UN WOMEN Jobs - 63556- UN Women: Programme Specialist

UN Women: Programme Specialist – Grants Management, Asia and the Pacific

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Type of Contract :

FTA International

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

23-Feb-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

P-3

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 year

Languages Required :

English

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

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.

The United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) was established through the UN General Assembly Resolution 50/166 with UN Women as its Administrator on behalf of the UN system. The UN Trust Fund is a global multi-lateral mechanism supporting national efforts to end violence against women, one of the most widespread human rights violations in the world.

The UNTF provides technical assistance and funding to advance the development of innovative models and strategic interventions in the area of ending violence against women. It focuses on supporting the implementation of national laws and plans of action on ending violence against women, calling for greater attention to implementation of existing human rights standards; multi-sector approaches; strengthened partnerships among national governments, civil society and women’s groups; UN agencies and other key stakeholders; stronger institutional mechanisms at the national and sub national levels; and strengthened efforts for upscaling and sustainability. By 2015, the UN Trust Fund had supported 426 programmes in 136 countries and territories with USD 115 million. The current active portfolio of the UN Trust Fund is USD 46 million for 80 organizations in the 67 countries.

Under the supervision and guidance of the Grants Manager, UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, the Specialist – Grants Management, Asia and the Pacific will be responsible for managing and monitoring the portfolio of grants in Asia and the Pacific, providing technical support and guidance to Asia and Pacific portfolio grantees, providing technical support in the grant-making process, and providing knowledge management and capacity development support.

Duties and Responsibilities

Manage and monitor the portfolio of Asia and Pacific grant for the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UNTF):

Manage and oversee all operational processes related to the grants life-cycle, including budget revisions and disbursements in collaboration with Finance colleagues, and processing of programme modifications, no-cost extensions, and grant closures;
Lead the coordination for grants management between the UNTF Finance team, UN Women Regional, Multi/Country Offices and other teams, as necessary;
Liaise with external stakeholders to ensure required documentation is received and stored in the UNTF shared drive; consolidate UNTF feedback to the grantee in all aspects of the project;
Review financial reports and liaise with UNTF finance analyst at HQ before final approval for grants and subsequent disbursements;
Monitor and assess progress towards overall results based on results framework and monitoring schedules;
Undertake monitoring missions and finalize mission reports and summarize key findings and recommendations;
Monitor Audit Recommendations and update Action Plans in the system, in coordination with the Finance Analyst, where applicable;
Perform basic review of Financial Statements and flag inconsistencies between financial spending and project implementation.

Provide technical support and guidance to Asia and Pacific portfolio grantees:

Provide technical assistance to grantees including in the design of their Results and Resources Frameworks (RRFs), in collaboration with the Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist;
Advise grantees on clarifying proposed programme outcomes, outputs, indicators of success, methods of baseline and data collection, activities and budgets;
Provide tailored technical support throughout the programme life-cycle, including in design of grantee baseline and end-line data and support in undertaking the final evaluation;
Review progress reports and provide feedback to grantees as needed to ensure results-based reports and analysis and capturing of data;
Review and provide technical feedback on draft Terms of Reference (TOR) and grantee final external evaluation report.

Provide technical support in the grant-making process of the Asia and Pacific portfolio:

Review and substantively analyze concept notes and full-fledged proposals, as well as accompanying budgets and monitoring and evaluation frameworks submitted to the UNTF;
Prepare application feedback letters and summaries for all shortlisted applicants and grantees for the region and systematically update these summaries based on progress reports and monitoring missions;
Provide administrative support to ROs and grantees to ensure adherence to UN WOMEN policies, administrative and financial procedures;
Review and lead finalization of project documents and Results Resources Frameworks through dialogue with grantees on submitted documents;
Review implementing partner assessment forms and grant agreements prior to grantee selection and signature.

