports, briefs and required documents;
• Ensure timely production and submission of all partial and/or progress reports by all members of the project team, contractors and project partners;
• Conduct field visits to supervise, coordinate and monitor field level activities of portfolio;
•  Advice on improvements needed to comply with the agreements between UN Women and Implementing Partners, and conduct training as required to help ensure implementation is effective and timely .

Inter-Agency Coordination Support :

• Provide substantive support to the Country Programme Manager on inter-agency coordination related activities, including support to the design and management of joint UN programs;
• Take part in country level Comprehensive Country Assessment (CCA)/Integrated Strategic Framework (ISF) processes and similar exercises related to the Resident Coordinator system ensuring that gender concerns are clearly reflected and mainstreamed in process;
• Prepare substantive inputs to CCA/ISF and other documents thoroughly analyzing and researching the political, social and economic situation in the region;
• Prepare analytical and regular progress reports on UN Women’s program experiences in support of UN Women inter-agency coordination role;
• Support mapping exercises and other background work to help ensure coordination and reduce overlap with other UN initiatives;
• Support the Country Programme Manager in building and maintaining good working relationship with other UN agencies.

Strategic partnerships building and resource mobilization Support:

• Implement the Office partnerships and resources mobilization strategies to achieve programme outcomes within the areas assigned;
• Create and coordinate partnerships with the relevant UN Agencies, Funds and Programs, and UNSOM, government institutions, bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors, private sector, and civil society;
• 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, 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 Country Programme Manager;
• Identify and support partner capacity building needs through regular on the job trainings;
• Provide substantial liaison and guidance to promote and strengthen UN Women collaboration with the federal Government of Somalia, stat elevel governments, district administrations, civil society and other actors.

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 areas assigned;
• Proactively and substantively support and implement relevant, high-impact advocacy activities and campaigns with key partners;
• Identify and synthesis best practices and lessons learnt directly linked to programme country policy goals in the sectorial/thematic areas assigned;
• Proactively contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice;
• Draft regular briefs of experiences from implementation of UN Women funded programs as part of UN Women Somalia briefing series;
• Draft TORs and provide substantial analytical input and substantial guidance to consultants working in support of UN Women knowledge development portfolio.

Impact of Results:

The post has an impact on the overall effectiveness and success of UN Women interventions and activities in the assigned sectorial/thematic areas, 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 assigned sectorial/thematic areas, and building networks and helping mobilize resources for these areas, 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 programs 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 or equivalent in Business Administration, Public Administration, Economics, Political Sciences, Social Sciences or related field.

Experience:       

• 7 years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level with demonstrated ability to high quality and timely deliverables in design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects and establishing inter-relationships among international organization and national governments;
•  Experience working in the field of gender and human rights an advantage;
• Prior experience in the UN System and the Region will be an asset. 

Language Requirements:            

• Fluency in oral and written English and Somali is required;
•  Working knowledge of another UN official language is an asset.