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.

 

Despite extensive efforts made by Government to achieve gender equality and empower all women and   girls   through gender sensitive policies, programmes as well as legal   frameworks; women   and   girls   continue   to   be   subjected   to serious human rights violations. As part of the institutional arrangement to translate global norms to action and promote gender equality and empowerment of  women (GEWE), through provision of equal opportunities for all, the Government of Uganda enacted the Public Finance Management Act of 2015  which made it mandatory for all Ministries, Departments and Agencies to plan and budget in gender and equity responsive manner as a measure to promote equal opportunities and gender and equity  through Budget frame work papers which are reviewed and approved by Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, (MFPED), and Parliament before budget approvals annually.

 

UN Women has been supporting the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) and Ministry of Finance Planning  and UBOS  to  strengthen their capacity to generate gender disaggregated data to inform plans and budgets as well as strengthening accountability  mechanisms for tracking the proportion of the national budget that is invested towards advancing  gender equality and the empowerment of women through  gender-responsive budgeting. UN Women also supports the Equal Opportunities Commission with an overall objective is to deepen compliance in the implementation of the Gender and Equity Responsive Planning and Budgeting within the public sector as per the PFMA,2015 ( as Amended).

 

UN Women through the EOC works with Parliament to strengthen their oversite function in reviewing the Budget framework papers as well as Civil society organisation to strengthen their capacity in holding government accountable on GEWE in line with the PFMA of 2015. The assessments from EOC show that sectors are increasingly mainstreaming and implementing gender interventions as reflected in the compliance scores of the National Budget Framework Paper as assessed by the Equal Opportunities Commission. The average scores have increased from 57% for FY2016/17; to 60% for FY 2017/18 and 61% for FY2018/19. UN women through this position will invest in high level strategic advocacy engagements and partnerships, increase inter agency-coordination and lobby for more resources allocation to social sector, to address gender gaps as indicated by the statistics above and ensure  transformative actions are taken to achieve gender equality and ensure no one is left behind in line with aspirations of the UN Cooperation Framework and NDP III and Agenda 2030.

 

Reporting to the Team Leader Governance, the Programme Specialist exercises overall responsibility for planning, implementing, and managing UN Women interventions under his/her portfolio.  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 programme implementation under portfolio. 

Duties and Responsibilities

  1. Coordinate the Gender Responsive Policy, Planning and Budgeting portfolio
  • Provide coordination leadership and technical support to Government to effectively participate and interface with other intergovernmental bodies, including the Commission on the Status of Women and other regional bodies.
  • Provide technical and advisory on domestication on global and regional GEWE normative frameworks into policy, legal frameworks and other national frameworks.
  • Provide technical guidance and support to government on procedures for participating in intergovernmental global and regional meetings such as CSW.
  • Gather political intelligence to create opportunities for UN-Women to further its agenda and anticipated
  • Design and develop programme strategies in the area of gender responsive planning, budgeting and intergovernmental support.
  • Draft inputs to country strategy documents, briefs, policy dialogue and other documents related to gender responsive planning and budgeting.
  • Support the development of the UN Women Country Strategic Note making sure outcomes and outputs reflect Gender Responsive Planning and Budgeting and More national and local plans, strategies, policies and budgets are gender responsive.
  • Provide technical support to prioritize and mainstream gender issues in national development strategies, develop and cost national gender equality action plans, integrate gender analysis into local and national budgets and strengthen budget transparency and accountability.

2. Manage the implementation and management of the gender responsive planning and budgeting programme

  • Develop 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 regular Project coordination meetings for effective delivery, project review and/or evaluation meetings, as needed.

3. Manage technical assistance and capacity development to project/programme partners

  • Provide technical support into processes for integration of UN Women GEWE normative frameworks into United Nations Sustainable Development Corporation Framework (UNSDCF) and UN joint programming.
  • Support coherent coordination with all partners for smooth functioning of intergovernmental work and overseeing reporting processes within UN-Women
  • challenges.
  • 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 planning and budgeting programme, respond to any potential challenges;
  • Identify capacity building needs of partners and lead the coordination of technical assistance, mentoring, training and capacity development initiatives to partners.

4.  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.

   5. Manage the people and financial resources of the gender responsive planning and budgeting programme

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

6.  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.

7. Contribute to inter-agency coordination on gender responsive planning and budgeting to achieve coherence and alignment of UN Women programmes with other partners in Uganda  

  • 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.

 8. Manage advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts

  • Develop and review background documents, briefs and presentations related to the gender responsive planning and budgeting thematic area;
  • Represent UN Women in meetings and policy dialogues on issues related to gender responsive planning, budgeting and inter-governmental support 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 planning and budgeting.

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 responsive planning and budgeting  
  • Strong analytical skills
  • Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising and develop strategies

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 progressively responsible work experience at the national or international level in design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects;
  • Technical experience in gender planning and budgeting;
  • Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors is an asset;
  • Experience working in the UN System is an asset;
  • Experience in leading/managing a team is an asset.

 

Language Requirements

  • Fluency in written and spoken English is essential
  • Working knowledge of another official UN language is an asset;
  • Knowledge of Uganda and the Great Lakes region is an asset

 

Application Procedure

Interested individuals should submit their online applications not later than 29th January 2021.