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.

UN Women maintains a large presence throughout Europe and Central Asia region, covering 12 countries, with programme presence in Kosovo[1], Serbia, Tajikistan and North Macedonia; and country offices in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkey and Ukraine. The adoption of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention), and the fact that countries have to harmonize national legislation with the EU’s acquis as part of the accession process, has created an opportunity to step up UN Women’s Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECA RO) capacity to bring a regional perspective to human rights-based programming in relation to national, regional and international agreements, and the European Union (EU) normative frameworks for accession countries related to gender equality discrimination, and in particular, on ending violence against women in Western Balkans and Turkey.

“Implementing norms, changing minds”  Phase II is a UN Women regional programme, which aims to support a reduction in gender-based discrimination and violence against women and girls in the Western Balkans - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia – and Turkey, anchored in the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Istanbul Convention, and also in alignment with European Union accession standards.  The programme is co-funded by the European Commission under IPA II. The programme supports the development of an enabling legislative and policy environment on eliminating violence against women and all forms of discrimination; promotes favorable social norms and attitudes to prevent gender discrimination and violence against women; and pursues empowering women and girls (including those from disadvantaged groups) who have experienced discrimination or violence to advocate for and use available, accessible, and quality services. The programme channels its interventions through and to civil society organizations, with an emphasis on those representing and/or working with women from disadvantaged groups.

in this regard, UN Women is looking for a Programme Specialist who will take responsibility for overall planning, implementing, and managing of the “Implementing norms, changing minds” regional programme.

Under the overall leadership of the Regional Director, and under the direct supervision of the Deputy Regional Director, the Programme Specialist, Ending Violence Against Women (EVAW) is responsible for programme management, resource mobilization, communications, technical oversight, troubleshooting, monitoring and evaluation, reporting and financial, and human resources management. The Programme Specialist will ensure strategic direction of the programme with overall  liaison functions of country technical coordinators to be deployed in the countries involved in the programme. The Programme Specialist will also liaise directly with regional and inter-governmental organizations, development partners, and regional platforms of women’s organizations. She/he will work in close collaboration with programme and operations team, UN Women policy advisors at regional office and at headquarters, ensuring successful programme implementation.

The Programme Specialist will provide technical expertise on gender equality and women’s empowerment with a holistic approach to address opportunities and challenges in ending discrimination and violence against women in the  programme participating countries. The Programme Specialist will provide regular analysis of policies and practices to senior management and compiles lessons learned for formulation of strategic interventions, including support on resource mobilization.

* For the European Union, this designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence. For UN Women, references to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999).

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Provide programme development advisory services and development programmes in the area of EVAW:

  • Oversee and manage the design and formulation of programme proposals and initiatives;
  • Identify programmatic areas for support and interventions within the EVAW impact area;
  • Finalize country strategy documents, programme/ project proposals, briefs, policy dialogue and other documents related to EVAW;
  • Organize periodic consultations with key stakeholders, women leaders, human rights experts and UN partners to gather inputs on programme design, as necessary.

2. Manage the monitoring and reporting of the programme/ project:

  • Manage the monitoring  of the programme/ project implementation of activities and finances using results based management tools;
  • Finalize quarterly reports and donor reports, focusing on results, output and outcomes;
  • Write office donor and UN Women reports.

3. Oversee the implementation and management of the EVAW regional programme:

  • Provide programme advisory support to the Office Management, as necessary;
  • Finalize the annual workplan and budget and oversee implementation;
  • Finalize reports on activities, outputs and outcomes; and provide technical inputs to donor and UN Women reports;
  • Ensure adherence to standard UN Women and EU procedures in implementation of programmes/ projects;
  • Ensure synergies within and with other programme/project teams;
  • Oversee the technical implementation and conceptualization of the programme;
  • Manage the submission of partner financial and narrative reports;
  • Provide guidance to staff and partners on Results Based Management tools and performance indicators;
  • Organize Project Steering Committee, project review and/or evaluation meetings, as needed.

