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.
In line with UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2018-2021, the UN Women Egypt office is contributing to three interdependent and interconnected outcomes:
• Women lead, participate in and benefit equally from governance systems
• Women have income security, decent work, and economic autonomy
• All women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence
Women’s economic empowerment is central to realizing women’s rights and gender equality. Women’s economic empowerment includes women’s ability to participate equally in existing markets; their access to and control over productive resources, access to decent work, control over their own time, lives and bodies; and increased voice, agency and meaningful participation in economic decision-making at all levels from the household to international institutions. Empowering women in the economy and closing gender gaps in the world of work is key to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 5, to achieve gender equality, and Goal 8, to promote full and productive employment and decent work for all; also Goal 1 on ending poverty, Goal 2 on food security, Goal 3 on ensuring health and Goal 10 on reducing inequalities.
Under the framework of the United Nations Partnership Development Framework (UNPDF) Output 4.2: Women Economic Empowerment1 and in alignment with the goal and objectives of the Economic Empowerment pillar of the National Strategy for Women’s Empowerment (NSWE), UN Women Egypt has supported the economic empowerment of women through the implementation of projects such as the One-Village-One-Product (2014-2016), Village Savings and Loans Associations (2014-2017), and the creation of a more inclusive and gender-sensitive environment along the agricultural value chains of select agribusiness firms (2017-2018). The projects have had positive outcomes for women participants, the majority of whom are poor and marginalized, as demonstrated in their increased income through savings, access to loans, and investments, in addition to greater self-confidence and community recognition. A critical factor across all UN Women interventions has been the formation of women’s networks that have enhanced participants’ social skills and create opportunities for networking and exchange of knowledge, thus contributing to better and more effective cooperation among them. These networks have also provided a voice to women’s need for formal financial services (as in the case of the VSLAs) and improved working conditions (as in the case of the agribusiness firms).
Building on the successful results achieved through the above-mentioned projects, UN Women in Egypt is implementing a 5-year program (2019-2024) funded by Global Affairs Canada that aims to support women's empowerment for sustainable economic growth in Egypt. The program will be implemented by a consortium made up of UN Women and UNIDO, with UN Women as the lead agency. The program will also be implemented in partnership with the National Council for Women (NCW) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI).
The project intermediate outcomes are contributing to:
- Increased productivity and job opportunities generated by women entrepreneurs;
- Increased employment of women by businesses; and
- Reduced gender-specific barriers to women’s entrepreneurship and to women entering into and remaining in the workforce.
Project interventions will result in a) Increased number of new businesses established by women entrepreneurs in the sectors of focus, b) Enhanced capacity of women-led businesses to grow, attract and retain workers, c) Strengthened performance of productive clusters to employ more women, d) Enhanced employability of women in growth-oriented sectors, e) Increased abilities of businesses to implement gender-sensitive corporate policies, f) Strengthened individual and collective agency of women in the sectors of focus, g) enhanced capacity of Government to mainstream gender in public policies and programs, and h) Increased access of women entrepreneurs to tailored financial and non-financial services.
Duties and Responsibilities
Main Responsibilities
Provide programmatic and operational input to the development of programme strategies in the area of Women's Economic Empowerment:
• Provide technical inputs to the design and formulation of programme/ project proposals and initiatives related to Women's Economic Empowerment with a specific focus on employability and entrepreneurship
Provide technical support to the planning, management, implementation and monitoring of the UN Women component in the joint program such as the following:
• Organize annual consultations with stakeholders and target beneficiaries
• Provide inputs to the annual work plan and budget revisions
• Coordinate and monitor the implementation of programme activities;
• Conduct capacity assessment of potential implementing/responsible parties;
• Review and coordinate the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports;
• Prepare needed documentation for internal review committees such as the Project Appraisal Committee (PAC)
• Ensure programme components are implemented in a coherent and integrated manner by selected partners in accordance with the agreement and UNWOMEN procedures.
Provide technical assistance and capacity development support to project/programme partners:
• Train implementing/responsible parties on UN Women standard rules and regulations
• Provide technical support to and technically oversee the implementation of programme activities with partners;
• Identify opportunities for capacity building of partners and coordinate and facilitate technical/ programming support and training to partners as needed.
Provide technical inputs to the monitoring and reporting of the programme/ project:
• Follow-up on programme activity, results and indicators;
• Monitor the implementation of proposals by responsible partners;
• Provide inputs to quarterly reports, donor reports and other reports on outputs, results and outcomes as required
• Conduct financial and substantive monitoring and evaluation of projects, identify operational and financial problems and develop solutions.
Provide technical inputs to the management of people and finances of the Women's Economic Empowerment programme:
• Monitor budget implementation and programme activity expenditures and perform budget revisions when required;
Contribute to building partnerships and resource mobilization strategies:
• Provide inputs to resource mobilization strategies; analyze and maintain information and databases;
• Provide inputs to relevant documentation such as project summaries, conference papers, briefing notes, speeches, and donor profiles.
Provide inputs to advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts:
• Provide technical inputs to background documents, briefs and presentations related to the Joint Program
• Coordinate and support the organization of advocacy activities and campaigns events, training, workshops and knowledge products;
• Provide inputs to the development of knowledge management production Women's Economic Empowerment
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:
FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES
• Field Competency: Ability to work in the field and communicate efficiently with the beneficiaries;
• Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing: Encourage learning and sharing knowledge
• Gender Issues: Demonstrated analytical skills on issues related to gender, the economy and poverty reduction;
• Leadership competencies: Demonstrated integrity, self-discipline, teamwork and problem-solving skills
• Soft Skills: Excellent communication, presentation and writing skills in Arabic and English. Knowledge of any other official UN language would be an asset.
Required Skills and Experience
Education:
- Master’s Degree in Economics, Business, Entrepreneurship, social sciences, human rights, gender/women's studies, international development, or a related field.
- 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:
- 7 years of progressively responsible work experience at the national or international level
- Technical experience in women's economic empowerment including employability, entrepreneurship and labor market assessments;
- Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors;
- Strong concept development, presentation, and reporting skills
- Experience working in the UN System is an asset;
- Experience in using computers and software packages (word, excel, Powerpoint)
Language:
Fluency (written and verbal) in Arabic and English
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.