UN WOMEN Jobs - 85934- Programme Officer (Open to Tonga Nationals only)

Programme Officer (Open to Tonga Nationals only)

Advertised on behalf of

UN WOMEN

Location :

Nuku'alofa, TONGA

Type of Contract :

Service Contract

Starting Date :

02-Sep-2019

Application Deadline :

05-Jul-19 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

SC-5

Duration of Initial Contract :

1 Year

Languages Required :

English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

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, 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.

The scope of work of the Programme Officer requires experience and in-depth understanding of gender equality and violence against women and girls, to translate UN Women's strategic plans into effective programmes and results.

The UN Women Pacific Multi-Country Office (MCO) is based in Suva, Fiji and works alongside the 19 other UN agencies in the region and in 14 countries: Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Under its Strategic Note 2018-2022, UN Women Fiji MCO focuses on delivering on four interlinked programme areas underpinned by support for intergovernmental and normative processes:

Women’s Political Empowerment and Leadership
Women’s Economic Empowerment
Ending Violence against Women
Gender and Protection in Humanitarian Action and Disaster Risk Reduction

Ending Violence Against Women and Girls / EVAWG In the Pacific

The Pacific has some of the world’s highest reported rates of violence against women, with studies showing that up to 68% of women are affected.

To respond to the rates of violence in the Pacific, UN Women has developed a comprehensive EVAWG programme which takes a transformative approach to prevent violence against women and girls at multiple levels (regional, national and community), and to ensure survivors have access to quality response services.

UN Women’s EVAWG programme is implemented under the Pacific Partnership to End Violence Against Women and Girls (hereafter referred to as ‘Pacific Partnership’), a four and a half year programme (2018-2022) which brings together governments, civil society organizations, communities and other partners to change the social norms that allow violence against women and girls to continue; to ensure survivors have access to quality response services; and to support national and regional institutions to meet their commitments to gender equality and prevention of violence against women and girls.

The Pacific Partnership is funded primarily by the European Union (EU) with targeted support from the Australian Government and UN Women, and is directly supporting UN Women’s programmatic interventions under the programme. Kiribati is one of the five priority countries in the Pacific Partnership Programme.

There is a high level of attention and political will to address violence against women and girls and the Kingdom of Tonga has long recognized the importance of promoting gender equality to achieve sustainable development outcomes. The Government of Tonga is contributing towards progressing gender equality through the implementation of the Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality Tonga (WEGET) National Policy and Strategic Plan of Action 2019 – 2025 which provides a significant platform to improve the lives of all women and men, boys and girls through a raft of strategic objectives and associated interventions which represents the Government’s key activities across all sectors of government and society. Further, the passing of the Family Protection Act (FPA) in 2013 has become a critical vehicle for protection, security and justice for most victims/survivors of domestic violence.

Under the overall supervision of the Technical Specialist, Primary Prevention at the UN Women Pacific Multi-Country Office (MCO) in Suva, Fiji, the Programme Officer, Pacific Partnership is expected to engage proactively with local, national and regional women leaders, partners, civil society organizations, service providers and UN Entities. This position is expected play a lead role coordinating the delivery of Pacific Partnership Country Plan for Tonga, along with supporting and/or coordinating additional EVAWG initiatives as they arise. This position has an important role to play in ensuring that activities captured under the Pacific Partnership are implemented in a timely manner and continue to enjoy full ownership and buy-in by all Government, UN and CSO partners. Key responsibilities including supporting planning and coordination; supporting implementation of activities; capacity building and monitoring and evaluation.

This position reports to the Technical Specialist, Primary Prevention, and will work closely with key partners Ministry of International Affairs (MIA) Women’s Affair Division, the Talita Project, Tongan Women and Children Crises Centre (WCCC), frontline service providers, civil society organisations in Tonga, and UN agencies.

Duties and Responsibilities

Lead the planning, coordinating and implementing of the Primary Prevention and Service Delivery Pillars under the Pacific Partnership Programme for UN Women Activities:

Lead and maintain working level coordination mechanisms, including at the government level and civil society partners for successful implementation of Pacific Partnership Outcome 2 activities;
Coordinate closely with the Pacific Community’s programme partners in Outcome 1 and ensure all stakeholders are aware of, and well-coordinated across, the various Pacific Partnership programme activities;
Ensure clear, consistent and transparent communication among all partners and support establishment of participatory governance and decision-making practice;
Organize and lead partner meetings, in close collaboration with government and other partners;
Facilitate and support UN-Government of Tonga agencies and partners in the preparation of work plans, budgets and results frameworks that align with Global EVAWG Guidelines and national EVAWG priorities.
Consolidate the Pacific Partnership work plan and financial information and share with partners for revision and approval;
Provide secretariat services and follow up on the decisions taken;
Facilitate the delivery of the programme outcomes by leading & promoting a coordinated approach to primary prevent and service delivery, including generating and maintaining synergies between different outcomes;
Support the process of managing financial resources for achieving results in line with the outputs and activities outlined in the joint programme document;
Manage delivery of results by using best practice and know-how and accordingly plan delivery of resources;
Lead by practice an enabling environment for high level performance of all partners in meeting the benchmarks established in the Pacific Partnership Programme;
Support all partners' implementation of programme activities through: a) direct assistance; and b) technical/operational advice facilitation of technical experts i.e. consultancies.

