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; the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development; human rights; as well as humanitarian action and peace and security. Placing women's rights at the centre 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.
Within the framework of the One UN Programme of Cooperation between the United Nations and the Government of Albania, UN Women in Albania operates in four core areas focused on women’s economic empowerment, promoting women in decision making and their active political participation, eliminating violence against women and supporting gender responsive national planning and budgeting. UN Women support to the Government of Albania and civil society seeks to support the adoption and application of global normative standards and in line EU Doctrine on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women. Through the adoption of sound policy and its implementation in practice UN Women supports the establishment of practical approaches and models that can be replicated and scaled.
Within this framework the Programe Assistant will support both the UN Women programme and the UN Women led project focused on Preventing and Addressing Violence against Women and Girls, funded by the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR). This project supports national institutions and civil society organizations, in the provision of services for the reintegration of women survivors of violence and trafficking and increasing their opportunity to become self-employed as well as increase awareness and responsibility of media.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the guidance of UN Women Country Representative and Head of Programme in Albania and supervision of the National Coordinators, the incumbent will support UN Women in the planning, implementation, reporting and evaluation of the Programmes and EIDHR Project providing support and coordination in these areas:
Support to formulation of programme strategies and Country programme Action Plan
  • Collection, analysis and presentation of information for identification of areas for support and programme formulation/ implementation. 
  • Presentation of background information for formulation of country programme, draft project documents, work plans, budgets, proposals on implementation arrangements
Support to management of the CO programme/projects
  • Creation of projects in Atlas, preparation of budget revisions, revision of project award and project status, determination of unutilized funds, operational and financial closure of a project.
  • Presentation of information for audit of projects.
  • Provision of guidance to the executing agencies on routine implementation of projects.
  • Support for donor reporting and other reporting requirements of the country programme.
Administrative support to the Programme Unit
  • Draft and review of projects Financial and Narrative Reports.
  • Maintenance of the internal expenditures control system.
  • Responsible and timely action for all admin action related to Atlas, logistics and translation and interpretation where needed based on programme requirements.
  • Conduct all procurement processes as per UN Women rules and procedures and support to implementing partners in the execution of UN Women funded projects and activities; 
Support to resource mobilization
  • Analysis and preparations of information on donors.
  • Track and report on mobilized resources and contribution agreement.
Support to knowledge building and knowledge sharing
  • Participaties in the trainings for the operations/ projects staff on programme.
  • Contributes to knowledge networks and communities of practice.
  • Synthesis and sharing of lessons learnt and best practices in programme.
EIDHR specific responsabilities
  • Assist in preparing the project’s work-plan and procurement plan.
  • Ensure alignment with UN Women procedures and EC requirements.
  • Assist the management with the implementation of project activities and coordination with the two implementing partners, IOM and UNDP.
  • Assist in the planning, design, and document of field visits and events.
  • Pro-active engagement in the collection and analysis of data to support project decision making.
Any other responsibilities as assigned.

Competencies

Functional Competencies:
Results-Based Programme Development and Management
  • Provides information and documentation on specific stages of project/programme implementation.
  • Provides background information to identify opportunities for project development and helps drafting proposals
  • Provides direct inputs to programme planning.
Promoting Organizational Learning and Knowledge Sharing
  • Researches best practices and poses new, more effective ways of doing things
Technical Expertise
  • Understands the main processes and methods of work regarding to the position
  • Possesses solid knowledge of organizational policies and procedures relating to the position and applies them consistently in work tasks
  • Demonstrates good knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments
  • Strives to keep job knowledge up-to-date through self-directed study and other means of learning
Client Orientation
  • Reports to internal and external clients in a timely and appropriate fashion
  • Organizes and prioritizes work schedule to meet client needs and deadlines
  • Establishes, builds and sustains effective relationships within the work unit and with internal and external clients
  • Responds to client needs promptly
Core Competencies:
  • Demonstrating/safeguarding ethics and integrity 
  • Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment
  • Self-development, initiative-taking
  • Acting as a team player and facilitating team work
  • Managing conflict
  • Informed and transparent decision making

Required Skills and Experience

Academic requirements:
  • Secondary Education preferably with specialized certification in Accounting and Finance. University Degree in Business or Public Administration, Economics, Political Sciences and Social Sciences would be desirable, but it is not a requirement.
Work Experience:
  • Minimum of 5 years of relevant administrative or programme experience is required at the national or international level.
  • Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web based management systems.
Language Requirements:
  • Fluency in English and Albanian.
Application Procedure:
The following are steps for on-line application:
Special consideration  
As this position is under Service Contract modality, only citizens of Albania and those holding valid working permit in Albania will be considered for the vacancy.