5. Oversee technical assistance and capacity development to EVAW programme partners:

  • Provide technical advice to partners; oversee the provision of technical guidance by the team;
  • Build, manage and expand relationships with regional partners to support implementation and expansion of the EVAW programme; respond to any potential problems;
  • Implement and oversee capacity building opportunities and initiatives;
  • Provide partners with advanced technical assistance, training and capacity development initiatives

7. Manage people and financial resources of the EVAW programme:

  • Manage programme budget, draft and finalize financial reports
  • Supervise programme analyst and Technical Specialists; mentor and coach staff and conduct performance assessments;
  • Write terms of reference for new staff, consultants and contractors and oversee the recruitment process, as necessary.

8. Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies:

  • Develop and implement partnerships and resource mobilization strategies;
  • Finalize relevant documentation on donors and potential opportunities for resource mobilization;
  • Analyze and research information on donors, prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for cost sharing;
  • Determine programmatic areas of cooperation, based on strategic goals of UN Women, country needs and donors’ priorities and develop the relevant partnerships.

9. Lead advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts for EVAW programme:

  • Participate in meetings and policy dialogues on issues related to EVAW on behalf of UN Women, as necessary;
  • Manage advocacy strategies and oversee their implementation;
  • Lead the development of knowledge management strategies, products and methodologies on EVAW;
  • Represent UN Women in meetings and policy dialogues on issues related to EVAW;
  • Identify best practices and lessons learned to guide programme improvement and strategy planning.

10. Manage inter-agency coordination to achieve a coherent and aligned presence for the EVAW in the Regional Office:

  • Provide substantive technical support to the representative and deputy representative on inter-agency coordination related activities by attending meetings, events, and participating in groups and committees;
  • Coordinate with other UN agencies, government departments, donors and NGOs to ensure the projects’ capacity development programme is harmonized and aligned with other in-country efforts;
  • Take part in country level Common Country Assessment (CCA)/ United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) processes and similar exercises related to the RC system;
  • Prepare substantive inputs to CCA/ UNDAF and other documents, as necessary.

11. Oversee technical assistance and capacity development to programme partners:

  • Provide technical advice to partners; oversee the provision of technical guidance by the team;
  • Build, manage and expand relationships with regional partners to support implementation and expansion of the EVAW programme; respond to any potential problems;
  • Implement and oversee capacity building opportunities and initiatives;
  • Provide partners with advanced technical assistance, training and capacity development initiatives.

Key Performance Indicators:

  • Timely and quality technical advice and support
  • Leadership in area of expertise in the region
  • Quality reports and other strategic documents drafted and submitted in a timely manner
  • Strong relationships with various partners and stakeholders
  • Contributions to resource mobilization
  • Timely and quality knowledge products
  • UN Women is well represented in important meetings on topics related to EVAW

Competencies

Core Values:

  • Respect for Diversity
  • Integrity
  • Professionalism

Core Competencies:

  • Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
  • Accountability
  • Creative Problem Solving
  • Effective Communication
  • Inclusive Collaboration
  • Stakeholder Engagement
  • Leading by Example

Functional Competencies:

  • Excellent knowledge of Ending Violence Against Women
  • Strong knowledge of the region
  • Excellent networking skills
  • Ability to interact with donors, identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising
  • Ability to perform qualitative and quantitative policy research
  • Ability to advocate and provide policy advice
  • Excellent analytical skills;
  • Ability to write policy papers, speeches, briefings;
  • Strong knowledge of programme development, implementation, results-based management and reporting
  • Share knowledge across the organization and build a culture of knowledge sharing and learning.
  • Strong people management skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

  • Master’s degree or equivalent in International Development, Political science, Social science, Gender/Women studies, human rights, international relations or other social science fields is required.
  • A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

  • At least 7 years progressively responsible experience in designing and managing programmes and advocating for Ending Violence Against Women; ideally with some experience in developing countries;
  • Technical experience in EVAW.
  • Experience in programme, policy analysis, and strategic planning;
  • Experience working with, and building partnerships with governments, donors and civil society organizations internationally and in the field;
  • Experience working with the UN is an asset;
  • Experience working in the Europe and Central Asia region is an asset.

Language Requirements:

  • Fluency in English is required;
  • Knowledge of the other UN official language is an asset.