Provide technical support in the communications of the Asia and Pacific portfolio:

Maintain centralized portfolio matrix of grants, and provide quarterly portfolio updates to the UN Trust Fund Chief and the Grants manage;
Prepare written contributions for various purposes, including inputs for the report for the Commission on Status of Women, UNTF annual donor reports, newsletters, fund raising efforts and other reporting needs;
Engage directly with grant recipients to gather information about the achievements and impact of the grant, knowledge products, media, and others and ensure communications accurately reflect grant programmes;
Track noteworthy grantee achievements and communicate to colleagues for possible visibility, such as special features on the website.

Provide knowledge management and capacity development support to the Asia and Pacific portfolio:

Contribute to tracking and synthesizing, on an ongoing basis, of developments, tools, emerging or good practices in the field of ending violence against women and girls, including capturing findings and lessons learned from evaluations;
Support and organize knowledge sharing events and identify good and promising models that can be shared widely across grantees and other key stakeholders;
Identify challenges and lessons learned across the grants, and contribute to a process of institutional learning through documenting lessons learned and contribution to modification of strategies and programmes;Provide coordination and technical support to the production of capacity development tools, including training materials and packages, programme guidance notes and other related support, specifically as it relates to monitoring and reporting for grants;
Support, organize and participate in knowledge sharing and capacity development events for grantees, including organizing a capacity development workshop for new grantees on monitoring and evaluation, in liaison with the M&E Specialist.

Key Performance Indicators:

The key results have an impact on the overall quality of the grants supported as well as efficiency and effectiveness in implementation of the UN Trust Fund’s programme strategies. Accurate analysis, monitoring and oversight of grants enhance the UN Trust Fund’s reputation as a strategic funder of initiatives to address violence against women as well as UN Women’s position as a strong development partner.

Timely collection, tracking and dissemination of information;
Timely monitoring of progress and finances of grantees;
Timely and quality guidance to grantees;
Ensure UNTF guidelines are followed and met;
Timely and quality reports;
Timely maintenance of databases;
Quality knowledge and capacity development products;
Quality inputs to communication outlets;
Best practices are captured and disseminated.

Competencies

Core values and 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. Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

Ethics and Values:

Demonstrate and promote ethics and integrity by creating organizational precedents.

Organizational Awareness:

Build support for the organization and ensure political acumen.

Development and Innovation:

Support staff competence development, and contribute to an environment of creativity and innovation.

Work in teams:

Build and promote effective 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.

Communication and Information Sharing:

Create and promote an environment for open and 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:

Share knowledge across the organization and build a culture of knowledge sharing and learning.

Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making:

Ensure fair and transparent decision making processes and manage risk.

Functional Competencies:

Ability to manage for results: translate strategy into achievable plans, with established priorities, monitor them, making periodic adjustments as required;
Strong interpersonal and diplomacy skills;
Ability to use critical thinking, conceptualizes ideas, and articulate relevant subject matter in a clear and concise way;
Knowledge of project management and more specifically in relation to the development of work plans, budgets, monitoring and reporting plans, purchasing plans and the identification of indicators;
Good financial skills;
Strong IT skills;
Strong communication skills;
Outstanding networking and team-building skills;
Ability to work under pressure and meet strict deadlines.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s degree or equivalent in Political Science, International Development Studies, Gender/Women’s Studies, Economics or Sociology;
Master’s degree in Monitoring and Results Based Management considered an asset.

Experience:

Minimum of five years of relevant national/international working experience in international development, human rights, gender equality and women’s empowerment issues;
Knowledge and experience in working on addressing issues related to violence against women and girls;
Experience in monitoring and reporting on programmes related to gender equality;
Experience in monitoring of grant programmes is highly desired;
Experience in knowledge management and communication – supporting collection and dissemination of lessons learned/best practices is an asset;
Experience in results-based management (RBM) is an asset;
Experience with databases and data management a plus;
Experience in the United Nations, a governmental, other multilateral or civil society organization in a developed or developing country is highly desirable.

Language:

Fluency in English (oral and written) is required.

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.

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.

Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows to upload maximum one document. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.