The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN) is the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and was established to coordinate and accelerate the attainment of the rights of women globally. UN Women stands behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life and supports the formulation and implementation of policies, global standards and norms at both regional and national levels that seek to enhance gender equality and inclusive governance.

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 Constitution of Kenya has clearly articulated Kenya’s constitutional commitments to gender equality and the empowerment of women. Achieving gender parity in all spheres of life and the actualization of gender-responsive laws, policies and planning is expected to empower women on their economic, social and political rights and make progress towards achieving gender equality.? The progressive rights-based Kenya Constitution 2010 provides the legal framework for the Government to fulfil basic rights, and for marginalized and vulnerable groups, especially women and children, to claim their rights. UN Women seeks to increase accountability for national and devolved planning with a goal to ensure that national and devolved planning fully reflects accountability for gender equality commitments and priorities.

In Kenya, the UN Women Country Programme contributes to the development objectives of Kenya's blueprint, the Vision 2030 and is aligned to the United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks (UNDAF) of 2018-2022, as well as UN Women Global Strategic Plan (2018-2021) and the Kenya Country Strategy (2019-2022) which aims to achieve the following results: (i) increased women's leadership and participation in governance; (ii) strengthened women's economic empowerment; (iii) increased protection of women & access to justice for women; and (iv) strengthened women's leadership in peace building and humanitarian response.

Under the overall guidance and direction of the Deputy Country Director, the Team Leader for Democratic Governance (DG) exercises overall responsibility for planning, implementing, and managing UN Women interventions under his/her portfolio. She/he works in close collaboration with Senior Management, other team leaders at UN Women Kenya, Operations Team, other UN agencies, government officials, technical advisors and experts, multi-lateral and bi-lateral donors and civil society, with the aim of successfully implementing the UN Women country programme.

He/she will manage the country programme, including continued monitoring of the implementation of the Democratic Governance Component, lead the programme team within the DG Unit in strategic planning, and identify new programme areas while ensuring consistency with UNDAF and UN Women Global and Kenya Country Strategy priorities and creative response to emerging challenges and opportunities

Design and develop programme strategies in the area of Democratic Governance ?

• Design and formulate programme/ project proposals and initiatives;
• Substantively contribute to country strategy documents, briefs, policy dialogue and other documents related to Democratic Governance;
• Undertake thorough integrated analysis of the political, social and economic situation in the country and collaborative preparation/revision of Common Country Analysis, UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), UN Women Kenya Strategic Plan (SP), Annual Work Plan, UN joint programmes and other documents;
• Identification of strategic and innovative programme opportunities, approaches and modalities in consultation/cooperation with national stakeholders and development partners.

Manage the implementation and management of the Democratic Governance programme

• Finalize the annual work plans and budgets and manage their implementation;
• Provide strategic oversight and direction of planning, implementing, monitoring and reporting of the Democratic Governance portfolio, including tracking the use of financial resources in accordance with UN Women rules and regulations;
• Manage the technical implementation of the programme/project; ensure synergies with other teams within UN Women;
• Effective application of Results-Based Management (RBM) tools, monitoring, results-based reporting and evaluation on the achievement of results;
• Effective technical leadership of the DG Programme Team ensuring high-quality outputs, so that regular programme/project reviews are undertaken, and all reporting requirements are met including donor reports;
• Oversee Project Steering Committee, project review and/or evaluation meetings, as needed.

Manage technical assistance and capacity development to project/programme partners

• Manage the implementation of technical advice and guidance;
• Build and manage relationships with national partners, both state and non-state actors to support implementation and expansion of the Democratic Governance portfolio; support responding to any potential challenges;
• Identify capacity building needs of partners and oversee the coordination of technical assistance, mentoring, training and capacity development initiatives to partners.

Ensure monitoring and Quality reporting of Democratic Governance programme/ project

• Ensure effective monitoring of programme/ project implementation and finances using results-based management tools;
• Oversee field missions and review reports on monitoring missions;
• Ensure submission of high-quality quarterly reports and donor reports, focusing on results, output and outcomes.

Manage the people and financial resources of the Democratic Governance programme

• Manage the programme budget and financial management;
• Supervise Programme Analysts, Technical Specialists, UNVs and support staff;
• Mentor and coach staff and conduct performance assessments;
• Support recruitment processes, as necessary.

Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies

• Develop and implement partnerships and resource mobilization strategies to achieve the DG programme outcomes;
• Finalize relevant documentation on donors and potential opportunities for resource mobilization;
• Determination of programmatic areas of cooperation, based on strategic goals of UN Women's country needs and donors' priorities;
• Analysis and research of information on donors, preparation of substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for cost-sharing.

Contribute to inter-agency coordination on Democratic Governance to achieve coherence and alignment of UN Women programmes with other partners in Kenya

• Provide technical support to the Country Director and the Deputy Country Director on inter-agency coordination related activities by attending meetings, events, and participating in groups and committees as needed;

• Mange the operationalization of UNSDCF/SP in collaboration with the main partners and other UN Agencies;
• 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.

Manage advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts

• Oversee the development and review background documents, briefs and presentations related to the Democratic Governance;
• Represent UN Women in meetings and policy dialogues on issues related to Democratic Governance as necessary;
• Develop and implement advocacy strategies;
• Support the identification of best practices and lessons learned to guide programme improvement and strategy planning;
• Oversee the development of knowledge management strategies, products and methodologies on Democratic Governance.

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

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 Democratic Governance?
• Strong analytical skills
• Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities, and threats to fundraising and develop strategies

Education and certification:

• Master's Degree or equivalent in Economics, Political Sciences, Social Sciences, Gender Studies, Public Policy, International Development, Public Administration, Human Rights or 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.

A project/programme management certification would be an added advantage

Experience:

• At least 8 years of relevant experience at the national or international level in providing management advisory services, hands-on experience in design, monitoring, reporting and evaluation of development projects.
• Experience establishing inter-relationships among international/national organizations and national governments.
• Technical experience gender equality, women empowerment and democratic governance.
• Experience working in the UN System is an asset.
• Experience in leading/managing a team is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English required.
• Working knowledge of another official UN language is an asset.
• Knowledge of Kiswahili is an asset.