Background

UN Women will co-implement the project “Strengthening the role of youth in promoting increased mutual understanding, constructive narrative, respect for diversity, and trust in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, North Macedonia, and Serbia”. The project is funded by the Peacebuilding Fund of the United Nations (PBF) and is co-implemented with UNDP (lead agency), UNFPA and UNESCO.

The project’s objective is to support young men and women of the Western Balkans in order to promote constructive and fact-based narratives, and contribute to building trust, intercultural dialogue, cultural diversity, gender equality and social cohesion in the region. The project aims at addressing the priority conflict drivers of hate speech, divisive narratives, negative gender norms and a deficit of reconciliation within the region.

UNDP is the lead agency of the project. UNDP and UNFPA will be implementing activities in each of the countries/territory targeted by the project. UN Women and UNESCO will be implementing regional activities only.

The social cohesion challenges in the region have important gender equality dimensions. Traditional gender norms prevail to a large extent in the region. The “negative legacies of the past” are notably the result of toxic and militarized masculinities in the region; as well as the absence of women from public life, and peace negotiations in particular. Those legacies impact the level of violence, with violence against women considered to be the most widespread forms of violence throughout the region. The polarizing identity speeches and views of the “other” have a major gender dimension as well. Hate speech in the region builds on misogyny and homophobic discourses, notably in the social media.  Divisive and polarizing voices have notably leveraged the so-called “gender ideology” and given rise to more rigid gender stereotypes that young men and women are expected to fulfil. Toxic masculinities, misogyny and homophobic discourses, as well as violence against young women, undermines the prospect of both young women and men to contributing meaningfully to the public life and social cohesion in the region: they encourage values at odds with competencies required for achieving social cohesion (active listening, negotiation and mediation); and legitimate the use of violence against women, notably young women. Yet in the UN’s September 2021 youth consultation that polled 450 young people an overwhelming 96 per cent of respondents indicated that gender equality and rights and opportunities for both women and men is important for good relations between and within communities, institutions and youth.

For that reason, the project has specific and mainstreamed activities that advance gender equality and address gender norms that influence divisive narratives and conflict factors.

The project has one outcome – “Young people enhance dialogue and trust across the region by promoting fact-based, positive narratives and gender equality in the media and public spheres” – that will be achieved through two outputs: (1) Collaborative youth platforms advance dialogue, mutual understanding and gender equality across the region and (2) Youth journalists and activists across the region create and promote constructive and gender sensitive narratives in the media and through education, culture and sport. UN Women will be implementing two main activities, one under each output (cf. description below); and contribute, through technical inputs, to one additional activity. Those activities will take place at regional level and will involve the coordination with UN Women field offices of the region.

UN Women is recruiting a project coordinator to implement those activities (UN Women Project) and ensure the overall contribution of UN Women to the project. The incumbent will report to the UN Women Representative in Albania, working in close collaboration with other field offices as well as the WPS Specialist at the UN Women Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Activities to be implemented by UN Women (UN Women Project): 

  • Activity 1.1 : Support development of non-formal education programmes and social actors to promote constructive inter-group narratives and discuss the impact of gender equality on social cohesion in the public domain, in collaboration with youth, women, teachers, cultural actors, regional public actors, and minorities NGOs, and in partnership with academic institutions and in consultation with public institutions.

UN Women will engage and partner with students, young researchers and young creatives across the region to articulate issues of masculinities with social cohesion challenges in the region, building on the social movements that have recently and publicly raised sexism and gender-based violence among youth in some countries of the region. This will be done by supporting students, young researchers and young creatives to publish papers and produce short videos articulating the linkages between masculinities, gender-based violence and social cohesion challenges in the region. The papers and short videos will be produced through a regional call-for-proposal and will be discussed with cultural actors, such as film festivals, and regional public actors, such as the Regional Women’s Lobby in South-East Europe.

  • Activity 2.1: Enhance cooperation between regional, national media and local youth media networks and engage with young social media influencers on developing and promoting youth content to address divisive narratives, hate speech, masculinities and gender norms and equality, including through internship opportunities for young journalists placed in media outlets and partnerships with social media influencers and public actors.

