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 Zimbabwe Constitution (2013) has gender equality as one of the founding values and provides for recognition of women’s rights.  It also provides for equality and non-discrimination and prohibition of unfair discrimination on the grounds of age, sex, marital status, pregnancy, disability, economic or social status. Zimbabwe has a National Gender Policy that places strong emphasis on gender equality and equity and envisions a gender-just society in which men and women enjoy equity and benefit as equal partners in the development of the country[1]. The Country Position on SDGs prioritized SDG 5, together with nine other SDG’s[2] . Strong institutions are imperative for nations to fulfil their commitment to the Platform of Action and Sustainable Development Goal 5 on Gender equality.

 

The Government of Zimbabwe has established various formal national institutions for the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment and facilitating gender mainstreaming. However, the absence of a structured mechanism which brings together the National Gender Machinery (State and non-state actors, CSO’s, private sector, Women’s Parliamentary Caucus, Women’s Local Government Forum and Academia has resulted in a loosely defined and coordinated National Gender Machinery. In addition, a range of political, systemic and financial constraints limit the effectiveness of national institutions to mainstream gender and these include the limited capacity and expertise to effectively mainstream gender, through gender-aware situational and policy analysis. In addition, the absence of effective accountability mechanisms to Gender Equality and Women’s Rights have contributed to weak institutions. This has resulted in limited functioning institutions with need for increased knowledge and skills on gender and youth development.

In line with the UN Women Strategic Note 2022-2026, the CO will strengthen the capacities of public officials to integrate gender equality measures in plans and budgets and select performance indicators for oversight. This will be done through advocating for gender responsive planning as well as transparent and adequate public financing for gender equality. Our support towards strengthening national gender machinery will be anchored on the following key building blocks:

  • Knowledge and capacity development
  • Monitoring and Evaluation
  • Coordination
  • Enhancing Accountability System.

 

Reporting to Programme Specialist, Institutional Strengthening, the Programme Assistant works with and provides support to the members of the Programme Team in the development and implementation of effective programmes consistent with UN Women rules and regulations.  The Programme Assistant provides programme, administrative, and logistical assistance to the team for the smooth programme implementation.

 

[1] http://www.fao.org/3/a-i6997e.pdf

[2] The 10 SDG’s identified as priority areas by Zimbabwe are 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13 and 17

Duties and Responsibilities

  • Provide administrative and logistical support to the formulation and management of programmes
  • Assist in developing programme strategies in the area of institutional capacity development of national partners including government, CSOs and independent institutions into programme interventions
  • Support in building and managing relationships with national partners to support implementation and expansion of the portfolio.
  • Provide administrative support in the preparation of programme work plans, budgets, and in the design and formulation of programme documents and proposals on programme implementation arrangements, including tracking the delivery of funds;
  • Assist in preparing result frameworks and implementation of result frameworks and in implementing for delivery of results for institutional strengthening programme
  • Provide administrative support to the executing agencies / responsible parties on routine delivery and reporting of programme supported activities and finances;
  • Provide administrative support for the audit of programmes/ projects and support implementation of audit recommendations; 
  • Identify sources, and gather and compile data and information for the preparation of documents, guidelines, speeches and position papers, in collaboration with the Programme team.
  • Assist in research and generation of knowledge on institutional strengthening and GRB;

 

  • Provide administrative support to the financial management of the Programme Unit
  • Create projects in Atlas, prepare budget revisions, revise project awards and status; and determine unutilized funds and the operational and financial close of a project;
  • Provide administrative support in monitoring and preparation of budget and the finances of programmes/projects, and in the preparation of FACE forms;
  • Support the financial and substantive tracking and assessment of programme/projects implementation progress
  • Assist with programme procurement processes through providing administrative support
  • Prepare non-PO vouchers for development projects;
  • Process payment for consultants, as delegated;
  • Create requisitions in Atlas for development projects; register good receipts in Atlas.

 

  • Provide administrative support to the Programme Unit
  • Undertake all logistical, administrative and financial arrangements for organization for meetings, workshops, events, and missions;
  • Make travel arrangements for the Programme Team, including travel requisitions and claims;
  • Draft minutes in meetings, as delegated;
  • Assemble briefing materials and prepare power-point and other presentations, in collaboration with the Programme team;
  • Organize and coordinate filing of project documents, work plans, progress reports, budgets and other implementation documents; maintain mailing lists.

 

  • Provide administrative support to resource mobilization
  • Organize, compile, and process documentation and information from donors, and programme team as inputs to various databases and documents.

 

  • Facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing
  • Provide administrative support to the organization of training for the office staff and partners on programme and operations related issues.

 

Key Performance Indicators

 

  • Timely and accurate administrative and logistical support to events, workshops, and missions;
  • Full compliance of administrative activities with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and procedures;
  • Timely and accurate tracking of data for CO management and donor purposes;
  • Quality maintenance of internal systems and files;
  • Quality and timely support to programme team.

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

 

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies:  https://www.unwomen.org/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

 

Functional Competencies

  • Knowledge of programme management;
  • Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats;
  • Ability to manage data, documents, correspondence and reports information and workflow;
  • Good financial and budgeting skills;
  • Good IT skills.

Required Skills and Experience

 

Education and certification:

 

  • Completion of secondary education required.
  • Bachelor’s degree in Business or Public Administration is an asset.

 

Experience:

 

  • At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in administrative or programme management/support;
  • Experience in working in a computer environment using multiple office software packages;
  • Experience in the use of ATLAS is an asset;
  • Experience in supporting a team is an asset.

 

Language Requirements:

 

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

 

 

Application:

  • All applications must include (as an attachment) a 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 and candidates are required to include in the P-11 form links for their previously published reports and articles completed within the last two years. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

 

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided?on the basis of?qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

 

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

 

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)