Oversee the coordination and delivery of results-based monitoring and evaluation:

Ensure implementation of a Pacific Partnership monitoring and evaluation plan with Programme Partners. This should include their roles and responsibilities for the M&E of the program:
Ensure transparency of the M&E process by disseminating information to partners and relevant stakeholders;
Ensure together with the UN Women EVAWG team in Fiji MCO that programmes comply with all donor requirements, and that support and advice from partners are fully utilized;
Ensure systems are in place Promote both downward and upward accountability:
Provide inputs to substantive technical reports, such as narrative progress reports and other programme documents required:
Attend field missions and write reports on monitoring missions;
Monitor, analyze and evaluate substantive and financial reports from partners, providing regular substantive and management support to resolve any challenges and ensure timely and quality delivery.

Facilitation and dissemination and generation of knowledge on Pacific Partnership and impacts:

Support the programme partners in identifying good practices and lessons learned and documenting this knowledge;
Lead the process of knowledge creation and dissemination related to national and international know-how in EVAWG. Partner with practitioners and members of the UN global networks and leadership of the practice and sub-practice teams in the partner UN entities;
Lead and/or support analytical development work of the team and ensure high quality knowledge products;
Promote the substantive quality of all knowledge products, reports and services, and ensures effective integration and compatibility with other practice areas;
Contribute to the production of reports and publications, and serve as peer reviewer;
Forge links with other initiatives including joint programmes to identify good practices and share lessons.

Provide technical support and capacity development to national partners:

Ensure that Pacific Partnership partners identify technical needs in order to implement programme activities;
Provide inputs to and implement capacity-building and training of national counterparts and programme partners including providing inputs in developing, implementing, monitoring and reporting on evidence-based interventions to prevent VAW/G;
Provide partners with direct technical assistance, training and capacity development initiatives as needed;
Coordinate technical assistance from the Technical Specialist, Primary Prevention, based in Suva, and facilitate in country logistics for trainings and workshops.

Build partnerships and support stakeholders coordination on EVAW/G Prevention and Services:

Build and maintain strong relationships with key inter-agency and partner stakeholders at national levels;
Coordinate with other UN agencies, government departments, donors and NGOs to ensure that Pacific Partnership Programming and other UN Women-EVAWG -related activities are harmonized and coordinated with other in-country efforts;
Ensure that all partners work together to deliver and report on programmes in compliance with work plans, time frames and commitments;
Facilitate resolution of disputes among partners and troubleshoot obstacles to timely implementation;
Represent the Pacific Partnership programme in national working groups and coordination meetings which related to prevention of violence;
Coordinate the 16 Days of Activism campaign and work closely with other development partners on EVAWG events, including by providing resource materials.

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

Functional Competencies:

Strong programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills;
Strong budget and finance skills;
Strong knowledge of Results Based Management;
Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making;
Strong analytical skills;
Good knowledge of UN programme management systems.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

Master’s Degree (or equivalent) in development related discipline/s including gender issues, public policy, social work or other related social science fields is highly required.
A first-level University Degree (Bachelors’ Degree) in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

Masters’ Degree or Higher + years of experience requirement: A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level in managing complex and multi-component programme interventions with national partners, preferably related to thematic area;
Experience in coordinating, implementing, monitoring and evaluating development programmes and projects;
Previous experience working in the UN system is an asset.

And/or:

Bachelors’ Degree + years of experience requirement: A minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level in managing complex and multi-component programme interventions with national partners, preferably related to thematic area;
Experience in coordinating, implementing, monitoring and evaluating development programmes and projects;
Previous experience working in the UN system is an asset.

Additionally:

Strong knowledge of the issue of violence against women, women’s empowerment and gender;
At least minimum of 5 years with direct experience addressing violence against women through service delivery, advocacy, policy development, research or a combination of these;
Excellent communication skills- including written and oral, interpersonal and liaison skills;
Excellent training and facilitation skills;
Resourceful, ability to problem solve on complex issues;
Organized, able to oversee a complex programme / project;
Ability to work independently and as part of a team when the task requires;
Familiarity with Pacific countries and cultures, especially Tonga.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in written and spoken English is required;
Working knowledge of another official UN language is an asset.
An asset but not mandatory would be fluency in the local language(s) of the duty station (Tonga).