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.  

Based in Dakar, UNWOMEN West and Central Africa Regional office (WCARO) covers 12 countries either through Country Offices (Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone; Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger, Senegal, and Central African Republic)  and  through programme presence (Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau).

Ending violence against women (EVAW) is a priority area for the region which aims to advance integrated approaches to ensure that all women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence. This includes support to Member States, civil society and other partners to advance and monitor comprehensive, evidence-driven approaches to preventing violence against women and girls and ensuring coordinated multi-sectoral quality services are available to survivors, while promoting accountability to legal and policy commitments, in addition to support for women’s rights and civil society movements, with attention to intersectionality and leaving no one behind, with the aim of achieving the MDGs by 2015 and then the SDGs by 2030, the French government, through the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) and as part of the Muskoka project, is supporting four UN agencies, including UN Women, to improve the health and well-being of women and girls in the West and Central Africa region.

This will involve changing negative social norms that discriminate against women and girls, access to basic services including sexual and reproductive health services, social and economic empowerment and increased decision-making power.

Under its Strategic Note 2018-2021,2022- 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.

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

Reporting to the Regional Advisor, the Programme Associate will work with and provide support to the assigned Programme Team in the development and implementation of effective programmes consistent with UN Women rules and regulations.  They  contribute to research, financial management and programme implementation including providing necessary operational, administrative and programmatic support.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide advanced administrative and logistical support to the formulation and management of programmes

• Provide advanced administrative support and inputs in the preparation of the programme work plan, budget, and proposals on programme implementation arrangements;
• Provide technical guidance to the country offices and executing agencies on routine delivery and reporting of programme supported activities and finances;
• Support the coordination and collection of information for the audit of programmes/ projects and support implementation of audit recommendations;
• Identify sources, and gather and compile data and information for documents, guidelines, speeches and position papers.

Provide advanced administrative support to the financial management of the Programme Unit in close collaboration with WCARO Finance team

• Support the creation of projects in Quantum Atlas, prepare budget revisions, revise project awards and status; and determine unutilized funds and the operational and financial close of a project;
• Support the monitoring of budget preparation and the finances of the programme; prepare periodic reports; finalize FACE forms;
• Support the review of financial reports; prepare non-PO vouchers for development projects;
• Support the maintenance of internal expenditures control system; post transactions in the system (Quantum);
• Create requisitions in Atlas for development projects; register good receipts in Quantum;
• Prepare and follow up of cost-recovery bills in Quantum.

Provide advanced administrative support to the Programme Unit in close coordination with WCARO Operations team

• Manage all logistical, administrative and financial arrangements for organization for meetings, workshops, events, and missions;
• Oversee travel arrangements for the Programme Team, including travel requisitions and claims;
• Prepare public information materials and briefing packets;
• Liaise with high level officials on administrative issues;
• Prepare and assemble briefing materials and prepare power-point and other presentations; contribute inputs to the materials;
• Lead the preparation of procurement plans for the unit and monitor their implementation;
• Prepare public information materials and briefing packets;
• Assemble briefing materials and prepare power-point and other presentations;
• Provide guidance and training to Programme Assistants, consultants, interns, etc.  as needed.

Provide administrative support to Resource Mobilization

• Support the preparation of cost-sharing and other agreements; follow up on contributions within WCARO resource mobilization efforts;
• Support the inclusion of cost-sharing agreements in the dedicated platform (DAMS);
• Organize, compile and process information from Programme donors and programme team, as inputs to various databases and documents.

Facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing

• Support synthesis of lessons learnt and best practices related to programme management and finance;
• Coordinate the organization of training for the office staff and partners on programme and operations related issues.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.

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-fr.pdf

• FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES:

• Good knowledge of programme management; 
• Ability to administer and execute administrative processes and transactions;  
• Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats; 
• Ability to manage data, documents, correspondence and reports information and workflow;  
• Strong financial and budgeting skills; 
• Strong IT skills. 

Required Skills and Experience

Education & Certification

• Completion of secondary education is required.  
• Bachelor’s degree in business or public administration is an asset. 

Experience

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in administration or programme management/support
• Experience working in gender equality areas is desirable.
• Experience supporting programmes on Gender thematic (Eliminating Violence Against Women, Women peace and security, women economic empowerment, women political participation, Governance etc.) is desirable.
• Experience supporting Human Rights Programmes is an added advantage.
• Experience in the use of ERP is an asset.

Languages

• Fluency in French is required,
• Working knowledge of English is highly desirable. 
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish). 

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.)