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.

UN Women South Africa Multi-Country Office (SAMCO) is based in Pretoria, South Africa and serves five countries: South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and Swaziland.

UN Women South Africa Multi-Country Office (SAMCO) based in Pretoria, South Africa coordinates the implementation of the Accelerated Women Owned Micro-Enterprises (AWOMW) in Botswana, South Africa, and Namibia.  The programme is generously funded by De Beers Group since its launch in Namibia in 2018. The strategic partnership’s main purpose is to increase women’s economic empowerment especially among low-income women entrepreneurs who are inadvertently the most excluded in conventional capacity building programmes that can sustain their livelihoods.

The Programme contributes to the UN Women SAMCO’s overall Impact Goal of ensuring Government and private institutions promote gender equality, economic growth and social transformation Leaving no One Behind and to UN Women Strategic Plan.  The AWOME programme has one key outcome: Low-income women entrepreneurs better manage their enterprises for decent jobs and income security and/or autonomy. In addition, the programme intervention also seeks to address principles of Leave No One Behind and contribute to SDGs  1-No poverty; Goal 5- Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment; Goal 8-Decent work and economic growth and Goal 10- reduced inequality. https://sdgs.un.org  The programme is also in alignment the UN Women Global Strategic Note 2022-2025 that prioritizes women’s economic empowerment because it sets a direct path towards gender equality, poverty eradication and inclusive economic growth. 

Programme also contributes to the outcomes of the Africa Union (AU) Gender 2063 https://au.int  .The three focus countries for AWOME are classified as Middle-Income Countries (MIC) with a glaring contrast in terms of how women at the micro level access quality livelihoods to sustain their families.  The AWOME programme contributes to supporting women at informal levels access opportunities to generate business ideas and get the support to manage and sustain them and thereby create jobs and income security for themselves. The AWOME programme uses adult learning principles and experiential learning approach which focuses on behavioral learning outcomes that instill soft skills such as discipline, self-reflection, self-confidence, and problem solving.  The programme training utilizes the globally recognized ILO training packages Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) Programme. 

Reporting to Programme Manager (AWOME) the Programme Analysts will provide programme support to the effective management of UN Women programmes in the South Africa Multi-Country Office by contributing in the programme design, formulation, implementation, and evaluation. They will also offer overall support to SAMCO Women Economic Empowerment programmes.  They will support the delivery of UN Women programmes by analyzing results achieved during implementation and supporting appropriate application of systems and procedures. The Programme Analysts will work in close collaboration with the programme and operations team, UN Women HQ staff, Government officials, multi and bi-lateral donors and civil society ensuring successful UN Women programme implementation under portfolio. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Contribute technically to the development of programme strategies in the area of Acceleration of Women Owned Micro-Enterprises (AWOME):

  • Provide technical inputs to the design and formulation of programme/ project proposals and initiatives related to Acceleration of Women Owned Micro-Enterprises (AWOME). 

Provide technical support to the implementation and management of the Acceleration of Women Owned Micro-Enterprises (AWOME) 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.

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.

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.

Provide technical inputs to the management of people and finances of Acceleration of Women Owned Micro-Enterprises (AWOME) 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.

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.

Provide technical inputs to inter-agency coordination on Acceleration of Women Owned Micro-Enterprises (AWOME) programme to achieve coherence and alignment of UN Women programmes with other partners  in the SAMCO region:

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

Provide inputs to advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts:

  • Provide technical inputs to background documents, briefs and presentations related to Acceleration of Women Owned Micro-Enterprises (AWOME) programme;
  • 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 Acceleration of Women Owned Micro-Enterprises (AWOME) programme.

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 of Geder Equality and Women Empowerment(GEWE)

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 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 1 year of relevant work experience in development programme/project implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, donor reporting and capacity building;
  • Experience in implementing the ILO Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB);
  • Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors is an asset;
  • Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required;
  • Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable;
  • Experience in quality reporting for donors is desirable;
  • Previous Experience in the area of Acceleration of Women Owned Micro-Enterprises (AWOME) is an asset;
  • Work experience in working with women entrepreneurs, government institutions, donors, UN agencies and stakeholders is strongly desirable;
  • Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors is an asset.

Language Requirements:

  • Fluency in English is required and local language of the specific country is added advantage;
  • Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable.

Application Process:

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.