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. UN Women also helps coordinate and promote the UN system’s work in advancing gender equality, and in all deliberations and agreements linked to the 2030 Agenda. UN Women works to position gender equality as fundamental to the Sustainable Development Goals, and a more inclusive world.

UN Women, as part of the United Nations in Timor-Leste, contributes to the Government’s legislative and policy commitments to address violence against women and girls (VAWG), as outlined in its Strategic Development Plan 2011-2030, Sustainable Development Roadmap, and international human rights obligations. To address the global challenges of VAWG, the European Union (EU) and the United Nations commenced a multi-year programme - the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative. This is the world’s largest targeted effort to end all forms of violence against women and girls by 2030. The Spotlight Initiative aims to support transformative change to end violence against women and girls in all its forms. The Initiative is active in more than 20 countries as well as regional programmes. It is the world’s largest targeted effort to end all forms of violence against women and girls. It was launched with a seed funding commitment of €500 million from the European Union and represents an unprecedented global effort to invest in gender equality as a precondition and driver for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. It is a demonstration fund for action on the Sustainable Development Goals, to show that a significant, concerted and comprehensive investment in gender equality and ending violence can make a transformative difference in the lives of women and girls.

In Timor-Leste, the Spotlight Initiative is implemented through five UN agencies (UN Women, UNFPA, UNDP, UNICEF, and ILO) under the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinator. The Steering Committee, composed of government stakeholders, meets two times per year and is the key governance structure of the Initiative, including approving the Annual Plan of the Timor-Leste Spotlight Initiative. The Civil Society Reference Group provides ongoing advice and feedback on programming. The focus of the Initiative is to help reduce intimate partner violence and domestic violence. Meetings with Heads of Agencies from participating agencies are held to monitor and adjust on implementation and delivery. The overall vision of the Spotlight Initiative in Timor-Leste is that women and girls enjoy their right to a life free of violence, within an inclusive and gender equitable Timor-Leste. This contributes to implementation of Timor-Leste’s National Action Plan on Gender Based Violence (2017-2021 and the plan under development for 2022 - 2026), with attention to prevention and response to violence against women and girls.

The Programme in Timor-Leste commenced in January 2020 and has made significant progress over the past 2 years. In addition to supporting work at national level, the programme also supports work in 3 focal municipalities (Ermera, Bobonaro and Viqueque), which were chosen in a consultative process of programme design in 2019. It is aligned to UN Women’s Ending Violence against Women (EVAW) programme in Timor-Leste and complements its other thematic programmes focused on Women’s Economic Empowerment, advancing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, mainstreaming gender in planning and budgeting in support of national and international gender equality commitments. In support of its coordination mandate, UN Women Country Office Chairs the UN Inter-agency Gender Theme Group and the Co-Chairs the Multi-stakeholder Gender Coordination Group.

Reporting to UN Women Head of Office and under the strategic direction of the UN Resident Coordinator, the Ending Violence against Women (EVAW) Programme Technical Specialist exercises overall responsibility for planning, implementing, coordinating and reporting on the Spotlight Initiative Country Programme. The Programme Technical Specialist works closely with staff of the Resident Coordinator’s Office, the Spotlight Steering Committee, the Spotlight Civil Society Reference Group, implementing UN agencies, implementing partners of Spotlight, the office of the Secretary of State for Equality and Inclusion, the EU Delegation technical focal point as well as other stakeholders. The Programme Specialist is also responsible to manage the Technical Unit, which is a joint office of staff from all agencies working within Spotlight, as well as UN Volunteers working within the Technical Unit. The Programme Specialist provides technical guidance and oversight, oversees reporting and monitoring, supervises the Programme Technical Unit and ensures overall coherence in the implementation of the programme.

Lead the implementation and management of the Spotlight programme in Timor-Leste

• Report to the Resident Coordinator and UN Women Head of Office on programme performance and results
• Provide technical advice and innovative approaches to facilitating programme interventions
• Ensure timely & effective coordination and management of the Spotlight Programme for effective programmatic and financial delivery
• Facilitate consolidation of joint annual work plans and budgets  with the support of relevant staff in the Technical Unit and Resident Coordinator’s Office
• Supervision & provide programme guidance, update and information to the Steering Committee, implementing partners and other stakeholders;
• Manage liason with the Spotlight Initiative Secretariat Technical Unit in New York, in collaboration with the Resident Coordinator’s Office, which acts as a Secretariat for the Spotlight Initiative
• Develop a mitigation strategy and provide support and guidance to mitigate and address risks in a timely manner. This will involve seeking engagement from relevant actors within Spotlight to respond to these risks.
• Manage careers of the Technical Unit including management of leave and performance assessment, as agreed with contracting agencies 

