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.

Niger Presence Programme has adopted its new strategic note for the period 2018-2021 with a focus on Governance, women economic empowerment, EVAWG and Humanitarian interventions. The centrality of gender to achieving sustainable development goals has been a core guiding principle in the definition of strategic priorities, indicators under each thematic area and operational strategies. In the operational strategies of the SN 2018-2021, it is ensured that the most vulnerable women groups are targeted to “leave no woman behind”. 

The Strategic note is aligned with the UNDAF 2019-2021 and its implementing strategy “delivery as one”. UNWOMEN continues to play a critical role (leader and active member) in the joint action plans, the Programme Management Team (PMT), the Gender Thematic Group, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) and United Nations Country Team (UNCT).

The strategic note is also aligned with the global SP, the All Africa Strategy and relevant FPIs. Operating in a low middle-income country, Niger office puts a long emphasis on technical support to the Government and its partners as well as policy dialogue and advocacy with Civil society organizations.

In 2016, the government of Japan has funded UNWOMEN Niger for the implementation of a project that aimed at mainstreaming gender into humanitarian action and providing assistance to women and girls affected by Boko Haram terrorism in Diffa, UN Women and its partners improved the living condition of more than 5,000 refugees and internally displaced women, men boys and girls (survivors of Boko Haram terrorist acts) in the Diffa region. Early 2019, the Niger office has also been selected to benefit from the Government of Japan supplementary funds to duplicate the same project in the Diffa region. It is within this context that UN Women is seeking to recruit an international Programme Specialist, Humanitarian.

Reporting to the UN Women Niger Head of office, the Programme Specialist, Humanitarian is responsible for the effective management of the project: ‘Mainstreaming Gender into the Humanitarian Response’. The incumbent is responsible for substantially contributing to the design, formulation, implementation and evaluation of the project.  S/he supports the delivery of the project by analyzing results achieved during implementation of the project and supporting appropriate application of systems and procedures.  She/he works 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 project implementation under portfolio.

Duties and Responsibilities

Lead the programme development and management of the Mainstreaming Gender into the Humanitarian Response programme:

  • Analyze and research the political, social and economic situation in the country and draft reports to support the UN Women programme planning in relation to the humanitarian context;
  • Lead in the design and formulation of program/ project initiatives in the “Mainstreaming Gender into the Humanitarian Response” project financed by the Government of Japan, translating UN Women’s priorities into local interventions and ensuring substantive rigor in the design and application of proven successful approaches in the humanitarian field;
  • Develop and lead the collaborative relationships with other UN agencies, experts, government counterparts ensuring timely and efficient delivery of inputs related to the humanitarian context;
  • Develop annual and quarterly workplans and budgets and manage and monitor timely implementation of activities;
  • Finalize progress reports and inputs to other technical and monitoring reports as required;
  • Ensure the effective application of Result Based Management tools in the program and monitor the achievement of results in the humanitarian domain;
  • Manage programme project appraisal and evaluation according to results-based management requirements in the humanitarian context.

Provide Inter-agency coordination support:

  • Provide programme support to the UN Women Head of Office on inter-agency coordination related activities in the humanitarian context;
  • Provide substantive inputs on the country level to Humanitarian Needs Overview/Humanitarian Response Plan;
  • Develop analytical and regular progress reports on UN Women´s programme experiences in support of UN Women inter-agency coordination role in the humanitarian context.

Provide substantive Strategic partnerships building and resource mobilization support:

  • Research relevant documentation, and participate and provide technical information in donor meetings and public information events;
  • Establish and maintain good partnerships with the UN Agencies, government institutions, bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors, private sector, civil society;
  • Manage information on donors and develop a database of project profiles for presentation to donors; Research information on donors and draft briefs on possible areas of cooperation;
  • Lead and follow up on resource mobilization activities for new projects in coordination with the UN Women Head of office.

Lead advocacy and knowledge building and management initiatives:

  • Provide coordination and substantive support in the establishment of advocacy networks at the national level by working closely together with partners and stakeholders;
  • Lead technical and coordination support to relevant, high-impact advocacy activities and campaigns with key partners;
  • Collect knowledge on current and emerging trends by gathering relevant information on Japan projects, strategies, approaches and ongoing experience for lessons learned, best practices in humanitarian context.

Provide other technical / coordination support to the Head of Office as required.

Key Performance Indicators: 

  • Timely development and design of Japan project activities;
  • Timely and quality implementation of Japan project, based on workplan, budget, delivery rate and feedback from stakeholders;
  • Timely provision of information and suggestions to the UN Women Head of Office on the humanitarian context in relation to UN coordination;
  • Number of successful resource mobilization activities;
  • Quality and timeliness of advocacy events.

 

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: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

  • Knowledge of gender issues and women’s rights;
  • Ability to support formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development program and projects;
  • Knowledge of Results Based Management principles and approaches;
  • Ability to maintain networks and partnerships with UN agencies and other international partners;
  • Ability to advocate and provide policy advice;
  • Ability to formulate and manage budgets;
  • Strong interpersonal skills;
  • Strong Leadership Skills;
  • Strong Conflict Resolution and Negotiation skills;
  • Very strong Oral and written communication skills;
  • Knowledge of Japan donor priorities in gender is an asset.

Required Skills and Experience

Educatoin:

  • Master’s Degree in Economics, Gender and human rights related disciplines, Social Sciences or 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.

Experience:

  • At least 7 years of relevant experience at the national or international level with development projects preferably including some experience in design, monitoring and evaluation of development projects;
  • Experience working on humanitarian projects;
  • Experience working in the area of gender and human rights is highly desirable;
  • Field based experience working with multi-cultural teams.

Languages:

  • Fluency in English and French is required;
  • Knowledge of another UN working language will be an asset.   

Application:

  • 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.

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.