UN Women (the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of 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 Turkey, in line with the overall UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework and with  the UN Women Country Strategic Note (2019-2022), UN Women works towards three overarching goals:  1) Women lead, participate in, and benefit equally from governance systems;  2) All women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence; 3) Women and girls contribute to and have greater influence in building sustainable peace and resilience and benefit equally from the prevention of natural disasters and conflicts and humanitarian action. In line with the first goal of the Country Strategic Note, UN Women supports the application of gender responsive budgeting at the central and local level. 

Gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) is a well-recognized strategy and powerful tool to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment. It enables governments to effectively reduce gender inequalities through policies, plans and budgets that address equally the specific needs and priorities of women and men, including the most excluded.  It improves the effectiveness of public spending and strengthens accountability by urging for the creation of transparent budgets. UN Women has spearheaded and supported GRB interventions in more than 75 countries and has recognized global, regional and country-level technical expertise in this area.

In Turkey, in the past years, UN Women has partnered with the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) on GRB to integrate gender equality into the strategic plan, budget processes and ultimately to the budget of the TGNA. In addition, UN Women has supported the development of a pool of trainers on gender equality to increase the institutional capacity of the TGNA on gender equality as well as to increase the sustainability of the efforts on gender equality and GRB. At the local level, jointly with UNDP, it has supported the integration of gender perspective into strategic plans and budgets in selected municipalities and the establishment of specific units dedicated to the advancement of women’s rights.

Building on these initiatives, UN Women will embark on a new three-year project “Implementing Gender-Responsive Planning and Budgeting in Turkey” as of December 2020, funded by the European Union and the main beneficiary of which is the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Services (MoFLSS) - General Directorate on the Status of Women (GDSW) whereas the co-beneficiary is Presidency of Turkey - Presidency of Strategy and Budget (PSB). The project aims to increase financing for GEWE through strategic partnerships, providing tailored technical assistance and guidance, and building institutional capacity and knowledge. It is designed to support selected line Ministries as well as four selected pilot municipalities (Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality, Eskisehir Metropolitan Municipality, Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, Edirne Municipality). The project will benefit from international expertise and close linkages with UN Women’s Regional Programme “Transformative Financing for Gender Equality in the Western Balkans” as well as other relevant initiatives.

In this regard, UN Women is looking for a Programme Specialist who will take responsibility for overall planning, implementing, and managing of the “Implementing Gender-Responsive Planning and Budgeting in Turkey” project.

Under the overall leadership of the Country Director, and under the direct supervision of the Head of Programme/Programme Management Specialist, the Programme Specialist is responsible for programme management, technical oversight, implementation, monitoring and reporting, financial, and human resources management under the project. The Programme Specialist will provide technical expertise to the project’s partners in order to ensure successful realization of the project’s objectives and will be responsible for partnership development and knowledge management in the programmatic area.  She/he will provide regular analysis of relevant practices and opportunities to senior management and compiles lessons learned for formulation of strategic interventions, including support on resource mobilization. The Programme Specialist will work in close collaboration with the Office’s programme and operations team, UN Women policy advisors at regional office and at headquarters, ensuring successful programme implementation.

1.       Manage the implementation and management of the “Implementing Gender-Responsive Planning and Budgeting in Turkey” project

• Finalize the inception report
• Finalize the annual workplan and budget and manage their implementation and ensure alignment of project budgets with logical framework matrices and work plans;
• Manage the technical implementation of the programme/project; ensure synergies with other teams;
• Manage the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports;
• Provide guidance to staff and partners on Results Based Management tools and performance indicators;
• Organize Project Steering Committee, project review and/or evaluation meetings, as needed.
• Manage programme quality control and identification of potential challenges
• Align programme activities with operations team in close liaison with the Operations Manager

2.       Manage the monitoring and reporting for the “Implementing Gender-Responsive Planning and Budgeting in Turkey” project 

• Manage the monitoring of programme/ project implementation and finances using results based management tools;
• Oversee field missions and review reports on monitoring missions;
• Write quarterly reports and donor reports, focusing on results, output and outcomes;
• Contribute to office donor and UN Women reports.
•  Prepare programme team for audits and monitor implementation of audit recommendations;
•  Provide technical advice on the development of systems, processes and mechanisms to support programme planning, implementation, monitoring and progress reporting

3.      Oversee and guide people and budget management for the project team

• Lead a team, perform staff performance reviews, ensure capacity development of staff members by suggesting development opportunities;
• Monitor and analyze financial situation on the portfolios and programmes to ensure adherence to delivery rates and utilization of resources to meet agreed upon targets and results;
• Ensure effective information flow, communication and coordination across the office, between programmes, projects and operations, and with other UN Women offices and units.

4.       Manage the people and financial resources of the “Implementing Gender-Responsive Planning and Budgeting in Turkey” project

• Manage the programme budget and draft financial reports;
• Lead the project team including the consultants, perform staff performance reviews, ensure capacity development of staff members by suggesting development opportunities;
• Ensure effective information flow, communication and coordination across the office, between programmes, projects and operations, and with other UN Women offices and units.
•  Oversee recruitment processes, as necessary.

5.       Manage technical assistance and capacity development to project/programme partners in the field of gender responsive budgeting

• Manage the implementation of technical advice and guidance. Develop and implement technical tools, and initiatives
• Build and manage relationships with national partners to support implementation and expansion of the gender responsive budgeting programme; respond to any potential problems;
• Identify capacity building needs of partners and lead the coordination of technical assistance, mentoring, training and capacity development initiatives to partners.

6.       Build partnerships and provide support in developing resource mobilization strategies

• Contribute to the development and implementation of partnerships development and resource mobilization strategies of UN Women Turkey Office
• Analyze and research information on donors, finalize substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for financing.;
• Design and formulate programme/ project proposals and initiatives as requested by the UN Women Turkey Management  

7.       Contribute to inter-agency coordination on “Implementing Gender-Responsive Planning and Budgeting in Turkey” project  to achieve coherence and alignment of UN Women programmes with other partners  in the country

• Provide technical support to the UN Women Turkey Office on inter-agency coordination related activities by attending meetings, events, and participating in groups and committees as needed;
• Coordinate with other UN agencies, government departments, donors and NGOs to ensure the projects’ capacity development programme is harmonized and aligned with other in-country efforts.

8.       Manage knowledge building efforts and communication efforts 

• Develop and review background documents, briefs and presentations related to the “Implementing Gender-Responsive Planning and Budgeting in Turkey” project
• Provide inputs to global/ country strategy documents, briefs, policy dialogue and other documents related to the “Implementing Gender-Responsive Planning and Budgeting in Turkey” project.
• Represent UN Women in meetings and policy dialogues on issues related to [thematic area] as necessary;
• Develop advocacy strategies and oversee their implementation;
• Identify best practices and lessons learned to guide programme improvement and strategy planning;
• Develop knowledge management strategies, products and methodologies on “Implementing Gender-Responsive Planning and Budgeting in Turkey” project

Key Performance Indicators

• Timely and quality programme design and inputs to Strategic Note
• Timely and quality of programme delivery in line with budget and workplans, and in line with all UN Women operational rules and regulations, including security
• Timely and quality 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
• Programme team adheres to UN Women’s Rules, Regulations, policies and procedures, using a results based management approach
• Timely submission of staff performance evaluation reports and finalization of UN Women mandatory trainings.

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 knowledge of Results Based Management
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making
• Strong knowledge of thematic area 
• Strong analytical skills
• Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising and develop strategies

Application Procedure:

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, please combine all your documents into one (1) single PDF document. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.  

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.