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.

As the United Nations continues to work towards a negotiation between the Syrian Government and the Syrian opposition for a Syrian-led peace process through the convening of peace talks in Geneva under the framework of Security Council resolution 2254 (2015), it recognizes the importance of a fully inclusive process to ensure that the voices and views of Syrian women are heard, consistent with the Geneva Communiqué of 30 June 2012 and Security Council Resolutions 2122 and 1325.

UN Women over the past 3 years has been supporting coalition building of a wide range of Syrian women civil society to ensure their engagement in peacebuilding and reconciliation processes. Going forward, UN Women will continue supporting Syrian women’s leadership and effective engagement in the peace process through support to the newly established Women’s Advisory Board (WAB); as well as through supporting Syrian women’s capacities and coalition building to create a strong cadre of women leaders with a strong social base for peace.

Under the overall guidance and direction of the Programme Advisor, the Programme Specialist exercises overall responsibility for planning, implementing, and managing of the programme activities. She/he works in close collaboration with the programme and operations team, UN Women HQ and Regional staff, Government officials, multi and bi-lateral donors and civil society ensuring successful UN Women programme implementation under the Syria portfolio.      

Duties and Responsibilities

Lead the provision of top quality advisory and programme development services related to the programme/portfolio to support Syrian Women Engagement in the Political Peace Process:

• Conduct thorough analysis and research of the political, social and economic situation affecting the Syria portfolio and prepare substantive inputs for the Programme Advisor;
• Monitor and analyze the programme environment, timely readjustment of programme interventions;
• Identify areas for support and intervention within the portfolio;
• Design and formulate programme initiatives within the area of responsibility, translating UN Women’s priorities into local interventions;
• Provide programme advisory support to the Office Management within the thematic area/portfolio assigned.

Manage the implementation and management of the programme/portfolio and supervise the Project team and consultants:

• Manage the planning, implementation, and coordination aspects of the  portfolio;
• Provide guidance to staff and partners on Results Based Management tools and performance indicators; lead programmes/projects appraisal and evaluation according to results-based management requirements;
• Manage the portfolio of on-going programmes/projects through technical monitoring and administrative and financial supervision; ensure the proper application of a monitoring system to track progress on program results and indicators;
• Coordinate and supervise activities of programme staff, projects staff, experts and consultants within the technical assistance team;
• Identify capacity-building needs of partners and lead the coordination of technical assistance, mentoring, training and capacity development initiatives to partners.

Oversee the monitoring and reporting:

• Prepare and ensure quality control of all substantive technical reports, briefs and required documents; contribute to office donor and UN Women reports;
• Prepare and submit all partial and/or progress reports by all members of the project team, contractors and project partners; manage the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports;
• Conduct field visits to supervise, coordinate and monitor field level activities of portfolio.

Contribute to Inter-Agency Coordination to achieve a coherent and aligned presence:

• Attend meetings, events, and participating in groups and committees as needed;
• Prepare analytical and regular progress reports on UN Womens’ program experiences in support of UN Women inter-agency coordination role;
• Coordinate with other UN agencies, government departments, donors and NGOs to ensure the projects’ capacity development programme is harmonized and aligned with other efforts;
• Provide relevant input when needed on key developments and opportunities to develop and strengthen institutional partnerships for the promotion of gender equality and women´s rights and to ensure the inclusion of a gender perspective in the intergovernmental fora.

Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies:

• Create and coordinate partnerships with the relevant UN Agencies, government institutions, bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors, private sector, and civil society;
• Follow up on resource on mobilization activities for fund raising for new projects in coordination with the Programme Advisor;
• Develop and implement partnerships and resource mobilization strategies;
• Develop relevant documentation on donors and potential opportunities for resource mobilization;
• Analyze and research information on donors, prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for cost sharing.

Manage advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts:

• Provide coordination support to the establishment of Syria advocacy networks and linkages to international networks related to the sectorial/thematic areas assigned;
• Provide substantively support and implement relevant, high-impact advocacy activities and campaigns with key partners;
• Develop and review background documents, briefs and presentations related to the Syria portfolio;
• Identify and synthesize best practices and lessons learnt directly linked to Syria portfolio;
• Proactively contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Timely and quality programme design;
• Timely and quality of programme delivery in line with budget and workplans;
• Timely and quality monitoring and evaluation of programmes;
• Relations with partners and stakeholders;
• Timely and quality of reports;
• Regular communication with other agencies and partners;
• Quality of advocacy, communication and knowledge management initiatives.

Competencies

Core Values:

Integrity:

• Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Professionalism:

• Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.

Respect for Diversity:

• Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

Ethics and Values:

• Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.

Organizational Awareness:

• Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Development and Innovation:

• Take charge of self-development and take initiative.

Work in teams:

• Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Communicating and Information Sharing:

• Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.

Self-management and Emotional Intelligence:

• Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others.

Conflict Management:

• Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.

Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing:

• Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.

Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making:

• Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making.

Functional Competencies:

• Ability to lead formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes and projects;
• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
• Ability to formulate and manage budgets, manage contributions and investments, manage transactions, conduct financial analysis, reporting and cost-recovery;
• Ability to implement new systems and affect staff behavioral/ attitudinal change;
• Ability to build strong relationships with clients, focus on impact and result for the client and respond positively to feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Ability to advocate and provide policy advice;
• Lead teams effectively and show conflict resolution skills;
• Demonstrate good oral and written communication skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in, International Development, Gender, Human Rights, or in other related Social Sciences is required.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level in design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects and establishing inter-relationships among international organization and national governments, preferably in the field of gender and human rights of women;
• Prior experience in the UN System will be an asset;
• Previous experience working on Syria is an asset.

Languages:

• Fluency in English and Arabic is required;
• Working knowledge of French is a strong asset;
• Working knowledge of another official UN language is an asset.

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.