UN WOMEN Jobs - 60572- Youth and Gender Equality Programme Officer

Youth and Gender Equality Programme Officer

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Phnom Penh, CAMBODIA

Type of Contract :

Service Contract

Starting Date :

Application Deadline :

23-Oct-15 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

SB-4

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

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (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 goal of UN Women’s strategy in Cambodia is to ensure that gender equality and women’s empowerment are achieved and women’s human rights are promoted and protected. Increased leadership and political participation of women, especially young women, has been identified by UN Women as a primary focus area in Cambodia. This is a priority under UN Women- Cambodia Country Office (CCO) Outcome 1.1: Substantive participation and leadership of Cambodian women in the public sphere at the national and sub-national levels. [UN Women Global Outcome 1.3]. Specifically, this is pursued by promoting women's effective leadership, including among excluded groups of women, and their meaningful participation in democratic governance, with special attention to young women and young men activists.

Working with key partners, CCO contributes to national priorities to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment by increasing accountability and women’s participation in its work with both duty bearers and rights holders. Closely working with government, civil societies, the UN and other development partners, the CCO seeks to strengthen the capacity of female leaders, increase women’s leadership and engagement in policy and public decision making, and encourage young men to support national efforts to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Under the overall supervision and guidance of the UN Women Deputy Country Representative, and the direct supervision of National Programme Officer-Governance, the Youth and Gender Equality Programme Officer is responsible for the successful development, implementation, resource mobilization, monitoring and reporting of programmes and projects in the 2014-2015 CCO Annual Work Plan (AWP) that support gender responsive governance, with particular focus on: (a) promoting young women's effective leadership, including among excluded groups of women, and their meaningful participation in democratic governance; (b) ensuring that decision-making processes are participatory, responsive, equitable and inclusive for all women, especially young women; and (c) engaging young men as gender equality champions.

Furthermore, the Youth and Gender Equality Programme Officer will work closely with the CCO programme staff, operations staff and staff of the UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP). S/he will also collaborate with relevant programme staff of other UN agencies, government officials, civil society partners, and multilateral and bi-lateral donors to ensure the successful implementation of the programmes and projects that s/he is responsible for, and will actively engage with colleagues across the region in knowledge and information sharing and peer support.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:

Ensuring high quality programming of CCO for youth and gender equality;
Overseeing the implementation of the Young Women’s Programme (YWP);
Building of strategic partnerships and support to the implementation of the governance programme; and
Ensuring advocacy support, knowledge building and management.

Within the framework of UN Women-Cambodia’s Country Strategy and Annual Work Plan (AWP), the Youth and Gender Equality Programme Officer will lead the conceptualization, planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting and evaluation of youth programmes and activities for gender equality of CCO with attention to the (a) promotion of young women’s empowerment, leadership and political participation; (b) provision of support to young men’s initiatives as champions of gender equality; and (c) mobilization and coordination of support to such initiatives. In this connection, s/he will:

1. Ensuring high quality programming of CCO for youth and gender equality:

Analyze the situation of youth in Cambodia from a gender perspective, using credible reports, studies and statistics, including information from young women and men and organizations working on gender and/or youth, and produce analytical papers in support of strategic programming for youth and gender equality;
Prepare concept notes, programme/project proposals, resource mobilization tools, activity and budget proposals on young women’s leadership and political participation and the development of young men’s groups as gender equality champions and recommend potential funding/partner institutions to be mobilized for the implementation of such proposals;
Act as lead officer of CCO for youth and gender equality, particularly in conceptualizing interventions and managing youth and gender programmes of the governance team which include planning, budgeting, implementation, monitoring, reporting and documentation and evaluation. Liaise with other CCO teams to coordinate and synergize results of youth and gender initiatives;
Monitor international, national and sub-national developments that impact on the status of youth and recommend appropriate responses to emerging issues if necessary. Maintain a database of information on youth/young women in Cambodia that are essential to youth programming for gender equality such as researches, statistics and information about policies, programmes, services, networks, trainings, and capacity building resources and opportunities;
Undertake substantive monitoring, documentation, reporting and evaluation of programme-related activities, including through field visits, analysis of partner reports, external assessments and evaluations, and feedbacks from credible informants. Provide support to the conduct of related programme/project audits and facilitate the implementation of audit recommendations;
Facilitate the preparation of contracts, agreements, and other administrative documents for the implementation of the programme and its projects and activities at the national and subnational levels. Provide support to the conduct of related programme/project audits and facilitate the implementation of audit recommendations;
Review project reports (financial and technical) from partners and prepare programme/donor reports in accordance with Results-Based Management Framework and established guidelines on donor reporting.

2. Overseeing the implementation of the Young Women‘s Programme (YWP):

Ensure that all activities and plans of the YWP contribute to the results targeted by UN Women-Cambodia Country Strategy through sound planning and effective budgeting, monitoring, documentation, reporting and evaluation;
Facilitate and mainstream youth, including young women, men, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender and marginalized youth, involment in CCO programme interventions, in particular for the localization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to ensure that the voices and needs of young women are addressed;
Establish productive, transparent and accountable relationships with partners in the project to ensure joint project ownership, timely delivery of quality results, proper use of funds and resources, documentation of outputs and processes, linkage of the project with relevant initiatives and enduring commitment to roll over and/or sustain the gains of the project;
Provide substantive/technical inputs for the successful implementation of the YWP components, including activities of young women to promote human rights; implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimiation against Women (CEDAW), Uinited Nations Security Councile Resolutions (UNSCRs), SDGs and other international women’s human rights frameworks; advocacy for policies/laws; capacity development; resource mobilization and others;
Represent CCO in all meetings and events relative to the implementation of YWP and serve as resource person and channel of communication between the project partners, CCO and other stakeholders. Ensure that documents, files and information about the project are maintained according to CCO procedures and standards.

