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.

Since 2002, the UN Women (formerly UNIFEM) Afghanistan Country Office (ACO) has been assisting the government of Afghanistan and its partners in the area of Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW). UN Women is further expanding its EVAW Program in view of building capacities and providing more coherent and specialized support in the work pertaining to EVAW carried out by both government and civil society organizations. In this regard, UN Women Afghanistan’s Elimination of Violence against Women Special Fund (EVAW SF) was established in 2007. The Fund addresses the inadequate mechanism to financially support and mobilize community-based and non-governmental organizations that are working on EVAW and expand EVAW initiatives throughout Afghanistan in a coordinated, strategic and sustainable manner. UN Women ACO aims to pass the Fund on to a national leadership within a set time frame. The work of the EVAW SF is inter-linked with all other EVAW initiatives of UN Women Afghanistan to ensure a coordinated and collaborative approach and their sustainability. In supporting EVAW in Afghanistan, UN Women also recognizes the need to protect women human rights defenders engaged in promoting the full realization of gender equality commitments and women’s participation in political, peace and governance processes.  

The UN Women Afghanistan Special Funds are a mechanism to strengthen resource efficiency and effectiveness by pooling resources and expertise via multiple stakeholders to provide effective response to address women’s rights priorities, build capacities and provide more coherent and specialized support to government, civil society organizations and individuals to work and deliver in close coordination and collaboration and to expand women’s rights initiatives throughout Afghanistan.

Under the guidance of the Afghanistan Country Director and reporting directly to the Deputy Country Director and in coordination with the Chief Technical Specialist the Special Funds Coordinator (SFC), will provide strategic direction, resource mobilization, and policy setting for the Afghanistan Special Funds. The post also provides advise to the Country Director and ACO on policy and programming pertaining to the EVAW Funds, with the aim of ensuring effective systems to support program delivery and growth.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Strategic direction
• Program design and implementation
• Monitoring and evaluation 
• Resource mobilization
• Management and supervision
• Partnership and networking
• Information and knowledge management
• Liaison and coordination within UNWOMEN
• Leadership
• Financial management and administration

1. Strategic direction. The SFC will work closely with UN Women management to set priorities and determine the strategic direction for the Special Funds, develop a consolidated and coherent strategic framework on management and administration of the Funds and identifying opportunities for productive interventions to meet the set mandate of the Funds.

2. Program design and implementation. The SFC will conceptualize, plan and ensure implementation of all activities and interventions of the Special Funds; provide overall direction to the substantive integration, development, implementation, coordination of the Funds. He/she will also ensure UN Women’s contribution to the UN’s strategic planning processes in relation to the Funds and will foster knowledge networks in this field.

3. Monitoring and evaluation. The SFC will ensure that monitoring, reporting and evaluation systems are in place for the Special Funds, for regular and systematic performance review and documentation of lessons learned with specific focus on results, impact and the final outcomes.

4. Resource mobilization. The SFC will, in consultation and coordination with the Country Director and the Deputy Country Director, proactively seek and respond to opportunities for resource mobilization to ensure the sustainability of the Special Funds. He/she will promote and continue UN Women Afghanistan’s efforts towards aid effectiveness with regards to harmonization, alignment and joint programming on women’s rights.

5. Management and supervision. The SFC will directly supervise and appropriately delegate areas of responsibility and provide general guidance to the program and operations staff of the Special Funds, including international consultants; establish policy and practices to ensure the sound management and staff oversight to effectively meet program obligations and client expectations; and facilitate a workplace environment of mutual accountability, recognition, and respect.

6. Partnership and networking. The SFC will develop strategic partnerships and strengthen linkages with NGOs, donors, UN agencies, government institutions, private sector, civil society and community grass roots organizations in relation the Special Funds.

7. Information and knowledge management. The SFC will provide technical support to UN Women management, in the development of information materials or tool kits on the Special Funds.

8. Liaison and coordination within UNWOMEN. The SFC will work closely with and seek strategic input on programming from other units, especially Peace and Governance, Gender and Justice, Women, Economic Security and Rights Units. He/she will provide technical support to other units in developing capacities and assistance in advocating for EVAW and related instruments, articulating its messages through practical policy solutions and linking women’s grass roots advocacy work to the national policy level.

9. Leadership. The SFC is responsible for providing leadership and direction within the staff of the Special Funds. He/she creates an organizational culture of accountability, responsibility, capacity building and quality of services through leadership, encouraging a team culture of learning, creativity and innovation. He/she also ensures that there exists a clearly understood and implemented chain of authority and accountability within the staff.

10. Financial management and administration. The SFC provides financial oversight for the expenditures of the Special Funds, including ensuring a steady and adequate supply of funds for program activities. He/she follows up with UN Women deputy country director and operations manager to ensure all program funds are spent in accordance with donor agreements and financial reporting requirements.

Key Results:

The key result of the post is to develop and strengthen the administration and management structures and develop future strategy for the UN Women Afghanistan Special Funds. The post ensures linkages between strategic planning, policy analysis, external relations, networking, knowledge management, capacity building, monitoring and evaluation, and resource mobilization for the Funds.

Further, this position will ensure program and project management consistency, effectiveness, efficiency, effective partnerships and expansion of the funds outreach to all parts of Afghanistan.

Competencies

Core Values and Ethics

• Demonstrate cultural sensitivity and able to work in a multi-national environment
• Support the Organization’s corporate goal Comply with UN Women rules, regulations and code of conduct
• Demonstrate integrity
• Demonstrated 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

Communication

• Excellent oral and written skills
• Listen actively and respond effectively

Task Management

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

Learning

• 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

• Master’s degree or equivalent in social science, gender studies or administration

Experience:

• Minimum of 5 years progressively relevant professional work experience in the area of gender and development, violence against women, advocacy and policy and program management, ideally in a post conflict setting.
• Familiarity with elimination of violence against women initiatives, stakeholders and partners in Afghanistan is an asset
• Technical experience in gender analysis and monitoring and evaluation with participatory approaches.
• Sound knowledge of international standards on human rights, women’s rights and related instruments.
• A proven ability to liaise with a myriad of stakeholders and partners, including government, civil society, international organizations and grassroots organizations.
• An understanding of the social, cultural, and political context of Afghanistan and its relation to gender is preferable.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills, especially in professional English.

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.   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.