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 UN Women Fiji Multi-Country Office is based in Suva, Fiji and works alongside over 20 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

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 by gender-based violence (GBV). 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 primarily under the Pacific Partnership to End Violence Against Women and Girls (hereafter referred to as ‘Pacific Partnership’).  The Pacific Partnership brings together governments, civil society organizations, communities and other partners to promote gender equality, prevent violence against women and girls (VAWG), and increase access to quality response services for survivors. The programme aims - through innovative approaches to education, access to essential services, and policy development - to transform the social norms that allow violence against women and girls to continue and to support national and regional institutions meet their gender equality commitment. The EUR 22.7 million programme is funded primarily by the European Union (EUR 12.7m) with targeted support from the Governments of Australia (EUR 6.2m) and New Zealand (EUR 3.2) and cost-sharing with UN Women (EUR 0.6m).

Reporting to the EVAW Programme Manager at UN Women, the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG) Technical Specialist, Vanuatu, is responsible for the planning and implementation of UN Women’s portfolio under the Pacific Partnership to respond and prevent VAWG in Vanuatu. This includes providing direct technical support and advice to partners and stakeholders in Vanuatu; leading the management and implementation of programme activities in line with the annual work plans, and working in close collaboration with the programme and operations team, civil society and government partners, UN Women MCO staff, multi and bi-lateral donors and civil society ensuring successful UN Women programme implementation under the Pacific Partnerships overall action.  In particular, the Technical Specialist, Vanuatu will collaborate with the primary donors, the European Union, Australian Government, and New Zealand Government, the other coordinating partners, Pacific Community (SPC) Regional Rights Resource Team (RRRT) and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS), and UN Women’s government and CSO partners.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide substantive technical support to key partners of the Pacific Partnership Vanuatu Country programme on response to, and prevention of VAWG.  

  • Provide substantive technical support on response and prevention of violence to national partners and other stakeholders
  • Provide partners, in particular UN Women’s primary government counterpart, the Department of Women, with direct technical assistance, training, and capacity development initiatives on key response and prevention interventions, in-line with annual work plan.
  • Support the establishment and development of service delivery protocols, prevention of violence and social norms change interventions, policies and programmes, in partnership with government and non-government partners.
  • Support the integration of GBV in emergency response into national GBV systems (i.e. referral pathways and multi-sector SOPs) in line with the annual work plans and in close coordination with the Vanuatu Department of Women.
  • Build relationships with national partners to support implementation and expansion of the country programme; respond to any potential problems;
  • Manage and directly implement capacity building opportunities and initiatives of key institutions
  • Provide timely inputs and suggestions on programmatic areas
  • Provide partners with direct technical assistance, training, and capacity development initiatives as needed

Lead the management and implementation of programme activities through annual work plan development, monitoring and reporting

  • Develop, implement, and monitor the EVAWG country programme annual workplan for Vanuatu and individual programme workplans, including budget and results framework;
  • Manage delivery of the day-to-day programme activities to ensure prompt and adequate delivery of results;
  • Ensure effective use of resources and compliance with UN Women rules, policies, and procedures as well as donor/fund requirements;
  • Prepare for programme audits and implement its recommendations.
  • Establish an effective monitoring system for the delivery of programme results;
  • Prepare quarterly and annual progress reports and donor reports and organize progress reviews as necessary;
  • Conduct field missions and write reports on monitoring missions.

Manage people and financial resources of the programme

  • Manage EVAWG programme budget and office operations in Vanuatu as necessary;
  • Write financial reports in accordance with UN Women procedures and submit the reports to the Multi-Country Office and donors;
  • Supervise and coach programme staff and manage performance;
  • Write terms of reference for new staff, consultants and contractors and oversee the recruitment process, as necessary.

Manage inter-agency and country coordination support for UN Women in Vanuatu, working in close cooperation with other EVAWG programmes such as Spotlight and others.

  • Participate in country level UN Pacific Strategy review and coordination processes and similar exercises related to the Resident Coordinator (RC) system, as necessary;
  • Provide guidance to the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in supporting enhanced coordination and response to national partners in advancing the elimination of VAWG.
  • Participate in Gender and EVAWG coordination mechanisms established to streamline UN Programmes and processes, including the Spotlight Initiative.
  • Identify and inform the UN Women MCO of joint programming opportunities and participate in the development of UN joint programmes, as necessary.

Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies

  • Develop and implement partnerships and resource mobilization strategies;
  • Finalize 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 knowledge building and sharing and communications advocacy

  • Develop knowledge management strategies and methodologies;
  • Identify and synthesize of best practices and lessons learned to dissemination information;
  • Provide the MCO, RO or HQ with updates and relevant information for publication and advocacy campaigns.

Key Performance Indicators:

  • Timely and quality programme design, implementation and technical support
  • Timely and quality of programme delivery in line with budget and workplans
  • Timely and quality technical assistance and capacity building of partners
  • Timely Monitoring and evaluation of programmes
  • Relations with partners and stakeholders
  • Quality reports and timely submission
  • Regular communication with other agencies and partners
  • Quality of advocacy and communication initiatives

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

  • In-depth knowledge of gender-based violence, VAWG response and prevention programmes and policy. This includes excellent knowledge of VAWG counselling and psychosocial support; standard operating procedures and development of referral pathways for a multisector response, and overall best practice in VAWG response and service delivery.
  • Strong ability to provide technical support and advice and lead capacity development initiatives for a variety of stakeholders
  • Strong programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation 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
  • Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising and develop strategies

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

  • Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, human rights, gender/women's studies, international development, or a related field is required.
  • A first-level university degree in combination with seven years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience:

  • At least 5 years of progressively responsible work experience at the national or international level in design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programmes that specifically response to - and prevention of - gender-based violence;
  • Demonstrated technical expertise in VAWG response, a survivor centered approach, multi-sector response, and counselling and social services for survivors  
  • Demonstrated experience in designing and implementing capacity development initiatives and providing technical advisory support to a variety of partners;
  • Experience working in the UN System is an asset;
  • Experience in leading/managing a team is an asset.
  • Experience working in GBV in emergencies is an asset.
  • Experience working in the Pacific is an asset.

Language Requirements:

  • Fluency in English is required;
  • Working knowledge of another official UN language or Bislama is an asset.

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-p11-personal-history-form.doc?la=en&vs=558. 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.