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. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN Women is operational in Moldova since 2010 on the basis of former UNIFEM projects, which were laid and active in the country from 2007. It extended continuous support to the Government of Moldova, to key stakeholders from national and local levels, through various programmes and activities aimed at creating an enabling environment for gender equality, recognized as a prerequisite for sustainable development with a strong and active policy on gender equality.

In 2014, UN Women jointly with UNDP and in partnership with the East Europe Foundation (EEF) and the Centre for Participatory Development (CPD) started a new programme in Moldova: “Enhancing Women’s Political Representation through improved capacity and enhanced support in Moldova” (Women in Politics). The programme aims at ensuring an increased participation of women in politics and in the decision-making process by creating an environment conducive to their meaningful participation, and providing support to capacity development of women before, during and after the elections at the central and local levels. It also seeks to promote increased public awareness of women’s contribution to political leadership. The programme supports the realization of women’s rights and commitments undertaken by the Government of Moldova.  

The programme purpose is to support gender equality advocates in creating a favourable environment for advancing women’s right to participate in decision making at national and local levels by influencing legal frameworks and policies to increase women’s leadership and political participation.

The programme consists of two inter-related components, and each UN Agency is responsible for the implementation of activities under particular areas of intervention. UN Women is responsible for the overall programme implementation, and is leading the specific parts related to the election legislation review and high-level advocacy for Temporary Special Measures (TSM), media capacity development, capacity of CSOs and women candidates, work with the communities and women on identifying their needs, among others. UNDP’s area of responsibility is related to the electoral assistance and administration, parliamentary affairs and capacity building of elected women and  builds further on the results achieved through the previous and on-going support to the institutional capacity development of the Parliament and the Central Elections Commission (CEC) with a focus on enhancing capacities of the Election Management Bodies on gender responsive electoral management and on strengthening capacities of elected women parliamentarians and councillors for performing the elected official’s duties.

The Programme is managed as a Joint Programme (UN Women and UNDP) on the basis of the UN Moldova Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF). The activities are implemented in close coordination and cooperation with the on-going UNDP Democracy Programme (2012 – 2016).

With the overall aim to ensure effective and timely programme implementation, UN Women is looking to hire a Programme Manager, based in Chisinau, Moldova.  Programme Manager will bear full responsibility for providing adequate substantive support to overall implementation of the programme document at all levels in efficient and timely manner.

Deberes y responsabilidades

Under the direct supervision of the Chief Technical Advisor of the Women in Politics Programme,  and in close coordination with UNDP Portfolio Manager, the incumbent provides effective and efficient coordination of the Women in Politics Programme through a range of actions contributing to the design, planning, and management and monitoring of programme activities in line with the programme document and the UN Women Strategic Note for 2014-2017. The Programme Manager applies and promotes the principles of results-based management (RBM), as well as a client-oriented approach consistent with UN Women and UNDP corporate rules and regulations. He/she is responsible and accountable to the Programme Board for the programme results.

The Programme Manager works in close collaboration with the Programme, Operations, Communications and other programme teams in the Country Office (CO) for effective achievement of results, anticipating and contributing to resolving complex programme/programme-related issues and information delivery. The incumbent is expected to exercise full compliance with UN Women and UNDP programming, financial, procurement and administrative rules, regulations, policies and strategies, as well as implementation of the effective internal control systems.

The Programme Manager, under the supervision of the Chief Technical Advisor and in close coordination with the UNDP Portfolio Manager, will ensure the provision of development services and products (commensurate with the scope of the Programme) of the highest quality and standards to national counterparts and clients through applying Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) and Gender Equality (GE) approaches.  More specifically, he/she will perform the following tasks:

Programme Management and Coordination:

• Ensure overall management of the Programme in accordance to prevailing UN rules and regulations;
• Coordinate and ensure the timely and efficient delivery of Programme outputs and products leading to the achievement of expected results;
• Ensure coordination of the overall Programme work plan according to indicators for achieving planned results;
• Ensure overall coordination and regular monitoring of activities of the Civil Society partners;
• Liaise with the Programme Board, national counterparts, donors UN Women and the UNDP offices to ensure that Programme results are achieved and resources are managed efficiently and effectively;
• Ensure the effective management and supervision of human resources pertaining to the Programme, including both staff, consultants and short-term experts; conduct periodic performance appraisals; build, lead and motivate a solid team of professionals; validate terms of reference for international and national consultants;
• Coordinate the efficient use of financial resources of the Programme, including budgeting and budget revisions, as well as expenditure tracking and reporting;
• Continuously record and maintain relevant Programme activities, issues, risks, etc. as per existing rules and procedures, including for activities undertaken by Civil Society partners;
• Lead and coordinate the organization of meetings, workshops, conferences and related activities relevant to the overall implementation of the Programme;
• Ensure high quality information and visibility of the Programme activities to the mass media and stakeholders.

Monitoring and Reporting:

• Ensure timely monitoring and evaluation of project from the planning to evaluation stages;
• Monitor the implementation of activities and the expenditure of funds by the Civil Society partners using internal systems and rules and regulations;
• Ensure timely and quality delivery of baseline, monitoring, evaluation plans and reports (flash, progress and final);
• Identify key performance indicators as well as develop and maintain a monitoring system to ensure effective information sharing, provision of feedback and elaboration of top quality progress reports;
• Present work-plans, periodic narrative progress reports and expenditures status reports to the Programme Board and Un Women;
• Monitor overall allocation and disbursement of programme funds, making surefunds are properly allocated and appropriate actions are taken to optimize useof programme funds;
• Contribute to UN Women and UNDP reporting by providing inputs from Women in Politics programme activities and results

Partnership and advocacy:

• Provide input to partnership building among civil society organizations, women’s organization of political parties, political parties, media, central election commission, Parliament, women and the communities on the implementation of the programme and advocacy for Temporary Special Measures;
• Provide support to effective partnership, networking and coordination between other ongoing UN Women and UNDP programmes, including but not limited to Democracy Project, Joint Integrated Local Development Project, and other projects and activities in the country for a more holistic and coherent approach to programme implementation.

