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’s presence in the Republic of Moldova has evolved from being a project-based office in 2007 to a Country Office with full delegated authority as of 2015. Currently, UN Women Moldova Country Office is in its final stage of implementing its Strategic Note (SN) for 2014-2017 and a new Strategic Note has been developed for the upcoming five-year period 2018-2022, which is aligned with the Republic of Moldova–United Nations Partnership Framework for Sustainable Development 2018–2022 and the Global Strategic Plan of UN Women. Under its current and upcoming SN, UN Women cooperates closely with the government, civil society, academia, private sector and the media to advance social, economic and political rights and opportunities for women and girls, placing special focus on those from marginalized, excluded and under-represented groups. These include rural women, Romani women, women with disabilities, women living with or affected by HIV, women survivors of violence, women migrants, elderly women and others. UN Women’s operation in Moldova focuses on bringing about concrete change in the lives of women and the society towards the long-term impact of achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in the country. Specifically, the SN 2018-2022 will advance progress under the following three outcome areas: Outcome 1: More women from diverse groups fully participate and lead in governance processes and institutions, Outcome 2: Women have income security, decent work and economic autonomy, Outcome 3: Public authorities, institutions and communities prevent violence against women and girls and deliver quality essential services. Towards these Outcomes, UN Women works with variety of national and international partners to challenge gender-based stereotypes and towards the creation of an environment, whereby women act as key agents of change towards greater equality and development, in partnership with men and boys.

Under the overall guidance and direction of the UN Women Representative, the Programme Specialist exercises overall responsibility for planning, implementing, and managing UN Women interventions under the approved Strategic Note.  She/he works in close collaboration with the programme and operations team, UN Women HQ staff, Government officials, multi and bi-lateral donors and civil society ensuring successful UN Women Strategic Note implementation.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of Key Functions:

• Provision of top quality advisory and programme development services;
• Management of the CO programme and supervision of the Programme team;
• Inter-agency Coordination Support;
• Strategic partnerships and resource mobilization Support;
• Advocacy support and Knowledge building and management.

Provision of top quality advisory and programme development services:

• Thorough analysis and research of the political, social and economic situation in Moldova related to the thematic/sectorial areas assigned and preparation of substantive inputs to the UN Women CO programme planning in those areas;
• Constant monitoring and analysis of the programme environment, timely readjustment of programme interventions;
• Identification of areas for support and interventions within the thematic/sectorial areas assigned;
• Design and formulation of programme initiatives within the area of responsibility, translating UN Women’s priorities into local interventions;
• Provision of programme advisory support to the Office Management within the thematic area/portfolio assigned.

Management of the CO Programme and supervision of the Programme team:

• Under the guidance and oversight of the supervisor, exercise overall responsibility for planning, implementation, management, and coordination aspects of the programmes/projects under his/her responsibility;
• Ensure effective application of RBM tools and monitoring achievement of results;
• Manage the portfolio of on-going programmes/projects through technical monitoring and administrative and financial supervision ensuring the proper application of a monitoring system to track progress on program results and indicators;
• Lead programmes/projects appraisal and evaluation according to results-based management requirements;
• Coordinate and supervise the activities of programme staff, projects staff, experts and consultants working as part of the technical assistance team;
• Responsible for the timely preparation and quality control of all substantive technical reports, briefs and required documents;
• Ensure timely production and submission of all partial and/or progress reports by all members of the project team, contractors and project partners;
• Conduct field visits to supervise, coordinate and monitor field level activities of portfolio.

Inter-Agency Coordination Support:

• Provide substantive support to the Representative on inter-agency coordination related activities;
• Take part in country level Comprehensive Country Assessment (CCA)/UNDAF processes and similar exercises related to the RC system ensuring that gender concerns are clearly reflected and mainstreamed in process;
• Prepare substantive inputs to CCA/ UNDAF and other documents thoroughly analyzing and researching the political, social and economic situation in the region;
• Prepare analytical and regular progress reports on UN Women’s programme experiences in support of UN women inter-agency coordination role.

Strategic partnerships building and resource mobilization Support:

• Implement the Office partnerships and resources mobilization strategies to achieve programme outcomes within the areas assigned;
• Create and coordinate partnerships with the relevant UN Agencies, government institutions, bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors, private sector, civil society, etc.;
• Determine programmatic areas of cooperation, based on strategic goals of UN Women, country needs and donors’ priorities;
• Analysis and research of information on donors, preparation of substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for cost-sharing;
• Follow up on resource on mobilization activities for fund raising for new projects in coordination with the UN Women Representative.

Advocacy support and facilitation of knowledge building and management:

• Support the establishment of advocacy networks at national level and linkages to international networks related to the sectorial/thematic areas assigned;
• Proactively and substantively support and implement relevant, high-impact advocacy activities and campaigns with key partners;
• Identify and synthesis best practices and lessons learnt directly linked to programme country policy goals in the sectorial/thematic areas assigned;
• Proactively contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice.

The post has an impact on the overall effectiveness and success of UN Women interventions and activities in the assigned sectorial/thematic areas, which impact in turn on the overall effectiveness of the UN Women programme in the CO.  By helping ensure effective design, planning, implementation, and M&E of assigned sectorial/thematic areas 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.

Key Performance Indicators

• Programme team workplans and budgets are developed and implemented in line with Strategic Note and Country Office work plans;
• Programme team adhere to UN Women’s Rules, Regulations, policies and procedures, using a results-based management approach;
• Programmes are implemented according to workplan and budget;
• Regular monitoring of programmes, issues/deviations are raised in a timely manner;
• Timely and quality reporting and regular dissemination and sharing of information, including best practices/ lessons learned.

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

• Ability to lead formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes and projects;
• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
• Ability to formulate and manage detailed operational plans, budgets and deliver on them;
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making;
• Strong analytical skills;
• Strong knowledge of Results Based Management;
• Good knowledge of UN programme management systems;
• Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
• Ability to advocate and provide policy advice;
• Lead teams effectively and shows conflict resolution skills;
• Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
• Focuses on impact and result for the partners and responds positively to feedback.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Social Sciences, Political Science, Development, Public Administration, Gender is required.

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years relevant experience at the national or international level in design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects and establishing inter-relationships among international organization and national governments, preferably in the field of gender and human rights of women;
• Experience in working in a gender related area is an asset;
• Experience in setting priorities, budgets, work plans, participating in programme development and programme writing;
• Experience in leading teams effectively is an asset;
• Prior experience in the UN System is an asset.

Language Requirements:

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

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.

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 a fully completed UN Women Personal History Form (P11) as attachment instead of CV/resume, with the mark “National Programme Officer/Programme Specialist” by 04 May 2018, COB.

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.

Note:

The system will only allow one attachment, hence all supporting document e.g. P11, CV and Cover letter must be scanned as one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment. Only qualified, shortlisted candidates will be contacted for test and interview.

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.