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. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations System efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

Afghanistan is one of the world’s most complex emergencies, and the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Afghan people are grappling with the impact of conflict, poverty, economic decline, and natural disasters. In this context, Afghan women and girls face unique vulnerabilities and require urgent support as gender inequality is interwoven with conflict dynamics and humanitarian needs. It is essential that Afghan women and girls can continue to shape the development of their country, and that their gains are protected. UN Women remains fully committed to supporting Afghan women and girls and to putting them at the center of the global response to the crisis in Afghanistan.

UN Women has been in Afghanistan for two decades. UN Women’s programming approach is informed by analysis of the political, economic, and humanitarian situation, risks to and capacities of partner organizations, and needs of Afghan women and girls. UN Women Afghanistan currently has four key programme priorities: (1) Gender in Humanitarian Action, (2) Ending Violence Against Women, (3) Women’s Economic Empowerment, and (4) Women, Peace, and Security.

UN Women Afghanistan focuses on reaching women who are most at risk and marginalized populations, in particular gender-based violence survivors, female headed households, women IDPs and returnees, women with disabilities, older women, and adolescent girls.

Afghan women, who comprise more than half of the population in Afghanistan have been hit hard by this crisis, especially women who are unemployed, women suffering from poverty, women-headed households, and women in rural areas who’s their livelihoods and income generation activities have been disrupted or lost. These women will be supported with interventions to boost their livelihoods.

UN Women will support women in target areas, including in host communities and informal settlements, to secure alternative sources of income through development of capacities and skills and access to resources including employment opportunities. This will provide women with emergency livelihood protection and support—urgently needed given a looming economic collapse and associated crisis in the formal banking sector.

Within the framework of its crisis response, UN Women Afghanistan, along with other partners, is supporting crisis-affected women through livelihoods interventions to promote women-led businesses and to strengthen women’s economic agency. 

UN Women is looking for experienced Project Officer, WEE to support Afghan women entrepreneurs through empowerment and creating networking opportunities as well as building infrastructure for business development that will lead to the improved economic potentials through identifying the skills gaps for women, boosting beneficiaries’ skills and linking women to market for employment opportunities.  This intervention is part of an integrated response of UN Women Afghanistan and aligns with the United Nations Transitional Engagement Framework (TEF) for Afghanistan: essential services are sustained that address basic human needs for the people in Afghanistan. Under this outcome, livelihoods will be preserved, and jobs will be created through asset creation and business support at community and household level.

The incumbent will provide support to existing and emerging (start-ups) women-led businesses, including both home-based businesses and businesses run in market or commercial areas. The Project Officer will keep a close liaison with field offices for ensuring adequate exchange of information, facilitating the timely execution of the WEE programme workplan and furnish required details as and when required by the WEE Programme Manager. This support will help women recover from crisis, strengthen women’s resilience, address their basic needs, reduce poverty, and support addressing the unemployment crisis.

Reporting to the Programme Manager/ Women’s Economic Empowerment, the Project Officer, WEE will work along with other team members in the WEE Programme to provide support to the business community and women owned businesses and she/he will ensure that project activities meet their goals. She/ he will travel to field offices, engage directly with beneficiaries, partners, and consultants on business development matters.

Duties and Responsibilities

  1. Contribute technically to the development of programme strategies in the area of Women’s Economic Empowerment
  • Provide technical inputs to the design and formulation of programme/ project proposals and initiatives related to Women’s Economic Empowerment

       2. Provide technical support to the implementation and management of the Women’s Economic Empowerment  programme

  • Provide inputs to the annual workplan and budget as required;
  • Coordinate and monitor the implementation of programme activities;
  • Coordinate the call/request for proposals, including the organization of technical review committees, and capacity assessment of partners;
  • Review and coordinate the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports;
  • Train partners on Results Based Management.

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

  • Provide technical support to and technically oversee the implementation of programme activities with partners;
  • Identify opportunities for capacity building of partners and coordinate and facilitate technical/ programming support and trainings to partners as needed.

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

  • Monitor progress on programme activity, results and indicators;
  • Monitor the implementation of proposals by responsible partners;
  • Provide inputs to quarterly reports, donor reports and other reports on outputs, results outputs and outcomes.

        5. Provide technical inputs to the management of people and finances of Women’s Economic Empowerment  programme

  • Monitor budget implementation and programme activity expenditures and perform budget revisions when required;
  • Provide inputs to financial reports;
  • Oversee the work of Programme Associates and Assistants as needed.

       6. Contribute to building partnerships and resource mobilization strategies

  • Provide inputs to resource mobilization strategies; analyze and maintain information and databases;
  • Provide inputs to relevant documentation such as project summaries, conference papers, briefing notes, speeches, and donor profiles.

        7. Provide technical inputs to inter-agency coordination on Women’s Economic Empowerment to achieve coherence and alignment of UN Women programmes with other partners in Afghanistan  

  • Provide technical support to the WEE Programme Manager on inter-agency coordination related activities by providing inputs to background reports and briefs.

       8. Provide inputs to advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts

  • Provide technical inputs to background documents, briefs and presentations related to Women’s Economic Empowerment;
  • Coordinate and support the organization of advocacy activities and campaigns events, trainings, workshops and knowledge products;
  •  Provide inputs to the development of knowledge management products on Women’s Economic Empowerment.

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/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies

  • Programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills
  • Knowledge of Results Based Management
  • Ability to gather and interpret data, reach logical conclusions and present findings
  • Good analytical skills
  • Good knowledge and expertise in women’s economic empowerment thematic areas
  • Strong understanding and knowledge of livelihoods programming in post-conflict and crisis affected communities with experience in complex economic intervention models, such as graduation model approaches. 
  • Ability to work independently and meet tight deadlines in a high-pressure environment.
  • Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities, and threats to fundraising and develop strategies

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

  • Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, human rights, gender/ women’s studies, international development, or a related field is required
  • A first-level university degree in combination with five additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
  • A project/programme management certification (such as PMP®, PRINCE2®, or MSP®) would be an added advantage.

Experience:

  • At least 4 years of relevant work experience in development programme/ project implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, donor reporting and capacity building;
  • Experience in livelihoods and jobs’ creation programmes is an asset;
  • Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors is an asset.

Application:

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.

Inclusion Statement:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits employ, 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.)

Language Requirements:

  • Fluency in English is required
  • Fluency in Dari and/ or Pashto is required
  • Additional UN language is an asset.