This activity will also support social media influencers and young journalists to cover regional debates on the toxic masculinities, hate speech and successful examples of reconciliation, collaboration and trust building on various media with a regional reach. There will be a particular focus on young social media influencers (such as YouTubers and TikTokers), young journalists and regional media/media platforms.

Activity to which UN Women will be contributing through a technical input:

Activity 1.3.: Through Municipal Youth Councils and youth groups of political parties, build a network of young ambassadors of peace from different ethnicities, and introduce youth dialogue platforms enabling dialogue with policymakers to reduce hate speech and advocate for the establishment of no hate speech pledges and their inclusion in youth policies.

Under activity 1.3, UN Women will provide technical inputs to the strategy of the regional network, to ensure the anti-hate speech approach includes a gender equality dimension and contribute, through the technical coordinator meetings.

*References to Kosovo should be understood to be in the context of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999)

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Project Management

  • Prepare annual project workplans and related sub-plans (procurement plan, quarterly plans, and others as necessary); 
  • Ensure timely and good-quality implementation of workplan activities;
  • Monitor progress against the approved work-plan; Identify changes in the external environment and promptly agree necessary solutions/actions;
  • Mobilize goods and services, including drafting terms of reference and work specifications; and oversee all contractors’ work;
  • Manage requests for the provision of financial resources by the office in charge of the project;
  • Monitor financial resources and accounting to ensure accuracy and reliability of financial reports; ensure preparation of budget revisions as necessary; follow up with UN Women programme associate and finance staff;
  • Provide regular information and updates on project’s implementation to the supervisor. Prepare and submit progress and annual reports to the supervisor.

2. Partnership building

  • Implement the partnerships and advocacy activities of the UN Women project;
  • Create and maintain partnerships with all implementing partners as well as relevant national and local institutions across the countries covered by the UN Women project;
  • Develop close partnerships with the other UN entities of the project – UNDP (lead entity), UNFPA and UNESCO.

3. Coordination and communication

  • Organize regularly internal meetings, with relevant UN Women field offices and UN Women regional office (at both technical and senior level) to ensure the smooth implementation of the project and the contribution of all UN Women offices; 
  • Participate to (i) the monthly meetings of the Regional Technical Coordination Group; as well as to (ii) any relevant coordination meeting with the UNDP local coordinators of the project, the UNDP Regional Project Coordinator; liaise with local project coordinators as needed
  • Provide technical support to UN Women’s participation in the Project Advisory Boards, and the Regional Steering Committee;
  • Ensure the project communicates regularly on results, in line with the PBF communication guidelines and protocols, notably by producing social media communication packages and other information materials for dissemination within UN Women regionally, and to external stakeholders;
  • Participate to regular exchange of information/experience with other projects, cross-learning and sharing results and good practices.

4. Other Duties

• Any other duties as required by the supervisor

The project coordinator will be requested to travel to the region as part of her/his work.

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:

 https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies:

  • Ability to conduct planning, results-based management and reporting
  • Analytical and strategic thinking
  • Results orientation
  • Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing
  • Ability to establish effective working relations in a multicultural team environment

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

  • Master’s degree or equivalent in Humanities, Social Sciences, Political Science or related fields is required.
  • 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:

  • At least 3 years of progressively responsible and relevant professional work experience in project management;
  • Demonstrated experience in implementing and coordinating projects with a diverse range of partners;
  • Demonstrated experience in gender equality and women's empowerment;
  • Demonstrated experience working with youth institutions preferred;
  • Experience working in the UN system or similar international organizations is an asset.

Language Requirements:

  • Fluency in English, both spoken and written, is required;
  • Knowledge of other languages spoken in the beneficiary countries/territory shall be considered an asset

Application Procedure:

Please make sure you have provided all requested documents.

How to Submit the Application:

To submit your application online, please follow the following steps:

  • Download and complete the UN Personal History Form (P11);
  • Merge your UN Personal History Form (P11) and cover letter into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded;
  • Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement);
  • Click “Apply Now” button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click “Submit Application;”
  • Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents
  • You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system

Special consideration  

As this position is under Service Contract modality, only citizens of Albania and those holding valid working permit in Albania will be considered for the vacancy.

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need. 

If you need any reasonable accommodation to support your participation in the recruitment and selection process, please include this information in your application.

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.)