Antecedentes

The UN Women (UNW), 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 will lead and coordinate United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnership with civil society and other relevant actors.

The Consultant is responsible for leading and managing the Country Programme portfolio and translating the UN Women's Strategic Plan into development initiatives and results, by developing, implementing and managing programs in line with regional and national priorities. He/She will develop effective partnerships with Government counterparts, UN system agencies and organizations, civil society organizations, and bilateral and non-traditional donors to promote inter-agency partnerships, support for UN reform, and mobilization of visibility and resources to advance gender equality and women's empowerment. The Consultant will report to the Regional Director for East and Southern Africa Regional Office, who provides general direction and guidance.

Purpose and Objective of the assignment:

The purpose of the consultancy is to provide an oversight role to the Somalia programme by overseeing management of the Somalia Country Office and Joint Programmes and leading strategic discussions on review of the Somalia Annual Work Plan. The Consultant will equally oversee strategic partnerships and resource mobilization efforts by partnering with UN Agencies and development partners to enhance collaboration, resource mobilization and joint programming on gender and peacebuilding issues.

The objective of the consultancy is to ensure overall effectiveness of the UN Women programmes in Somalia by aligning UN Women programme interventions to government priorities and ensuring efficiency and effectiveness of the use of resources.

The consultant will work under the guidance of the UN Women Regional Director, and in close coordination with the Somalia Programme team.   

Deberes y responsabilidades

Program Management and Oversight:

• Provide an oversight function by managing delivery of the day to day programme activities and overseeing programme implementation to ensure effective use of resources and compliance with UN Women rules and procedures;
• Manage the performance of programme and operations staff; provide managerial direction, guidance and leadership to staff and provide performance feedback and coaching to staff and consultants under his/her supervision;
• Lead implementation of the annual work plans and results framework of all UN Women programmes including the Joint Programmes on Enabling Services, Women’s Political Empowerment and Rule of Law;
• Lead the establishment of effective monitoring system for delivery of the project results;
• Manage the timely preparation of quarterly and annual progress reports and organize, correspondingly, monthly, quarterly and annual progress reviews, as necessary;
• Maintain and update country office security strategy, plan, and measures to ensure full compliance with UN security policies, procedures and requirements.

Technical Support and Advisory Role:

• Lead the review of the 2017 Annual Work Plan against the existing priorities of the Federal Government of Somalia and Regional States;

• Contribute to strategic discussions on programme design, oversight and evaluation to support implementation and capture best practices and lessons learned for policy development and adjustment;
• Lead and support advocacy for gender equality and women’s empowerment to ensure that UN support towards realization of the national plans and priorities are done in a gender responsive manner, and within agreed international frameworks that promote and protect gender equality;
• Identify strategic programme opportunities, approaches and modalities for strengthening gender and peace programme, in close collaboration with national development stakeholders and partners;
• Collaborate substantively with partners to ensure the integration of gender perspectives and attention to global commitments in all policies and programmes;
• Support and participate in various policy dialogues on the inclusion of women in peace building processes and their specific perspectives and needs including public policy;
• Undertake interventions aimed at strengthening capacity of key institutions and mechanisms with the aim of promoting women’s participation in Somalia;
• Provide timely advice on the programmatic area of gender equality and women’s empowerment and their implications for achieving the government’s and UN Women’s gender commitments.

Strategic Partnership and Representation:

• Lead/Chair the Gender Theme Group (GTG) and ensure UN Women’s representation in the UN Country Team, Humanitarian Country Team, Somalia Operations Management Team and Senior Management Team;
• Serve as member of the UN Country Team and support UNCT programming and advocacy to ensure gender equality and women’s empowerment issues are fully integrated into UN programming processes in Somalia;
• Actively seek out participation of UN Women in UN system thematic and other working groups to establish effective networks and keep abreast of ongoing debates and thinking on development;
• Forge strategic partnerships to promote gender equality and women’s advancement in Somalia;
• Develop networks and build credible working relations with key partners in Government, UN, civil society organizations in support to peace and security programmes;
• Represent UN Women in intergovernmental forums, public information/relations events and key meetings, participate in policy dialogue; discuss policy initiatives, report on progress achieved and/or present policy papers/ideas;
• Meet with high level and senior government officials as well as multi-lateral, bi-lateral agencies and NGOs and coordinate existing civil society platforms and networks in coordinating joint efforts and provide a space for dialogue on gender and security sector transformation initiatives;
• Provide secretariat services for the project’s Steering Committee, keeping up to date minutes and carrying out action plans.

