Background

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women will work 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 centre of all its efforts, UN Women will lead and coordinate United Nations System efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN WOMEN is dedicated to advancing gender equality and women's empowerment in Afghanistan.  Staff and consultants of UN WOMEN Afghanistan are expected to contribute to a professional working environment in which the strengthening of national capacities and human potential is prioritized.  Respect for diversity and human dignity is required, as is the active pursuit of a collaborative and inclusive approach to both internal and external stakeholders, including colleagues and partners.

UN WOMEN's Women, Peace & Governance Unit aims to build the capacity of and strengthen opportunities for Afghan women to mobilize as political actors of change as a means of demanding accountability by state and non-state actors on the implementation of gender equality commitments, including provisions of women's full and meaningful participation in peace and governance processes at the community, sub-national and national levels. The Unit operates within the framework of UN SCR 1325, CEDAW, the National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan (NAPWA) and the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS).

Under the supervision of the UN WOMEN Country Director (CD) and reporting directly to the Deputy Country Director (DCD) on day to day programming issues, the Women, Peace & Governance Unit Manager serves as a member of the senior management team, with oversight responsibilities for all aspects of Women, Peace & Governance Unit programming and operations, including providing strategic direction, fiscal oversight, resource mobilization, and policy setting.  The post serves as a key advisor to the Country Director on policy and programming pertaining to the Unit's mandate and on matters of organizational integrity with the aim of ensuring:

• Compliance with UN WOMEN and UNDP policies and regulations.
• Effective systems to support programme delivery and growth.
• Accountability to organizational values and principles.
• Enabling workplace environment in which staff potential is maximized.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Strategic Direction.
• Resource Mobilization.
• Management and supervision.
• Peace and Governance Policy Development.
• Program Design and delivery.
• Leadership and capacity building.
• Financial management.
• Partnership and networking.

• The Unit Manager will establish policy and practices to ensure the sound management and staff oversight of the Unit; to effectively meet programme obligations and client expectations and to facilitate a workplace environment of mutual accountability, recognition, and respect.
• The manager will set priorities and determine the strategic direction of the Unit, identifying opportunities for productive interventions in order for the Unit to meet its mandate.

Resource Mobilization:

• The Unit manager will, in consultation and coordination with the Country Director and the Deputy Country Director, proactively seek and respond to opportunities for resource mobilization for the Women, Peace & Governance Unit.

Management and Supervision:

• The Unit manager will directly supervise and appropriately delegate areas of responsibility to the deputy unit manager and unit operations staff, and provide general guidance to the unit management team, including international consultants. 

Peace and Governance Policy Development:

• The Unit Manger will advise the Country Director on his/her programmatic area of women, peace, and governance and their implications for achieving the government's and UN WOMEN's gender commitments.
• The Unit Manager will participate in various national policy dialogues on the inclusion of women in peace processes and their specific perspectives and needs in post conflict recovery, reconstruction, and public policy.

Programme Design and Delivery:

• The Unit Manger will take the lead in providing substantive technical inputs into program development, through vision, conceptualization and design and oversees the Unit's annual planning process.

• The Unit Manager is responsible for providing leadership and direction within the Unit.
• S/he will create an organizational culture of accountability, responsibility, capacity building and quality of services through leadership, encouraging a team culture of learning, creativity and innovation.
• S/he will also ensure that there exists a clearly understood and implemented chain of authority and accountability within the Unit.

Financial Management:

• The Unit Manager will provide financial oversight for the Unit's expenditures, including ensuring a steady and adequate supply of funds for programme activities.
• S/he will follow up with the Deputy to ensure all programme funds are spent in accordance with donor agreements and financial reporting requirements. 

Partnership and Networking:

• The Unit Manager will serve as UN WOMEN's key advocate in the field of women, peace and governance, articulating its messages through practical policy solutions and linking women's grass roots advocacy work to the national policy level.
• S/he will be responsible for developing strategic partnerships and strengthening linkages with NGOs, donors, UN agencies, government institutions, private sector, civil society and community grass roots organizations for the implementation of the Unit's strategic plan.
• S/he will ensure UN WOMEN's contribution to the UN's strategic planning processes in relation to women, peace and governance and will foster knowledge networks in this field.

Competencies

• Integrity: Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.
• Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity: Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity. 

• Support the Organization's corporate goal.
• Comply with UN WOMEN rules, regulations and code of conduct.
• Demonstrate sensitivity, discretion, tact and courtesy in relation to gender equality and women's rights, development principles, implementing partners and national and international personnel of varied nationalities and backgrounds.
• Commitment to upholding the organizational values and principles of UN Women.

• Build effective client relationships and partnerships.
• Interact with all levels of staff in the organization.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Build and share knowledge.
• Provide guidance and support to others.
• Apply existing knowledge to work.
• Make valuable practice contributions.

• Excellent oral and written skills, especially in professional English.
• Listen actively and respond effectively.

• Plan, prioritize and deliver a variety of tasks on time.
• Exercise sound judgment/analysis.
• Develop creative solutions.

• Promote learning environment in the office.
• Provide constructive coaching and feedback for others.

• In-depth knowledge of program management and implementation.
• Knowledge of UN WOMEN business, operations and programming cycle (preferred).

Required Skills and Experience

• Masters degree (or equivalent) in governance, public policy, and/or post-conflict peace processes.

• Minimum of 7 years progressively relevant professional work experience in programme design and management in the areas of governance, women's decision-making roles in governance and/or post-conflict peace processes.
• Technical experience in gender analysis and monitoring and evaluation with participatory approaches. 
• A proven ability to liaise with a myriad of stakeholders and partners, including government, civil society, international organizations and grassroots organizations.
• A proven history of leadership, management and staff supervision through a style of mutual accountability and professional development.
• Experience in the area of advocacy and policy analysis as it impacts women's decision making roles, ideally in a post conflict setting.
• Sound knowledge of international standards on human rights, women's rights and related instruments.
• Knowledge and understanding of the social, cultural and political context of Afghanistan and its relation to gender is preferable.

• Excellent command of English, including analytical writing skills and presentation skills.
• Knowledge of local language, Dari and/or Pashtu, will be considered an asset.

 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

Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.