Advise on technical inputs and capacity development to the Spotlight initiative in Timor-Leste

• Provide guidance in the overall coherence of the programme across pillars, in line with Country Programme document, global best practices, information and guidance from Spotlight globally, relevant national policies and information provided by RUNOs about activities
• Lead the process of delivery of technical assistance and engagement with partners, as per the planned activities within the Annual Workplan of the Country Programme.
• Build, manage, and expand relationships with national and sub-national partners to support implementation of the Spotlight programme; respond to any potential problems;
• Provide partners with technical assistance, training and capacity development initiatives as needed.

Lead programme development and activities related to the Spotlight Country Programme

• Lead the design and formulation of programme proposals and initiatives; Identify programmatic areas for support and interventions on ending violence against women and girls, including emerging forms of violence such as those on online platforms and/or ICT facilitated, as well as on the interlinkages between EVAWG and WEE
• Draft project proposals, briefs, policy dialogue and other documents related to the Spotlight Initiative.
• Organize periodic consultations with key stakeholders, women leaders, human rights experts, women’s economic empowerment specialist and UN partners to gather inputs on programme design, as necessary.

Oversee the monitoring and reporting of the programme

• Lead the process for Annual Work Plan updates and review, as requested by the Spotlight global programme or as needed based on contextual issues
• Supervise the process of monitoring the programme based on the Results Framework for the programme. This is based on inputs from the participating RUNOs. Work with M & E Specialist and other relevant M & E staff to create and maintain systems to enable ongoing updates on progress. 
• Lead the development of narrative and annual reports, based on inputs from RUNOs, for final clearance by the Resident Coordinator
• Organize periodic consultations with key stakeholders, women leaders, human rights experts and UN partners to gather inputs on programme design, as necessary.
• Oversee the preparation of analytical reviews and systematic capture of lessons learnt from programme implementation

Oversee the people and financial resources of the Spotlight programme

• Oversee the programme budget and finalize financial reports.
• Oversee the Programme Technical Unit; mentor and coach staff and conduct performance assessments.
• Oversee recruitment processes, as necessary

Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies

• Lead the development of a joint resource mobilization and sustainability strategy for the programme, with the RUNO Teams and Resident Coordinators Office.
• Develop relevant documentation on donors and develop potential opportunities for resource mobilization.

Lead the coordination between different UN agencies to achieve a coherent and aligned presence of the Spotlight initiative in Timor-Leste

• Provide technical support to the Resident Coordinator and the UN Women Head of Office on inter-agency coordination related activities by attending meetings, events, and participating in groups and committees.
• Coordinate with other UN agencies, EU delegation, government departments, donors and NGOs to ensure the Initiative’s capacity development approach is harmonized and aligned with other in-country efforts.

Oversee advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts

• Lead gender mainstreaming in legislations, policies and programmes of the Government from the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls persepective.
• Lead the coordination among donors, UN agencies, Civil Society Organisations on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls programming, including on frontier issues such as cybersecurity/VAWG in online spaces, for inclusion at National levels, such as the National Action Plans and regional levels – such as ASEAN.
• Oversee the development of knowledge management strategies and methodologies and products on the Spotlight programme, in collaboration with the M&E staff.
• Represent the Spotlight Programme in meetings and policy dialogues as necessary.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Timely and quality programme strategies and contributions
• Timely and quality of programme delivery in line with budget, workplans and the Programme Document
• Performance of team
• Partners and other stakeholder provide positive feedback on technical services
• Quality reports and timely submission
• Quality of advocacy, communication and knowledge management initiatives
• Strong relationships with donors, partners and other stakeholders

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 knowledge and experience with evidence-based approaches to ending violence against women and girls
• Strong programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills
• Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them
• Strong knowledge of Results Based Management and developing capacities on RBM
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making
• Ability to lead formulation of strategies and their implementation
• Strong networking skills
• Ability to negotiate and interact with donors, identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising

Education and certification:

• 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 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:

• Minimum 5 years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level in design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects;
• Technical experience in evidence-based approaches to ending violence against women and girls, including on inter-linkages between EVAWG and WEE.
• Experience in bringing gender mainstreaming in national processes.
• Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors is an asset;
• Experience working in the UN System is an asset;
• Experience in leading/managing a diverse team is an asset. 

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required
• Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset;
• Knowledge of Tetum or Portuguese 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/en/about-us/employment/application-process 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.  Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

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

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