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.

In Kenya, the UN Women Country Programme contributes to the development objectives of Kenya’s blueprint, the Vision 2030, the SDGs, particularly SG 5, and is aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2022-2026), as well as UN Women Global Strategic Plan. In its new Strategic Note, the Kenya Country Programme aims to achieve the following results: (i) Increased women’s leadership and participation in governance; (ii) Strengthened women’s economic empowerment; (iii) Increased protection of women against gender-based violence & access to services; and (iv) Strengthened women’s participation in peace, security and humanitarian response.

Reporting to the Country Representative, Kenya, the Deputy Country Representative is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Country Office (CO). The incumbent is responsible for substantially contributing to the design, implementation, management, and oversight of the country programme and to the operations; supporting its implementation to ensure effective and efficient delivery of results as planned in UN Women’s Strategic Plan and the CO plans.

Duties and Responsibilities

Oversee the programmatic development for Country Office based on the Strategic Note:

  • Advise and guide the development of Country Office programmes, including design and formulation programme/ project initiatives;
  • Review and provide feedback to ongoing projects/ programmes on related strategies and documents, workplans, case studies, and related knowledge products and publications;
  • Provide strategic and specialized technical advice on the development of systems, processes and mechanisms to support programme planning, implementation, monitoring and progress reporting;
  • Review and evaluate proposals and oversee the preparation of donor proposals and reports;
  • Finalize policy documents, briefs and other strategic papers/ materials for the use in the development and presentation of policy and programmatic positions;
  • Technically support the development of the Office security strategy and plan, as required;
  • Provide overall technical support in the preparation of audits and follow up on the implementation of audit recommendations;
  • Monitor Country Office programme financial situation to ensure adherence to delivery rates and utilization of resources to meet agreed upon targets and results;
  • Ensure effective information flow, communication and coordination between offices, programmes and projects.

Provide advisory and specialized technical support on the strategic direction of the office:

  • Advise and guide the Country Representative on strategic areas;
  • Provide specialized technical and strategic support in managing all aspects of the programme design and related activities and for ensuring compliance and accountability in programme monitoring, reporting and evaluation;
  • Develop policy documents, briefs and other strategic papers/materials for use in the development and presentation of innovative and coherent policy and programmatic positions;
  • Serve as a senior member of the management team.

Represent UN Women in UN system coordination, with a focus on programming:

  • As delegated by the UN Women Country Representative, represent UN Women in the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) and to collaborate with the Resident Coordinator and UN system on interagency coherence, collaboration, cooperation, resource mobilization, advocacy, common services, and operations;
  • Ensure UN Women’s participation in UN system thematic and other working groups to advance UN Women’s mandate.

 Provide technical support in creation of strategic partnerships and resource mobilization strategies:

  • Review and develop partnerships and resource mobilization strategies;
  • Finalize relevant documentation on donors and develop potential opportunities for resource mobilization;
  • Analyze and research information on donors, prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for cost sharing;
  • Determine programmatic areas of cooperation, based on strategic goals of UN Women, country needs and donors’ priorities and develop the relevant partnerships;
  • Establish and maintain relations with government, partners, stakeholders and donors to achieve active collaboration, cooperation and alliances on programme development and implementation and resource mobilization.

Represent UN Women and support advocacy strategies:

  • Represent and advocate for UN Women in organizational, regional, global, public information/ relations events and key meetings, as delegated;
  • Develop and implement advocacy and public communication strategies.

Facilitate knowledge management, innovation and capacity building:

  • Manage the process of collecting and sharing lessons learned on gender equality and women’s empowerment to build knowledge and capacity of partners and stakeholders;
  • Oversee the design and implementation of capacity building training activities to enhance skills and knowledge.

Manage personnel under supervision:

  • Manage the performance of personnel under supervision; provide managerial direction, guidance and leadership to staff and provide performance feedback and coaching to personnel supervision, ensure performance assessment are implemented on time and ensure personnel are fully aware of UN Women workplace relations policies;
  • Create an enabling work environment;
  • Identify learning and development opportunities.

Key Perfomance Indicators:

  • Timely and quality provision of strategic support and advise to the Country Representative
  • Timely and quality delivery of the programme teams
  • Regular interaction and establishment of joint activities and programmes with other agencies and partners
  • Quality of inputs provided in formulation and implementation of the country resource mobilization strategy
  • Quality and number of knowledge management and advocacy initiatives undertaken
  • Quality mentoring, training, coaching which affects performance of personnel, inclusive workplace environment
  • UN Women is seen as a reliable and trustworthy partner, providing substantial inputs to progress UN women’s mandate

Competencies

Core values

  • Integrity
  • Professionalism
  • Respect for Diversity

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:

  • Excellent programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills
  • Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them
  • Ability to provide policy advice and support to partners
  • Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making
  • Strong leadership skills, ability to create and enabling work environment
  • Strong analytical skills
  • Excellent knowledge of Results Based Management
  • Strong knowledge of the UN system
  • Strong knowledge of local country context
  • Strong negotiation skills

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certification:

  • Master’s degree in international development, public administration, public policy or other relevant social science fields is required;
  • A first-level university degree in combination with two 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 7 years of progressively responsible professional experience that combines strategic and managerial leadership in development programmes with a strong focus in the area of gender equality and women’s empowerment at the national or international level, preferably in developing countries within the UN system, Agencies, Funds or Programmes;
  • Field based experience working with multi-cultural teams;
  • Experience in leading a team

Language Requirements:

  • Fluency in English is required;
  • Knowledge of another UN working language will be an asset.

Note:

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/2022-07/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form-en.doc

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, colour, 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.)