Knowledge Management and Sharing:

• Ensure timely and proper documentation of the programme implementation process and products produced in accordance with the UN Women guides;
• Identify and synthesis of best practices and lessons learned directly linked to the implementation of the programme that might be useful to UN system at large and UN Women and UNDP in particular;
• Contribute to the exchange of information and knowledge product within the programme and outside

Perform other tasks as requested

Key Results:

The post has an impact on the overall effectiveness and success of UN Women and UNDP interventions and activities in the assigned sectorial/thematic area of promoting women’s political participation, which impact in turn on the overall effectiveness of the UN Women programmes on the global and national levels.  By helping ensure effective design, planning, implementation, and M&E of assigned sectorial/thematic area, and building networks and helping mobilize resources for these areas, the incumbent enhances the organization’s capacity and credibility in implementation of highly effective programmes with strong impact on increased women’s participation.

Competencias

Corporate Competencies:

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standard;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UN Women;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality, and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats peers fairly by maintaining consistent values inspiring trust and confidence through personal credibility;
• Accepts responsibility and accountability for the quality of the outcome of his/her decisions;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism.

Functional and Managerial Competencies:

Leadership and Self-management:

• Proactive in developing strategies to accomplish objectives;
• Proven ability to lead and manage “smart” business solutions in challenging environment;
• Focuses on impact and results and responds positively to feedback;
• Focuses on tasks/activities which have a strategic impact on programme and capacity development activities;
• Ability to establish priorities for self and others, achieve results and meet strict deadlines in an effective manner, maintaining a high quality standard throughout;
• Tolerates conditions of stress, uncertainty or ambiguity and continues to maintain a positive outlook and to work productively;
• Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
• Builds strong relationships with clients and external actors;
• Remains calm, in control and good humoured even under pressure.

Knowledge Management and Learning:

• Shares knowledge and experience;
• Focuses on tasks/activities which have a strategic impact on programme and capacity development activities;
• Promotes a supportive environment to enhance partnerships, leverages resources and build support for UN Women strategic initiatives;
• Collaborates with regional, national and local partners to create and apply knowledge and concepts that will help partners achieve UN Women’s development objectives within the country and regional context;
• Actively works towards continuing personal learning, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills.

Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise / In-depth knowledge of the Subject-matter:

• Understands more advanced aspects of promoting women in poolitics and empworing women as the fundamental concepts related to gender equality;
• Serves as internal consultant in the area of expertise and shares knowledge with staff;
• Continues to seek new and improved methods and systems for accomplishing the work of the unit;
• Keeps abreast of new developments in area of professional discipline and job knowledge and seeks to develop him/herself professionally;
• Demonstrates comprehensive knowledge of information technology and applies it in work assignments.

Development and Operational Effectiveness:

• Ability to perform a variety of specialized tasks related to Results-Based Management, including support to design, planning and implementation of Programme, managing data, reporting;
• Ability to provide input to business processes, re-engineering, implementation of new system, including new IT based systems.
• Ability to engage with various partners and stakeholders at different levels, to establish and maintain contacts with senior-level officials of the host government and represent UN Women in national and regional fora;
• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, is required to obtain, evaluate and interpret factual data and to prepare accurate and complete reports and other documents;
• Capacity to implement the strategic vision and programmatic goals as laid down in the Programme Document;
• Proven performance in organizing and coordinating major initiatives, events or challenging inter-organizational activities;
• Adapts flexibly to changing situations, overcomes obstacles and recovers quickly from set-backs.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education:

• Degree in public administration, law, human rights, gender equality, management or other related areas;
• Additional training and certification in programme management would be an advantage.

Experience:

• At least seven years of progressively responsible experience is required at the national or international level in managing complex and multi-component programme interventions, preferably related to women’s empowerment and participation;
• At least 5 years of collaborative work experience with national partners at policy/decision making, institutional and local level;
• Proven experience in working with international organizations (successful experience working with UN Women) will be a very strong advantage;
• Extensive experience in managing a multidisciplinary team;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and advance knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web based management systems.

Language:

• Fluency in oral and written English, Romanian. Advanced knowledge of Russian is an advantage;
• Working knowledge of one or more additional languages relevant for Moldova, including Bulgarian, Gagauzian, Romani, Ukrainian or sign language would be an asset.

Application Process

This is a local position, therefore only citizens of the Republic of Moldova are eligible to apply. Applications should be submitted on line and include fully completed UN Women Personal History Form as attachment instead of CV/resume, with the mark “WiP Programme Manager/UN Women Vacancy” by  4 September 2016, COB. The system will only allow one attachment, hence all supporting document e.g. P11, CV and Cover letter must be scanned as one attachment.

Failure to disclose prior employment or making false representations on this form will be grounds for withdrawal of further consideration of his/her application or termination, where the appointment or contract has been issued.

Please note that only applicants who are short-listed will be contacted.

Note:

The United Nations in Moldova is committed to workforce diversity. Women, persons with disabilities, Roma and other ethnic or religious minorities, persons living with HIV, as well as refugees and other non-citizens legally entitled to work in the Republic of Moldova, are particularly encouraged to apply.