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 in South Sudan supports the government to implement commitments to international normative standards on gender equality and women’s human rights. The new UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2023-2025 and the corresponding UN Women South Sudan Strategic Note (2023-2025), defining UN Women’s strategic engagement in South Sudan, focuses on strengthening the national structures and mechanisms for gender mainstreaming in policies, plans, and budgets; supporting efforts to prevent and eliminate violence against women; promoting women’s economic empowerment; promoting policies and government investment in women’s empowerment and resilience building in the context of climate change, humanitarian crisis as well as threats to peace and security. UN Women works with a range of stakeholders in South Sudan including the government, civil society and women’s organizations, youth, UN agencies, and donors, to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Currently under “Secretary-General’s Peace Building Fund”, UN Women in partnership with UNDP, UNESCO will implement a project on women’s leadership in security sector reform titled Women in South Sudan’s Security Sector: A path to Inclusive and Transformative Leadership. The project's primary objective is to contribute to an inclusive and coordinated security sector that addresses the specific needs of vulnerable groups, particularly women and girls, in South Sudan. This is achieved by supporting the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) on Gender and Security Sector Reform (SSR) for the period 2023-2027, which was developed under the Gender Mainstreaming in the Security Sector Reform project funded by the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) from 2020 to 2023. The NAP aims to ensure a gender-responsive security sector that is non-discriminatory, fully representative of the population and capable of addressing the unique security concerns of women and girls. Building on the achievements and lessons learned from the previous PBF-funded project, this initiative focuses on increasing women's participation in leadership and decision-making roles as outlined in the NAP. Additionally, it emphasizes creating an enabling environment for gender responsiveness and empowering female personnel through literacy, numeracy, and trauma-healing interventions. Close collaboration with national and state-level government agencies and key stakeholders is essential to ensure their leadership and ownership in transforming the security sector to be more inclusive. The project also aims to enhance coordination among security sector institutions at both national and state levels, while establishing and strengthening women's networks in three identified project locations: Greater Bahr-El-Ghazal (Aweil), Greater Equatoria (Juba), and Greater Upper Nile (Malakal). Synergies with other PBF projects in these areas, such as Women's Leadership and Political Participation during South Sudan's transitional period, will be leveraged to maximize impact and sustainability.

With direct reporting to the Head of Women, Peace, and Security and under the overall guidance of the Deputy Country Representative, the Project Coordinator contributes to the effective management of UN Women programmes in the Country Office by providing substantive inputs to programme design, formulation, implementation and evaluation.  The Project Coordinator guides and facilitates the delivery of UN Women programmes by coordinating the implementation of the project with UNDP and UNESCO, monitoring results achieved during implementation and ensuring the appropriate application of systems and procedures and developing enhancements if necessary.  The Project Coordinator works in close collaboration with the programme and operations team, UN Women regional and HQ staff, Government officials, multi and bilateral donors and civil society ensuring successful UN Women programme implementation under Women, Peace, and Security portfolio. 

Duties and Responsibilities

Contribute technically to the development of programme strategies in WPS and Women’s Leadership in Security Sector Reform:

  • Provide substantive inputs to the design and formulation of programme/ project proposals and initiatives;
  • Identify areas for support and intervention related to the programme.

Provide substantive technical support to the implementation and management WPS and Women’s Leadership in Security Sector Reform:

  • Provide technical inputs to the annual workplan and budget;
  • Lead the implementation of programme activities;
  • Coordinate implementation of activities with other implementing agencies, and the call/request for proposals, including the organization of technical review committees, and capacity assessment of partners;
  • Review, coordinate and monitor the submission of implementing agencies and partner financial and narrative reports;
  • Train agencies and partners on Results Based Management and monitor implementation.

Provide technical assistance and capacity development to project/programme partners:

  • Coordinate and provide technical support in the implementation of programme activities; Develop technical knowledge products;
  • Maintain relationships with national partners to support implementation and expansion of the WPS and Women’s Leadership in Security Sector Reform;
  • Identify opportunities for capacity building of partners and facilitate technical/ programming support and trainings to partners, as needed.

Provide technical inputs to the monitoring and reporting of the programme/ project:

  • Monitor progress of implementation of activities and finances using results-based management tools;
  • Draft reports on monitoring missions, programme results s, outputs, and outcomes;
  • Provide substantive inputs to the preparation of donor and UN Women reports;
  • Coordinate and compile the Semi-annual and Annual reports of the Women’s Leadership in Security Sector Reform project and make submissions to the PBF Secretariat.

Provide substantive technical inputs to the management of people and finances of the WPS and Women’s Leadership in Security Sector Reform:

  • Monitor budget implementation and make budget re-alignments/ revisions, as necessary;
  • Provide substantive inputs to financial reports;
  • Supervise Programme Associates and Assistant.

Provide substantive inputs to building partnerships and resource mobilization strategies:

  • Provide substantive inputs to resource mobilization strategies; analyze and maintain information and databases;
  • Prepare relevant documentation such as project summaries, conference papers, briefing notes, speeches, and donor profiles;
  • Participate in donor meetings and public information events, as delegated.

Provide technical support to inter-agency coordination on WPS and Women’s Leadership in Security Sector Reform:

  • Provide substantive technical support to the Representative and Deputy Representative on inter-agency coordination related activities by drafting background reports and briefs;
  • Lead the coordination of the Women’s Leadership in Security Sector Technical Working Group at the National and Sub-National level.

Provide substantive inputs to advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts:

  • Develop background documents, briefs and presentations related to WPS and Women’s Leadership in Security Sector Reform;
  • Coordinate and organize advocacy campaigns, events, trainings, workshops, and knowledge products;
  •  Coordinate the development of knowledge management methodologies, and products on WPS and Women’s Leadership in Security Sector Reform.
  • Perform other job-related duties as requested by supervisor from time to time.

Key Performance Indicators:

  • Timely and quality inputs to programme development;
  • Timely and quality implementation of Programme/Portfolio/ activities against set workplans, timelines, and budgets, in line with the Strategic Note;
  • Timely and quality technical assistance;
  • Quality and timely inputs to reporting;
  • Strong relations with partners and stakeholders;
  • Enhanced best practices and lessons learned documented and circulated.

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.

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 in programme management;
  • Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities, and threats to fundraising.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

  • Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, human rights, Law, gender/women's studies, international development, security studies, 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 would be an added advantage.

Experience:

  • At least 5 years of progressively responsible work experience in project development, programme/project implementation, gender equality, Women, Peace and Security, Security Sector Reform, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, donor reporting and capacity building;
  • Experience in WPS and Women’s Leadership in Security Sector Reform is an asset;
  • Previous experience working in the UN system is an asset;
  • Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors is an asset.

Language Requirements:

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

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc. Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed 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 based on 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.