Organizational context

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.

Based in Dakar, UNWOMEN West and Central Africa Regional office (WCARO) covers 24 countries. Under its Strategic Note 2022-2025, UN Women WCARO focuses on delivering on four interlinked programme areas underpinned by support for intergovernmental and normative processes:

• Women's economic empowerment.
• Peace, security, and humanitarian action.
• Political participation, leadership and gender-responsive governance; 
• Violence against women and girls (VAWG)

WCARO, in its interface role, provides quality and timely policy advisory services and recommendations for programme development and advocacy in the four thematic areas

To address the challenges of VAWG, UN Women is implementing MUSKOKA Programme which is a multiyear UN joint Programme funded by the Government of France.  The Muskoka programme leverages the full strengths of UNFPA, UNICEF, UN Women and WHO to support west and central African countries to improve the survival, health and well-being of every woman, newborn, child and adolescent. It serves as the technical arm of the Every Woman Every Child movement by providing coordinated technical support to countries to implement the actions and recommendations of the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (2016-2030) and achieve related SDG targets, including SDG 3 on health and SDG 5 on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. The partnership’s efforts focus on providing countries with technical support, capacity strengthening and policy advice; data and strategic information to reveal gaps, show returns on investments and prioritize responses; and support to leverage investments and convene stakeholders across women’s, adolescents’ and children’s health efforts by implementing high-impact, cross-sector interventions to help (i) reduce maternal, newborn and child mortality and morbidity, (ii) ensure that adolescents, particularly girls, can access their rights and the sexual and reproductive health services they need, (iii) improve nutrition and promote the empowerment of women; (iv) ensure continuity of care and (v) eliminate harmful practices, discrimination and violence against women and girls.

Under the direct supervision of the Regional Programme Specialist/ EVAWG Unit, the PO will demonstrate understanding and strengthen in promoting gender equality in sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health, in policy and Advocacy engagements, social norms change, prevention, and response to VAWG, women’s rights and gender equality, strategic partnerships and national level stakeholders’ engagements (Donors, Government ministries, CSOs and academia, media and Private sector). The Programme officer in addition will contribute to the effective and efficient implementation of the MUSKOKA Programme.

The MUSKOKA Programme Officer works in close collaboration with all the units (Operations, Policy and Programme, Communication, Planning/Monitoring and Reporting, etc..) in the regional office, countries offices and UN Women HQs as required for effective achievement of results, anticipatingand resolving complex programme-related issues and information delivery.

The incumbent is expected to exercise full compliance with UN Women programming, financial, procurement and administrative rules, regulations, policies, and strategies, as well as implementation of the effective internal control systems.

Functions

Summary of Key Functions:

1.  Provide substantive technical support to the design, implementation, and management of MUSKOKA programme.

• Lead implementation and delivery management of the MUSKOKA programme, including design and formulation of programme initiatives within area of responsibility;
• Identify areas for support and intervention within the MUSKOKA team and overall programme.
• Contribute to the establishment and implementation of practices to ensure sound management and staff oversight to effectively meet programme obligations.
• Manage efficiently the financial resources of the MUSKOKA component, including budgeting and budget revisions, as well as expenditure tracking and reporting, in close collaboration with other programme, administrative and financial staff;

2.  Provide technical assistance and capacity development to project/programme partners.

• Coordinate and lead all capacity development activities within MUSKOKA component
• Support mechanisms for exchange of information, experience and lessons learned at the local and
• national levels;
• Provide capacity development on promoting gender equality in sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and others EVAWG thematic to key partners through gender trainings and learning sessions.

3.  Provide technical inputs to the monitoring and reporting of the programme/ project

• Review, coordinate and monitor the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports.
• Monitor progress of implementation of activities and finances using results-based management tools.
• Draft reports on monitoring missions, programme results s, outputs, and outcomes.
• Provide substantive inputs to the preparation of donor and UN Women reports.
• Train partners on Results Based Management and monitor implementation.

4.  Provide substantive inputs to building partnerships and resource mobilization strategies

• Implement office partnership and resource mobilization strategies.
• Provide substantive inputs to resource mobilization strategies; analyze and maintain information and databases.
• Participate in donor meetings and public information events,
• Prepare relevant documentation such as project summaries, conference papers, briefing notes, speeches, and donor profiles.
• Identify funding opportunities and develop funding proposals

5.  Provide substantive inputs to advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts

• Develop background documents, briefs and presentations related to Ending Violence Against Women and Girls to inform advocacy and resource mobilization
• Provide inputs to country strategy documents, briefs, policy dialogue and other documents related to Ending Violence Against Women and Girls.
• Coordinate and organize advocacy campaigns, events, trainings, workshops, and knowledge products.
• Coordinate the development of knowledge management methodologies, and products on ending violence against women and girls.
• Perform other tasks as required by the EVAW Regional Programme Specialist.

Measurable outputs of the work assignment:

• Substantive input to the programme implementation is provided;
• Programme initiatives are designed and formulated for translating UN Women’s priorities into local interventions.
• High-quality inputs to reporting and monitoring activities are provided on time.

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

• Strong knowledge of programme management
• Ability to create, edit, synthesize and present information in clear and presentable formats
• Ability to administer and execute administrative processes and transactions
• Ability to provide input to business process re-engineering, elaboration and implementation of new data management systems
• Ability to manage data, documents, correspondence and reports information and workflow
• Excellent financial and budgeting skills
• Excellent IT skills

Education and certification

• Master degree or equivalent in Gender Equality, sexual and reproductive health, Violence against Women and girls, Social Sciences or other development related sciences
•  A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree
• Additional training and certification in programme/project management would be an advantage

Experience

• At least five (5) years of experience is required at the national or international level in managing complex programme interventions preferable related to protecting and promoting women’s human rights
• Strong concept development, presentation and reporting skills
• Experience in the UN system, agencies and international organizations is an asset
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and advance knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems

Language requirements

• Fluency in French and English is required

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc. 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.

Note:

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.

Diversity and inclusion:

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.)