Knowledge Exchange and Information Management:

• Develop policy briefs, analysis, knowledge generation to inform program direction and policy discussions;
• Provide regular updates and reports on progress of the programme;
• Lead the knowledge-building and knowledge sharing within the project and substantively contribute to the UN Women country office as well global and regional UN Women community of practice on peace and security;
• Ensure visibility to the programme results, through developing and contributing to knowledge products;
• Ensure that all information and knowledge regarding operational, administrative and finance issues is available as required.

Lead resource mobilization strategies:

• Lead the conceptualization, design and implementation of country resource mobilization strategies;
• In coordination with senior management of the Regional Director, Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office, strengthen the programme’s donor relations by leading the development of proposals for resource mobilization and ensuring accurate and timely delivery of progress and annual donor reports;
• Partner with UN system and agencies to enhance collaboration, resource mobilization and joint programming to influence agenda and priority setting on gender and peace issues;
• Maximize partnership opportunities to mobilize resources;
• Review donor reports for quality assurance and compliance;
• Establish a reporting accountability framework to ensure that donors are duly informed on a timely basis;
• Negotiate and/or approve cost-sharing agreements with donors;
• Facilitate donor participation in project activities and when necessary coordinates donor field visits to project sites.

Deliverables:

The Consultant is expected to deliver the following outputs:

• Inception report after 5 working days including a 6-month work plan;
• Revised 2017 Somalia Annual Work Plan and 2017-2019 Strategic Note aligned to Somalia country priorities;
• A resource mobilization strategy for Somalia is developed;
• Finalization of the UN Country Team Gender Accountability Framework and endorsement by the UNCT;
• Programme Document for the Joint Programme on Women Peace and Security is finalized and approved by UN Women Regional Office for East and Southern Africa;
• Final report for the Joint Programme on Enabling Services and Rule of Law (both ending in 2016) finalized and submitted to donors;
• Annual Work Plan for Somalia is revised and approved by Regional Director;
• Gender Theme Group functional with minutes of regular meetings.

Competencias

Integrity:

• Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Professionalism:

• Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.

Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity:

• Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff;
• Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core Competencies:

Ethics and Values:

• Demonstrate and promote ethics and integrity by creating organizational precedents.

Organizational Awareness:

• Build support for the organization and ensure political acumen.

Development and Innovation:

• Support staff competence development, and contribute to an environment of creativity and innovation.

Work in Teams:

• Build and promote effective teams;
• Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Communication and Information Sharing:

• Create and promote an environment for open and effective communication.

Self-management and Emotional Intelligence:

• Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others.

Conflict Management:

• Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.

Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing:

• Share knowledge across the organization and build a culture of knowledge sharing and learning.

Appropriate and Transparent Decision-Making:

• Ensure fair and transparent decision making processes and manage risk.

Functional Competencies:

• Ability to conceptualize and convey strategic vision from the spectrum of development experience;
• Strong negotiation, advocacy and interpersonal skills;
• Proven expertise in writing coherent and convincing documents;
• Strong communications and public speaking skills;
• Proven analytical and problem solving skills;
• Strong planning, goal-setting and prioritization skills;
• Effectiveness in establishing and fostering good relations with government counterparts, UN agencies, donors, and NGO partners;
• Effectiveness in strengthening accountability and results-based management in supporting organizational priorities, policy and decision-making processes.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education

• Master's degree or equivalent in development related disciplines, economics or public policy or other social science fields.

Experience

• 10 years of extensive development experience that combines strategic and managerial leadership in aid development cooperation, some of which in gender and women’s issues programming at the international level, preferably in developing countries within the UN system, Agencies, Funds or Programs or UN Mission;
• Demonstrable experience of conflict and/or past conflict context.

Language Requirements:

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