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. To fulfil its mandate, the organization and offices work on various aspects of development with the aim of either drawing attention by providing evidence on the existence of a gender gap or directly implementing interventions geared towards closing the gender gap. One of the core programmatic areas of focus for UN women is women economic empowerment.

UN Women regional office for East and Southern Africa’s work on Women’s Economic Empowerment programme (WEE), focuses on economically empowering women and girls in ESAR for more inclusive and resilient economies and societies.

Specifically, the WEE programme provides tailored support to Multi Country and Country Offices through the following global Flagship Programme initiatives:

• Women’s access to land & other productive assets for climate-resilient agriculture;
• Stimulating Economic Opportunities for Women Entrepreneurs;
• Improving women’s income security.

Specific areas of work of WEE ESAR team include:

• Sustainable agriculture (climate resilient agriculture, innovative technologies, increasing agriculture inputs for women, access and increased user rights and ownership of land for women farmers);
• Entrepreneurship including in affirmative public procurement and supporting women entrepreneurs in energy sector;
• Issues of gender and trade in the context of African Continental Free Trade Agreement;
• Gender and macroeconomics including social protection.

ESA regional office is therefore seeking a qualified, experienced and passionate Program Consultant to support its work on women’s economic empowerment, specifically the portfolio on Entrepreneurship and Trade. Reporting to the Regional Policy Advisor- Women Eco-nomic Empowerment (WEE) will support the development of WEE programmes, provide capacity building to Regional Office (RO), Country Offices (CO) and Multi Country Offices (MCO), establish and strengthen partnerships, and develop relevant knowledge products on WEE.

Deberes y responsabilidades

Support the development of and manage entrepreneurship and trade programmes on Women Economic Empowerment to the Regional Office/ Country Office/ Multi Country Office teams:

• Support the development and implementation of an integrated strategy for the delivery of technical assistance, policy advocacy and programme support in WEE;
• Support the development of regional programmes documents on entrepreneurship including affirmative procurement and trade. Additionally, on macroeconomics including social protection;
• Monitor the implementation of relevant thematic programmes in the region and provide support when necessary;
• Provide update to policy advisor and reporting on the overall implementation of the relevant thematic programmes;
• Oversee the contextualization/ localization of programme documents, country strategies, and knowledge products, and ensure proper monitoring and reporting in WEE.

Support the resource mobilization efforts for Women Economic Empowerment Unit:

• Research and analyse information on donors; prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of collaboration;
• Participate in the implementation, monitoring and periodic updating of the resource mobilization strategy on WEE in the region;
• Provide technical support to field-based presences in the region in mobilizing resources for the implementation of WEE programmes;
• Organize preparatory meeting with potential donors to fund WEE programme;
• Monitor potential donor interest with Resource Mobilization Specialist in the Region.

Support the provision of capacity building support to Regional Office/ Country Office/ Multi Country Office teams and partners:

• Support country office and multi-country office programme teams in developing and strengthening policies, projects/ programmes and modalities to support the implementation of global norms and standards; and ensuring proper monitoring;
• Manage the identification of knowledge and implementation gaps and possible solutions;
• Develop, implement and monitor capacity building initiatives;
• Support the provision of technical policy advice to programme/ project managers/ specialists in the RO/ CO and MCOs.

Establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with stakeholders, regional/ international actors and development partners:

• Build and strengthen strategic partnerships for the advancement of CSA programme;
• Build and strengthen close liaisons with relevant donors and other actors supporting efforts towards the programme;
• Production of periodic updates and briefs on regional/country development situation to be used by stakeholders, CO and HQ;
• Maintain close contact with relevant staff in UN Women HQ.

Support the design of programmatic interventions in the region and the development of relevant knowledge products:

• Lead the provision of policy recommendations and guidance to strategic planning and positioning of entrepreneurship & trade and WEE portfolio in general;
• Lead and provide advice to regional/ national bodies; represent UN Women in interagency groups that influence national policies related to entrepreneurship & trade;
• Contribute substantively and lead existing thematic and gender equality networks to better connect UN Women and partners;
• Lead the research, development, and presentation of analytical reports, research papers, briefing notes, background papers, summaries, correspondence on relevant thematic projects;
• Identify promising practices, technical expertise, and strategic opportunities.

Deliverables:

• Written inputs and contributions to WEE portfolio, the area of entrepreneurship and trade, on a regular basis;
• Quality and relevant programme related materials, concept notes, knowledge products, factsheets, presentations, talking point and background notes developed upon request;
• Representation of UN Women and active participation at key strategic events including CEO Forum, StreetNet Regional Workshop on Cross-Border trade and others upon request including logistical support for the relevant side-events of UN Women;
• Technical assistance to COs on operational gender-responsive procurement in close collaboration with Operations Unit;
• Provide inputs and coordinate the work on regional review of discriminatory laws in the ESA Region;
• Assistance with budget planning and management to ensure timely delivery of the WEE Unit activities and funds including timely inputs to quarterly and annual reports.

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

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Functional Competencies:

• Good programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills;
• Good knowledge of Results Based Management;
• Ability to gather and interpret data, reach logical conclusions and present findings and recommendations;
• Good analytical skills;
• Good knowledge of technical area;
• Ability to identify and analyse trends, opportunities and threats.

Habilidades y experiencia requeridas

Education

• Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, human rights, gender/women's studies, international development, or a related field is required.

Work Experience

• At least 3 years’ experience in development sector with at least 2 years’ experience focused on project/programme design and managing programmes and advocating for Women Economic Empowerment, ideally with some experience in developing countries;
• Experience in programme, policy analysis, and strategic planning;
• Experience in the field of support to women entrepreneurs, gender-responsive procurement, trade and social protection is an asset;
• Experience working with, and building partnerships with governments, donors and civil society organizations internationally and in the field;
• Experience working with the UN system is an asset;
• Experience working in the East and Southern Africa Region is an asset.

Language            

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