Background

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women works on 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. Placing women's rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations System efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

In Afghanistan, UN Women works in four thematic areas i.e. Governance and Participation, Ending Violence Against Women, Women Economic Empowerment (WEE), and Women Peace and Security; and Gender and Humanitarian Action (as a cross cutting component); and is dedicated to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in Afghanistan.  Staff and consultants of UN Women Afghanistan Country Office (ACO) are expected to contribute to a professional working environment in which the strengthening of national capacities and human potential is prioritized.  Respect for diversity and human dignity is required, as is the active pursuit of a collaborative and inclusive approach to both internal and external stakeholders, including colleagues and partners.

In the area of Gender and Humanitarian Action, UN Women Afghanistan focuses on sustainable efforts that promote/empower Afghan women to and fully participate in humanitarian response. ACO’s interventions in this programme area are anchored in a two-pronged approach; i.e. 1) ensuring that Humanitarian planning, response frameworks and programming are gender responsive; and supporting Afghan women to lead the response to humanitarian crisis; and 2)  Supporting efforts to mainstream Humanitarian interventions throughout the four programme areas; also in refection of the overwhelming scale of the current humanitarian situation (due to both drought and the escalating conflict) on the nation and the need for very practical forms of mainstreaming to effectively address gender considerations.

Under the overall guidance of the Country Representative, and directly reporting to the Deputy Country Representative, the Programme Specialist exercises overall responsibility for planning, implementing, and managing UN Women interventions under the Gender and Humanitarian Action programme.  She/he works in close collaboration with the programme and operations team, other UN Agencies and the Humanitarian Country Team in Afghanistan, UN Women Regional Office and HQ specialists, Government officials, multi and bi-lateral donors and civil society ensuring successful UN Women programme implementation under the Gender and Humanitarian Action portfolio. 

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women works on 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. Placing women's rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations System efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

In Afghanistan, UN Women works in four thematic areas i.e. Governance and Participation, Ending Violence Against Women, Women Economic Empowerment (WEE), and Women Peace and Security; and Gender and Humanitarian Action (as a cross cutting component); and is dedicated to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in Afghanistan.  Staff and consultants of UN Women Afghanistan Country Office (ACO) are expected to contribute to a professional working environment in which the strengthening of national capacities and human potential is prioritized.  Respect for diversity and human dignity is required, as is the active pursuit of a collaborative and inclusive approach to both internal and external stakeholders, including colleagues and partners.

In the area of Gender and Humanitarian Action, UN Women Afghanistan focuses on sustainable efforts that promote/empower Afghan women to and fully participate in humanitarian response. ACO’s interventions in this programme area are anchored in a two-pronged approach; i.e. 1) ensuring that Humanitarian planning, response frameworks and programming are gender responsive; and supporting Afghan women to lead the response to humanitarian crisis; and 2)  Supporting efforts to mainstream Humanitarian interventions throughout the four programme areas; also in refection of the overwhelming scale of the current humanitarian situation (due to both drought and the escalating conflict) on the nation and the need for very practical forms of mainstreaming to effectively address gender considerations.

Under the overall guidance of the Country Representative, and directly reporting to the Deputy Country Representative, the Programme Specialist exercises overall responsibility for planning, implementing, and managing UN Women interventions under the Gender and Humanitarian Action programme.  She/he works in close collaboration with the programme and operations team, other UN Agencies and the Humanitarian Country Team in Afghanistan, UN Women Regional Office and HQ specialists, Government officials, multi and bi-lateral donors and civil society ensuring successful UN Women programme implementation under the Gender and Humanitarian Action portfolio

Duties and Responsibilities

Design and develop programme strategies on Gender and Humanitarian Action  

• Design and formulate programme/ project proposals and initiatives;
• Draft inputs to country strategy documents, briefs, policy dialogue and other documents related to Humanitarian response

Manage the implementation and management of the Gender and Humanitarian Action initiatives

• 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 and Humanitarian Action initiatives; 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 annual donor and UN Women reports.

Manage the people and financial resources of the programme

• Manage the programme budget and draft financial reports;

• Mentor and coach staff and conduct performance assessments when applicable;
• Oversee recruitment processes, as necessary.

Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies

• Develop and implement partnerships and resource mobilization strategies on gender and humanitarian action;
• 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 including HCT, GiHA to achieve coherence and alignment of UN Women programmes with other partners in Afghanistan  

• Provide technical support to the Representative and Deputy 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 Gender and Humanitarian Action
• Represent UN Women in meetings and policy dialogues on issues related to Humanitarian 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 and Humanitarian Action.
• 'Key Performance Indicators
• Timely and quality programme design and inputs to Strategic Note
• 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
• Relations with partners and stakeholders
• Quality reports and timely submission
• Regular communication with other agencies and partners
• Quality of advocacy and communication initiatives

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

• Strong programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills

• Strong knowledge of Results Based Management
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making
• Strong knowledge of Gender and Humanitarian response
• Strong analytical skills
• Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising and develop strategies

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in humanitarian and/or conflict response, disaster relief, logistics, engineering, social sciences, human rights, gender/women's studies, international development, or other relevant 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 or a certification on Gender in Humanitarian Action would be an added advantage

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible work experience at the national or international level in design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of humanitarian assistance and/or development projects;
• Technical expertise and previous work experience in Gender and Humanitarian response;
• Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors is an asset;
• Experience working in the UN System or humanitarian cluster organization is an asset;
• Experience in leading/managing a team is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English and Dari/Pashto is required;
• Working knowledge of another official UN language is an asset;