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.

In Ukraine UN Women works with the government, parliament and civil society to advance gender equality through the implementation of the national and international commitments on gender equality and women’s human rights. The work of UN Women Ukraine is guided by the following strategic goals: elimination of violence against women and girls; implementation of the women, peace and security agenda; and gender responsive governance. UN Women collaborates closely with the UN Country Team to integrate women’s rights and gender equality in all spheres of the UN’s work in Ukraine.

The project “Advancing Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment through Decentralisation Reform of Ukraine” goal is to achieve transformative results for gender equality and women’s empowerment through decentralisation reform in Ukraine. The project will provide policy, technical and capacity-building support to the national mechanism on gender equality and the Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine, to strengthen the implementation of the national government policy commitments and programs that advance gender equality and women’s empowerment at national, oblast and local levels. The project will support diverse women’s groups and civil society organisations to enhance their equitable participation in decision-making about decentralized governance and service delivery and to demand accountability for gender equality commitments. The project will contribute to development of favourable social norms, attitudes and behaviours to address the root causes of discrimination.

Reporting to the UN Women Representative in Ukraine, the Programme Specialist exercises overall responsibility for planning, implementing, and managing UN Women interventions under the project portfolio.  She/he works in close collaboration with the programme and operations team in Ukraine, UN Women HQ staff, Government officials, multi and bi-lateral donors and civil society ensuring successful UN Women programme implementation under portfolio.

Duties and Responsibilities

Design and develop programme strategies in the area of gender-responsive governance:

• Design and formulate programme/ project proposals and initiatives;
• Draft inputs to country strategy documents, briefs, policy dialogue and other documents related to gender-responsive governance.

Manage the implementation and management of the gender-responsive governance programme:

• Finalize the annual workplan and budget and manage their implementation;
• Manage the technical implementation of the programme/project; ensure synergies with other teams;
• Manage the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports;
• Provide guidance to staff and partners on Results Based Management tools and performance indicators;
• Organize Project Steering Committee, project review and/or evaluation meetings, as needed.

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

• Manage the implementation of technical advice and guidance. Develop and implement technical tools, and initiatives
• Build and manage relationships with national partners to support implementation and expansion of the gender-responsive governance programme; respond to any potential problems;
• Identify capacity building needs of partners and lead the coordination of technical assistance, mentoring, training and capacity development initiatives to partners.

Manage the monitoring and reporting of the programme/ project:

• Manage the monitoring of programme/ project implementation and finances using results-based management tools;
• Oversee field missions and review reports on monitoring missions;
• Write quarterly reports and donor reports, focusing on results, output and outcomes;
• Contribute to office donor and UN Women reports.

Manage the people and financial resources of the project:

• Manage the programme budget and draft financial reports;
• Supervise the project team; Mentor and coach staff and conduct performance assessments;
• Oversee recruitment processes, as necessary.

Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies:

• Develop and implement partnerships and resource mobilization strategies;
• Finalize relevant documentation on donors and potential opportunities for resource mobilization;
• Analyze and research information on donors, prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for cost sharing.

Contribute to inter-agency coordination on gender-responsive governance to achieve coherence and alignment of UN Women programmes with other partners in the country:

• Provide technical support to the Representative on inter-agency coordination related activities by attending meetings, events, and participating in groups and committees as needed;
• Coordinate with other UN agencies, government departments, donors and NGOs to ensure the projects’ capacity development programme is harmonized and aligned with other in-country efforts.

Manage advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts:

• Develop and review background documents, briefs and presentations related to the gender-responsive governance;
• Represent UN Women in meetings and policy dialogues on issues related to gender-responsive governance as necessary;
• Develop advocacy strategies and oversee their implementation;
• Identify best practices and lessons learned to guide programme improvement and strategy planning;
• Develop knowledge management strategies, products and methodologies on gender-responsive governance.

Key Performance Indicators: 

• Timely and quality of programme delivery in line with budget and workplans, and in line with all UN Women operational rules and regulations, including security;
• Timely and quality monitoring and evaluation of programmes;
• Regular communication with other agencies and partners;
• Quality of advocacy and communication initiatives;
• Quality and timely reporting;
• Strong relations with partners and stakeholders;
• Timely and quality implementation of advocacy, information and communication events in line with programme work plan.

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: http://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-employment-values-and-competencies-definitions-en.pdf.

Functional Competencies:

• Demonstrated development and programming skills particularly those that are pertinent to UN Women strategic priorities on gender equality and women’s rights;
• Ability to advocate and provide policy advice;
• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
• Ability to formulate and manage budgets, manage contributions and investments, manage transactions, conduct financial analysis, reporting and cost-recovery;
• Strong knowledge of Results Based Management principles and approaches;
• Ability to establish and maintain broad strategic networks and partnerships with UN agencies and other international partners to promote partnership and build alliances to advance organizational interests and competencies;
• Strong knowledge of gender-responsive governance area;
• Strong analytical skills;
• Strong leadership and conflict resolution skills;
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, human rights, gender/women's studies, international development, 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 relevant experience at the national or international level in providing management advisory services, hands-on experience in design, monitoring and evaluation of development projects;
• Experience and knowledge of gender – responsive governance;
• Experience in formulating, implementing and, monitoring development programmes and projects;
• Experience in managing a multidisciplinary team;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems;
• Experience in results-based management as specifically applied in the UN context is an asset;
• Experience working with UN/UN Women, international organizations will be an added asset. 

Languages:

• Proficient knowledge of English language;
• Fluency in Ukrainian/Russian is a strong asset.

Application:

• All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from?http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment?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.