Antecedentes

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’s work in Europe and Central Asia is informed by independent evaluations of regional initiatives and country programmes, and extensive consultative processes with a range of partners at country, sub-regional and regional levels.  One of the key lessons learned is the need to deepen strategic partnerships to increase synergies across multistakeholder networks of gender equality advocates, especially in the delivery of normative, coordination and operational results across the region. This includes engagement of partners in key inter-governmental and multi-stakeholder forums at regional and global levels, knowledge management, development and management of strategic partnerships, as well as resource mobilization.

Under the guidance and direction of the ECA Regional Director, the Programme Specialist exercises overall responsibility for strategic partnerships, intergovernmental and normative engagement in the ECA region.  The Programme Specialist will work in close collaboration with UN Women programme and operations teams at regional and country levels, UN Women HQ staff, Government officials, development partners, UN entities, regional organizations, private sector representatives and civil society organizations/networks.

Deberes y responsabilidades

I.Provide advisory services and lead strategic partnerships to support development, scaling up and resource mobilization of/for UN Women’s work in the region:

• Explore, develop, and manage strategic partnerships including with regional and international development bodies, Member States, civil society, private sector entities, philanthropies and other stakeholders.
• Design and lead key regional partnership initiatives and events, in consultation with ECARO management and Heads of Office across the region.
• Develop and maintain close working relationships with all strategic partners.
• Manage and revise, as needed, regional partner engagement strategies.
• Develop and oversee implementation of action plan/s for partnership agreements/MoUs with key regional and other bodies.
• Support to identify potential joint programmes and/or joint programming with partners at the regional level (including UN agencies).
• Organize periodic regional consultations with key stakeholders to discuss UN Women programmatic work at the regional and country levels.
• Prepare, coordinate and review reports, speeches, briefing notes and talking points for senior management on a periodic basis and upon request.
• Identify and pursue strategic resource mobilization opportunities at the regional and country levels and lead the internal consultation processes to align resource mobilization efforts within the region.
• Review, monitor and update non-core revenue targets for all offices in the ECA region.
• Lead the partnerships and resource mobilization team, undertake performance planning and reviews, ensure capacity development of team members.

II. Lead and support UN Women offices and partners in the area of intergovernmental and multi-stakeholder initiatives/convenings for the promotion of GEWE norms/standards:

• Act as the ECARO focal point for normative work and engagement of partners in regional and global intergovernmental/multi-stakeholder fora, including in relation to the SDGs, CSW and other relevant international platforms and processes.
• Advise on and support targeted engagements with key partners through intergovernmental and multi-stakeholder spaces/initiatives, including by proposing innovative approaches.
• Develop ECA regional engagement roadmaps for annual CSW sessions and SDG-related forums and other relevant events/initiatives, including preparatory engagement and follow-up actions.
• Build, manage, and expand relationships with national and regional partners to advocate for enforcement of international standards and norms on GEWE, including by designing and implementing joint actions and initiatives.
• Keep ECARO and country offices abreast of relevant intergovernmental/multi-stakeholder events and discussions.
• Provide advisory support to country-level UN Women offices and regional project managers on engagement in intergovernmental and multi-stakeholder initiatives/convenings.
• Ensure meaningful engagement of CSOs (including youth-led organizations) and other under-represented partners from the region in regional and global events/convenings.
• Identify areas for joint interventions and advocacy in partnership with UN agencies, international/regional bodies; etc.
• Provide substantive inputs to resource mobilization actions supporting the intergovernmental and normative engagement.
• Act as the regional focal point for engagement of Member States in the region in relation to the UN Women Executive Board and its activities.
• Participate in events, as delegated.

III. Support regional advocacy, knowledge building/sharing and communication efforts

• Lead the development of knowledge management/sharing strategies and methodologies and programmatic products, particularly in relation to supporting strategic partnerships.
• Identify, document and disseminate best practices and innovations.
• Support internal knowledge exchange through facilitation across offices in the region.Provide advisory support to country-level colleagues and regional project managers on partnership management and resource mobilization opportunities.
• Monitor and report on key results related to UN Women’s normative engagement in the ECA region.
• Provide briefings, technical assistance and capacity development to partners in the ECA region on GEWE normative standards and linkages to programming.
• Liaise/coordinate with key UN Women HQ colleagues, as necessary, including but not restricted to, SPD, PPID, Executive Board Secretariat, EDO.
• Provide substantive GEWE inputs to the design of roundtables, side events, dialogue platforms and documents, as necessary.
• Represent UN Women in meetings and dialogues as instructed by the ECARO management.
• Manage advocacy strategies and their implementation, as pertinent.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Timely and quality programme strategies and contributions to Strategic Note
• Timely and quality of programme delivery in line with budget, workplans and the Strategic Note
• Strong and clear leadership/ supervision of team
• Partners and other stakeholder provide positive feedback on advisory and technical services
• Quality reports and timely submission
• Quality of advocacy, communication and knowledge management initiatives
• Strategic partnership contributes to ECA SN implementation
• Strong engagement with civil society

Competencias

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

• Excellent programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills
• Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them
• Excellent knowledge of Results Based Management
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making
• Excellent knowledge in SDGs
• 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

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

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 (such as PMP®, PRINCE2®, or MSP®) would be an added advantage.

Experience:

• Minimum 7 years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level in design/formulation, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects;
• Technical experience in leading and contributing to inter-governmental processes and normative work;
• Demonstrated experience in leading the development of strategic partnerships, including coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors;
• Experience working on SDGs is an asset;
• Experience working in the UN System is an asset;
• Experience in leading/managing a team is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset.