Background

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 Rwanda's Strategic Note 2019-2023 cut across UN Women's Global Strategic Plan 2018-2021 and that of 2022-2025 and is closely aligned with the new national development framework including Vision 2050 and the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1 2017-2024), the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2018-2024), the agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Africa’s Agenda 2063. The UN Women Country program embraces the core principle of Leave No One Behind (LNOB) outlined in the Agenda 2030 and also reflects the latest recommendations of the CEDAW committee for Rwanda (CEDAW/C/RWA/Q/7-9)[1] especially those related to social norms and attitudes change; on the need to increase women’s participation in leadership positions especially at the local level and in the private sector, and further enhance Gender Equality and women’s empowerment accountability frameworks. Also, key is the need to employ rights-based and sustainable prevention and response interventions to address GBV.

The programme focuses on two main priority/impact areas from UN Women Global Strategic Plan (2018-2021) including Priority area 1: Women lead, participate in and benefit equally from governance systems and Priority area 2: Women have equal economic opportunities and economic autonomy.

Reporting to the Country Representative, the Planning and Coordination Specialist will provide support to the Country Representative in strategic programme planning, inter-agency coordination, resource mobilization and partnership building, as well as advocacy and communication.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide support to the Country Representative in strategic planning for the Country Office

  • Provide advice on the formulation of concept notes for UN Women's intervention areas, as well as the office’s strategic note.
  • Develop country programming processes and products, including the annual workplan, strategic note, and programme/ project documents, the preparation of United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) and other UN system joint programming documents.
  • Follow up on required action/outstanding issues and report on outcome/ result. Alert the Country Representative/ CO on critical issues to be addressed.

Provide technical support to the Country Representative and Country Office on inter-agency coordination

  • Participate in and provide support to joint inter-agency UN planning processes and similar exercises.
  • Prepare briefing materials for the CO on issues to be discussed in the UN and other events and meetings.
  • Provide analysis and advice to Resident Coordinator (RC) and the UN Country Team (UNCT) on the gender dynamics and opportunities to support inclusive engagement of women in the development assistance provided by the UNCT.
  • Prepare inputs to Common Country Assessment (CCA)/ UNDAF and other documents.
  • Provide technical support to UNCT in monitoring and reporting and prepare analytical and regular progress reports on UN Women’s program experiences.
  • Provide substantive support and representation at conferences and meetings, joint program development, joint advocacy, and research in collaboration with the Country Representative.

Provide technical support and guidance to the development of strategic partnerships and resource mobilization efforts:

  • Manage activities and other promotional events to engage bilateral and multilateral institutions/ donors, private sector, and civil society to expand and/or sustain interest and resources for UN Women program and joint UN system programmers.
  • Provide support and advice to the Country Representative in forging and implementing strategic partnerships to increase outreach on UN Women’s work in country;
  • Provide guidance and advice to development partners and national counterparts on implementation of key UN frameworks and conventions on gender equality;
  • Provide network and capacity development to partner Civil Society Organizations and other stakeholders;
  • Develop templates for knowledge sharing and tracking resource mobilization efforts.

Provide advocacy and communication support to the Country Office:

  • Participate in and contribute to policy dialogues around gender equality and the empowerment of women;
  • Support substantively to developing concept notes, briefs and events planning for UN Women advocacy campaigns and global campaigns like the International Women’s Day, the HeForShe Campaign and the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence;

Facilitate knowledge building and sharing:

  • Manage the development and dissemination of good practices and lessons learned; ensure incorporation into programme planning;
  • Manage capacity building exercises. 

Competencies

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/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies

  • Strong knowledge of gender equity and women’s empowerment issues;
  • Strong knowledge of UN system and understanding of inter-agency coordination processes;
  • Strong knowledge of results-based programme planning and management;
  • Strong analytical skills;
  • Ability to promote and monitor inclusion of gender-specific objectives, indicators, targets, and activities in the UN agencies programmes;
  • Ability to provide advice and support.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

  • Master's degree (or equivalent) in international development, public administration, public policy, or other relevant social science 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:

  • At least 4 years of progressively responsible experience working with inter-agency coordination and strategic programme planning processes;
  • Experience in the development, planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting of programmes;
  • Experience working in gender equality and women’s rights at the international level is an asset;
  • Experience working in developing countries within the UN system, Agencies, Funds or Programs is an asset.

Language Requirements:

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

 

All applications must include (as an attachment) a completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form-en.doc.

Please note that the system will only allow one attachment and candidates are required to include in the P-11 form links for their previously published reports and articles completed within the last two years. Applications without the completed and signed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Note:

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. It merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system (DAW, OSAGI, INSTRAW and UNIFEM), which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Diversity and inclusion:

At UN Women, we are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment of mutual respect. UN Women recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, or any other basis covered by appropriate law. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, competence, integrity and organizational need.

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

UN Women has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UN Women, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. (Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.