3. Building of strategic partnerships and support to the implementation of the governance programme:

Work/coordinate with external partners such as UN agencies, government entities, and civil society organizations to implement and synergize initiatives around young women’s leadership and political participation; engagement of young men as gender equality champions; strengthening of self-representation of young women activists and organizations/networks in vital projects, events and undertakings; and other concerns of CCO AWP and governance programme;
Participate in programming and planning activities of CCO to ensure that the concerns of youth are positioned within strategic priorities of various programmes of UN Women and are given adequate attention in planning, resource mobilization/allocation, research, monitoring, reporting, evaluation and knowledge management;
Collect and analyze information on donors with interest on youth programmes, prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identify opportunities for initiation of new projects, and participate actively in the overall resource mobilization efforts of CCO;
Facilitate the preparation of administrative and financial requirements for the implementation of youth programmes, projects, and activities in accordance with existing UN Women rules and procedures and with guidance from the National Programme Officer-Governance and concerned staff of Operations;
Maintain and update filing system of project documents, work plans, budgets, proposals in accordance with established systems and standards.

4. Ensuring advocacy support, knowledge building and management:

Ensure sharing of information, tools and best practices with local, national and international partners working in support of youth and gender equality, including within UN Women, the UN family and UN Youth Advisory Panel;
Support the coordination of joint advocacy and capacity building around youth and gender equality within the United Nations Country Team (UNCT). Organize trainings for UN, government and civil society partners on youth, gender and programming, in consultation with other UN agencies in the Gender Theme Group and drawing from existing tools and guidelines of the UN System. Actively share and promote UN Women's perspectives in relevant conferences, workshops and meetings addressing women's human rights, youth and gender equality, and the promotion of men’s roles as gender equality advocates;
Support the establishment of advocacy networks at national level and linkages to international networks related to the sectoral/thematic areas assigned. Proactively and substantively support and implement relevant high-impact advocacy activities and campaigns with key partners;
Identify and synthesize best practices and lessons learned directly linked to CCO policy goals in the sectoral/thematic areas assigned. Proactively contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice in the country and within the region.

Impact of Results

The key results have impacts on the overall CCO effectiveness and efficiency in delivering results under UN Women Global Impact 1, CCO Outcome 1.1 and CCO Output 1.1.1. High quality programming for youth and gender equality, successful implementation of the YWP, strategic partnerships, advocacy and knowledge building will promote a robust, innovative and sustainable approach to the advancement of young women’s leadership and political participation in the country. Promoting young men’s engagement as champions of gender equality will contribute to the reduction of obstacles to women’s empowerment as leaders and participants in policy and public decision making.

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; and
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 positive behaviour 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

Knowledge of UN context and topics: Needs a good knowledge of the role of the UN and its components and the Agency’s relationship with the UN. Needs a good knowledge of key UN topics like human rights, gender, youth, and environment, among others;
Technical and professional skills: (1) Youth programming and project administration – has a good understanding of various programming techniques and is able to contribute to the development of the most efficient and effective programming approaches; familiar with policies, procedures and rules in programme/project administration with partners; (2) Strategic partnerships and support to governance programme - has good skills in working with a variety of external partners; familiarity with gender issues in governance especially with respect to young women and men; able to contribute to the effective design and implementation of governance projects and initiatives; (3) Advocacy and knowledge management – skilled in developing, implementing and monitoring interagency advocacy strategies; able to conceptualize high value knowledge products based on project design and project outputs;
Oral and written communication skills: Has the required competencies to: write accurately in a clear and concise UN drafting style; review documents for content and style; assist with formal presentations; articulate relevant subject matter in a clear and concise way; pose basic questions and contributes information appropriately in formal settings; and effectively use appropriate support items, including charts, graphs, audio-visual techniques, and hand-outs; and
Evaluation process management: Has evaluation management skills, including developing a plan and schedule, assigning tasks, ensuring milestones are met on a timely basis. Has competencies in working together in a professional manner with team members exhibiting patience, courtesy, and respect for others and their ideas.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree in International Development, Gender, Human Rights, Public Administration or other related Behavioral or Social Sciences;

Experience:

At least two years of proven professional experience in working with youth with focus on leadership and political participation of young/women, young men activism, and gender equality;
At least two years of track record in effective programming in national and international agency contexts in Cambodia, with demonstrated skills in the design, planning, implementation, monitoring, reporting and evaluation of youth development projects;
Solid experience in providing technical support and strategic coordination with a myriad of stakeholders and partners, including government, civil society, international organizations, donors, grassroots organizations and interagency committees;
Previous experience in providing capacity development or providing guidance to project counterparts would be an asset;
High level of proficiency in the use of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and experience in handling web-based management systems;
Familiarity with national youth policies and programmes; CEDAW; Beijing Platform for Action; gender equality initiatives; human rights frameworks; major youth issues in Cambodia; and previous work experience with UN agencies are considered an advantage;

Language Requirements:

Fluency in Khmer and English (spoken and written).

"Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply."