UN WOMEN Jobs - 66843- State Project Officer (Odisha)

State Project Officer (Odisha) – Gender Responsive Governance (Open to Indian Nationals Only)

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Bhubaneswar, Odisha, INDIA

Type of Contract :

Service Contract

Starting Date :

01-Jul-2016

Application Deadline :

26-Jun-16 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

SB-3

Duration of Initial Contract :

One Year (Renewable - subject to availability of funds)

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

One Year (Renewable - subject to availability of funds)

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

UN Women is the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women created to accelerate progress on gender equality and the realization of women’s rights. UN Women is a dynamic and strong champion for women and girls, providing them with a powerful voice at the global, regional and local levels.

Within the overall context of UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2014-17, UN Women MCO in New Delhi under the Governance Programme is implementing a three-year project, entitled, ‘Gender-responsive governance leading to better outcomes for women based on improved access to their rights and entitlements’. It is aimed at strengthening capacities of governance institutions to better leverage opportunities created for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment through legislation, policies and programmes.

To implement this programme, UN Women will work closely with the Panchayati Raj Department and SIRD & PR, Odisha. In Odisha, the State Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (SIRD & PR) in collaboration with UN Women has successfully implemented a programme from 2011-2014 to promote equal political participation of women in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), with a focus on building capacities of individual duty bearers including Elected Women Representatives and promoting leadership to prevent women trafficking and addressing other women issues.

The second phase of UN Women programme “From opportunities to capacities: A Multi–sectoral Approach to Enhancing gender responsive governance for a period of two years (2016-18) is being implemented in the districts of Dhenkanal and Mayurbhanj.

To support implementation of the project, UN Women will place a State Project Office) at the (SIRD & PR).

Duties and Responsibilities

The State Project Officer under the direct supervision of the Director, SIRD & PR and overall guidance of the Programme Specialist(Governance), UN Women will support the implementation of the project. The State Project Officer will be based at Bhubaneswar and located in the SIRD & PR.

The State Project Officer will ensure that the project produces the results in the State, as specified in the project document, to the required standards of quality and within the given time and cost specifications.

Therefore, the SPO will support SIRD & PR to implement the UN Women project and work towards achieving the following results:

Capacity development strategies and approaches on Gender Responsive Governance (GRG) at the PRI level developed;
Resource pool on Gender Responsive Governance at the PRI level established;
Evidence based advocacy and network support on GRG conducted;
Panchayat Resource Centers activated and strengthened;
Convergence model/gender friendly beacon Panchayat piloted;
Financial allocations and funds available at State/district levels utilized in an effective manner in order to achieve the planned results;
Project’s lessons documented and made available to stakeholders, including the State line departments, District Administrations, Central and State Ministries/departments, and UN agencies at State and national levels.

With a view to achieving the above, the State Project Officer will provide inputs and support implementation of UN Women’s Work Plan on Gender Responsive Governance.

Key Responsibilities include:

Project Implementation:

Support implementation of project activities and develop a mechanism to monitor implementation of planned activities and budgets;
Establish effective coordination with State Line Departments, Counterparts, CBOs, District Administrations, key functionaries including those involved in GPDP, elected representatives, women’s collectives including SHGs;
Identify opportunities for collaboration, and joint action with government. and other partners to improve the training quality and program deliverables;
Undertake mission travel to select districts as and when required for research, documentation and monitoring of UN Women- SIRD & PR collaborative project;
Compile relevant sections for periodic/annual reporting of SIRD & PR and UN Women;
Participate in key meetings, conferences, and trainings of SIRD & PR and UN Women, and prepare proceedings report/meeting minutes;
Support UN Women with possible areas of collaboration and coordination with the Panchayati Raj Department, Government of Odisha on gender responsive governance;
Maintain project related reports/files and extend support preparation of quarterly narrative reports;
Coordinate with other implementing partners/vendors and support preparation of financial reports to UN Women (FACE FORMs).

Capacity Development:

Review of existing training resources on Decentralized planning, Gender Budgeting /GPDP and provisions and entitlements for women under various legislation and flagship programs and identify areas/gaps to incorporate GRG;
Conduct training needs assessment in key thematic areas related to Gender Responsive Governance and support identification of potential trainees from district and state levels;
Support capacity development efforts on gender mainstreaming within the SIRD & PR, including but not limited to development of modules & design and delivery of trainings modules on women's leadership and participation in governance;
Prepare reports to capture key issues, achievements and challenges of capacity development initiatives under the programme.

Technical Support – Research, Documentation and Knowledge Management:

Provide technical support and inputs on key processes and result areas on Gender Responsive Governance to relevant stakeholders in a need-based manner;
Coordinate and manage proposed research and case studies on promoting women’s political participation and leadership, including situation analysis of key gender issues in project districts;
Document best practices on gender responsive governance with a focus on promoting women’s political participation and leadership at the PRI level through field visits, and compilation of best practices through desk research;
Provide coordination and resource support (IEC/advocacy) to mainstream gender in the ongoing trainings of SIRD & PR;
Develop partnerships with state/district level resource institutions, agencies, experts and practitioners on decentralized planning and gender responsive governance;
Support impact assessment of gender mainstreaming in the ongoing CB&T initiatives at the state level;
Support process documentation and development of audio-visual documentation, video spots on best practices on gender mainstreaming in the project districts;
Provide inputs on different knowledge products generated during the course of the programme;
Develop an offline information base on diverse practices of GRG at district and state levels.

Apart from the above the State Project Officer will also be required to execute other duties and assignments entrusted by the SIRD & PR and UN Women as relevant to the implementation of the project.

Competencies

Corporate Competencies:

Demonstrates integrity by modelling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UN Women;
Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
Treats all people fairly without favouritism.

Functional Competencies:

Technical Knowledge:

Thorough familiarity with the development context and challenges regarding inclusive growth, human development and disadvantaged groups in the State, with particular reference to Gender Responsive Governance, development and social inclusion;
Adequate knowledge of the policy context of devolution, Decentralised Planning, spatial planning based on rural-participatory processes, disadvantaged groups, and human development outcomes;
Familiarity with UNDAF, CPAP, and UN project systems in India is preferred;
Knowledge of programmes and schemes relevant to decentralisation, participatory planning and local self-governance.

Knowledge Management and Learning:

Ability to interact with disadvantaged groups and PRI/ULB members and local officials;
Promotes a knowledge sharing and learning culture in the office;
Demonstrates ability to advocate and provide policy advice;
Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in the area of professional discipline and job knowledge, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills;
Demonstrates competent analytical and presentation skills.

Development and Operational Effectiveness:

Ability to facilitate strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
Ability to lead formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes and projects, mobilize resources;
Excellent working knowledge of MS Office-Word, Excel, Access, Power Point, Intra-Internet, e-mail applications etc. Knowledge of other applications such as Front Page, Publisher and some multimedia tools would be useful.

Management and Leadership:

Focuses on expected impact and results and responds positively to feedback;
Promotes teamwork and shows conflict resolution skills;
Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills;
Builds strong relationships with stakeholders and external actors;
High interpersonal skills, and ability to remain calm, in control and good humoured under pressure;
Ability to prioritize assignments and requirements, and multitask as needed;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
Demonstrates skills to liaise with varied government stakeholders and report to senior government officials.

Communication Skills:

Excellent oral and writing and communication skills;
Sound analytical and presentation skills;
Good interpersonal and presentation skills, with an ability to work in a multi-cultural environment.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

Master’s Degree in Social Sciences, Social Work, Rural Management, Gender Studies, Public Administration, Policy or related fields.

Experience:

6 years of relevant experience at the national/state level working with development projects including hand-on experience of design, implementation and monitoring of projects preferably in the area of Panchayati Raj, Rural Development and Women’s Rights.

Language:

Proficiency in English with good command over Hindi;
Also working knowledge of the local language of the duty station.

Application Information:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment
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;
UN Women will only be able to respond to those applications in which there is further interest.

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.