Background
UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of 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.
UN Women’s Policy, Programme, and Intergovernmental Division (PPID) provides intellectual and strategic leadership on normative support and the delivery of integrated policy and program advice, including through policy analysis and gender mainstreaming. The Division leverages innovation, knowledge management and innovative technical expertise to support UN Women programs and to build the capacity of partners to deliver results on gender equality and women’s empowerment. The Peace Security and Resilience Section (PS&R) is responsible for providing technical support to UN Women Country Offices in key areas including conflict prevention and peacebuilding, justice, and security sector reform, promoting women's political participation and mainstreaming gender issues into governance reforms.
The Elsie Initiative Fund for Uniformed Women in Peace Operations (EIF) (https://elsiefund.org/) is hosted by HQ UN Women – PS&R, PPID, New York. The EIF aims to support and incentivize efforts to increase the meaningful participation of uniformed women in United Nations peace operations through the provision of financial assistance or financial incentives to Troop and Police Contributing Countries (T/PCCs), and financial support to projects submitted by United Nations organizations.
The EIF seeks to accelerate progress towards achieving the United Nations Security Council’s declared target of doubling the rate of women’s participation within police and military contingents by 2020 compared to 2015, as well as supporting targets to increase the proportion of women serving as military observers, staff officers and individual police officers as per the United Nations Uniformed Gender Parity Strategy 2018-2028 (https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/uniformed-gender-parity-2018-2028.pdf).
The EIF Secretariat provides technical and administrative support to the Steering Committee and manages all aspects of the EIF’s funding allocations and programming rounds, monitoring and evaluation, knowledge management, reporting and stakeholder engagement.
Reporting to the EIF Manager, the incumbent will be responsible to provide technical and coordination support to the EIF Secretariat to draft the EIF 2022 Annual Narrative and Financial Progress Report in accordance with the UNDP Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTFO, https://mptf.undp.org/fund/eif00) timeframes, and contribute to the management, monitoring and reporting of T/PCC projects in accordance with the EIF’s Programming Cycle.
Duties and Responsibilities
Coordinate the provision of EIF support to prospective and current EIF fund recipients
• Provide technical advice on the EIF’s operations to T/PCC, Participating UN Organizations (PUNO) and implementing partners during each stage of the EIF project life-cycle including formulation of Letters of Interest (LOI) and detailed project proposals and supporting annexes;
• Provide technical guidance to EIF fund recipients and applicants including on the UN HRDDP and HACT policy;
• Provide technical advice and support on project planning, implementation, and monitoring and reporting systems including the identification of performance indicators and monitoring the achievement of results;
• Coordinate enduring relationships with EIF fund recipients, implementing partners and other key stakeholders to support project implementation, build capacity, and to identify potential problems early and to provide solutions;
• Follow up on required action/outstanding issues and report on outcomes and results to the EIF Fund Manager and Secretariat.
Provide technical support and advice to the EIF Fund Manager and EIF fund recipients throughout the project management life-cycle
• Coordinate the review and analysis of LOIs, project proposals and supporting documentation in accordance with the EIF Terms of Reference (TOR, https://mptf.undp.org/sites/default/files/documents/30000/tor_elsie_fund_final.pdf), Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (MEF, https://elsiefund.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/221021-EIF-MEF-V1.0.pdf) and Operations Manual (https://elsiefund.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/221021-EIF-OPS-MANUAL-V1.0-Published.pdf);
• Oversee completion of project documentation for each project prior to submission to the EIF Steering Committee;
• Compile and synthesize guidance provided by the Technical Committee on project proposals to prospective EIF fund recipients for inclusion in fund recipient project proposals and supporting annexes;
• Identify, monitor and track all follow-up EIF and fund recipient reporting actions and requirements;
• Oversee and monitor the allocation and disbursement of project funds to EIF fund recipients and drafting of EIF project approval letters.
Contribute to the management, monitoring and reporting of EIF projects as per the Fund’s Programming Cycle
• Coordinate the EIF’s annual reporting in accordance with MPTFO annual reporting timeframes, focusing on results, output and outcomes;
• Coordinate preparation and receipt of EIF fund recipient’s budgets, project (budget) revisions, expenditure tracking and annual financial reporting;
• Prepare and check for correctness, the submission of EIF fund recipient’s annual financial reporting to the MPTFO in accordance with MPTFO annual reporting timeframes;
• Coordinate regular inputs to the EIF’s Annual Workplan and other UNW and UN reporting as required;
• Oversee the management, coordination and storage of all EIF project and related documentation in accordance with EIF Information Management procedures;
• Draft accurate Steering Committee and Technical Committee meeting minutes.
Supervise EIF staff and consultants
• Supervise Secretariat members and consultants to ensure EIF team outputs are coordinated and accurate, in accordance with agreed EIF timeframes;
• Review performance, mentor/ coach EIF personnel and consultants and conduct performance assessments;
• Oversee recruitment processes, as necessary.
Advocate and facilitate knowledge building and management and communication
• Organize high-level Programming Round launches, advocacy campaigns, events, and workshops;
• Contribute to the exchange of information and knowledge products internally and externally;
• Manage activities and other promotional events to engage Security institutions / Donors, and other key stakeholders to expand and/or sustain interest in and resources for EIF activities;
• Identify best practices and lessons learned to guide programme improvement and strategy planning;
• Provide substantive support and representation at conferences and meetings where required.
Key Performance Indicators
• Timely and quality implementation of Programme/Portfolio activities against set workplans, timelines and budgets;
• Quality and timely reporting in accordance with MPTFO and EIF reporting schedules;
• Strong relations with partners and stakeholders;
• Regular and timely monitoring of EIF program and T/PCC project activities;
• Timely and quality implementation of EIF activities and events in line with work plan;
• Enhanced best practices and lessons learned documented and circulated.
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:
Technical / Functional Competencies:
• Knowledge of gender issues, especially in the context of peace operations
Required Skills and Experience
Education and certification:
• Master’s degree or equivalent in political science, social science, economics, business administration, accounting, finance, programme administration or another relevant field.
• 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 5 years of responsible experience at the national or international level in supporting the management of complex and multi-component programme interventions on gender equality with national partners, preferably related to international development and with security sector knowledge.
• Experience in project management including coordinating, monitoring, and evaluating development programmes and projects, is an asset.
• Experience working in or with an international peace operation, in either a military, police or civilian capacity, is highly desirable.
• Experience in the United Nations system, civil society, or related area, in gender, peace, security or humanitarian issues is an asset.
Language Requirements:
• Fluency in speaking, writing, and reading English is required.
• Fluency in speaking, writing, and reading French or Spanish is highly desirable.
• Working knowledge of another official United Nations language is an asset.
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.)