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.
The UN Women South Africa Multi-Country Office (SAMCO) works in Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa.
Reporting to Deputy Country Representative, South Africa Multi Country Office, the Programme Specialist exercises overall responsibility for planning, implementing, and managing UN Women interventions under their portfolio.
The Programme Specialist 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. As the Team Lead for the Women's Peace & Security and Gender in Humanitarian Action (WPS-GiHA) programmes, the Programme Specialist also provides guidance, technical, oversight and strategic support for the effective team management of the WPS-GiHA Team, particularly in, but not limited to intergovernmental processes, the UN System, Implementing Partners and UN Women personnel working at national and sub national levels on issues of gender equality and women's empowerment in peace, security, disaster risk reduction/preparedness, emergency response and recovery.
Duties And Responsibilities
Design and develop programme strategies in the area of Women, Peace and Security (WPS):
- Design and formulate programme/ project proposals and initiatives , in close cooperation with relevant government counterparts and civil society partners;
- Undertake ongoing research and analysis to inform refinement of programme strategies;
- Draft inputs to country strategy documents, briefs, policy dialogue and other documents related to Women, Peace and Security.
- 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 personnel and partners on Results Based Management tools and performance indicators;
- Organize Project Steering Committee, project review and/or evaluation meetings, as needed.
- Build and manage relationships with national partners to support implementation and expansion of the women, peace and security 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;
- Ensure systematic partner engagement.
- Manage the monitoring of programme/ project implementation and finances using results based management tools;
- Oversee field missions and review reports on monitoring missions;
- Write briefing notes; speeches tailored to various audiences/forums; quarterly reports and donor reports, focusing on results, output and outcomes;
- Contribute to office donor and UN Women reports.
- Manage the programme budget and draft financial reports;
- Supervise the Women, Peace and security and humanitarian team; Mentor and coach staff and conduct performance assessments;
- Ensure effective Team-Leadership and overall direction and management of the WPS-GiHA portfolio and provide cross-cutting advice on coherence with other programmes;
- Oversee recruitment processes, as necessary.
- 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.
- 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 and provide oversight to the GiHA lead to ensure the projects' capacity development programme is harmonized and aligned with other in-country efforts
- Develop and review background documents, briefs and presentations related to the women, peace and security;
- Participate and engage with UN Women's global Community of Practice on women, peace and security to share lessons learned and good practices to other regions;
- Represent UN Women in meetings and policy dialogues on issues related to women, peace and security 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 women, peace and security.
Competencies
Core Values:
- Respect for Diversity
- Integrity
- Professionalism
- 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 women, peace and security;
- Strong analytical skills;
- Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising and develop strategies.
Education and certification:
- 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.
- 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 is required;
- Technical experience in women, peace and security is required;
- 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 the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required;
- Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors is an desirable;
- Experience working in the UN System is desirable;
- Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.
- Fluency in English is required.
- Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).
- Fluency in English is required.
Please note that the system will only allow one attachment and candidates are required to include in the P-11 form links for their previously published reports and articles completed within the last two years. Applications without the completed and signed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.
Notes:
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 on the basis of 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.
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