UN Women: Programme Specialist – Women’s Leadership and Civic Engagement , Home-Based, I-PPSA 10, International Partner Personnel Service Agreement

Background
JOB DESCRIPTION
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, 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. Afghanistan is one of the world’s most complex emergencies, and the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Afghan people are grappling with the impact of conflict, poverty, economic decline, and natural disasters. In this context, Afghan women and girls face unique vulnerabilities and require urgent support as gender inequality is interwoven with conflict dynamics and humanitarian needs.
UN Women has been in Afghanistan for two decades. UN Women’s programming approach is informed by analysis of the political, economic and humanitarian situation, risks to and capacities of partner organizations, and needs of Afghan women and girls. UN Women Afghanistan currently has five key program priorities: (1) Integrated Programming and Localization, (2) Women’s movement building through core grant making; 3) Policy and Research; 4) Economic Resilience & Empowerment and 5) Coordination, Access and Humanitarian Response. UN Women Afghanistan operates through its main office in Kabul and five suboffices located in the provinces of Balkh, Bamyan, Herat, Kandahar and Nangarhar.
Under the Policy & Research portfolio, UN Women focuses on supporting women-led/gender focused civil society organizations to promote social cohesion, document the situation, hold space for women’s rights, build movements, and protect women human rights defenders.
Reporting to the Programme Manager Policy & Research, the Programme Specialist exercises overall responsibility for planning, implementing, and managing UN Women interventions under their portfolio. The Programme Specialist leads strategic and sensitive partnerships with select civil-society organizations; designs and implement a comprehensive M&E system to track results and monitor risks across the women’s leadership portfolio; builds partner capacity and establish secure information-protection protocols (“firewalls”); and trains and mentors national Policy & Research staff and volunteers to ensure they can manage partnerships safely and effectively.
The Programme Specialist works in close collaboration with the programme and operations team, UN Women HQ staff, Government officials, multi and bilateral donors and civil society ensuring successful UN Women programme implementation under portfolio.
III. Scope Of Work
Design and develop programme strategies in the area of Women’s Leadership and Civic Engagement
Design and formulate programme/ project proposals and initiatives; and
Draft inputs to country strategy documents, briefs, policy dialogue and other documents related to Women’s Leadership and Civic Engagement.
Manage the implementation and management of the Women’s Leadership and Civic Engagement portfolio under the overarching Policy & Research unit
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; and
Organize Project Steering Committee, project review and/or evaluation meetings, as needed.
Manage technical assistance and capacity development to sensitive 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 Women’s Leadership and Civic Engagement programme; respond to any potential problems; and
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 relating to Women’s Leadership and Civic 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 quarterly reports and donor reports, focusing on results, output and outcomes; and
Contribute to office donor and UN Women reports.
Manage the people and financial resources of the Women’s Leadership and Civic Engagement portfolio under the overarching Policy & Research unit
Manage the programme budget and draft financial reports;
Supervise Programme Analysts and Technical Specialists; Mentor and guide personnel and conduct performance assessments; and Oversee recruitment processes, as necessary.
Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies, with a particular focus on women’s human rights
Develop and implement partnerships and resource mobilization strategies;
Finalize relevant documentation on donors and potential opportunities for resource mobilization; and
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 Women’s Leadership and Civic Engagement, including specific workstreams relating to Climate, Peace and Security, to achieve coherence and alignment of UN Women programmes with other partners in the country
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; and
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 women’s leadership; women human rights defenders; WPS; and, climate, peace and security;
Represent UN Women in meetings and policy dialogues on issues related to women’s leadership; women human rights defenders; WPS; and, climate, 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; and
Develop knowledge management strategies, products and methodologies on women’s leadership; women human rights defenders; WPS; and, climate, peace and security
Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: The incumbent will be expected to supervise a team of three personnel, including project associates (one G7, one NPSA-6 and one NUNV). Supervision of additional contractors may occur.
Competencies
Core Values:
Integrity;
Professionalism;
Respect for Diversity.
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 Values and Competencies Framework:
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; women’s human rights; and, climate, peace and security.
Strong analytical skills
Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising and develop strategies
V. Minimum Qualifications
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.
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 is required.
Experience working in the UN System is required.
Experience working with Women Human Rights Defenders, including strong knowledge of protection approaches, digital security and data management is required.
Technical experience in Women Peace and Security is required.
Experience on partnership-rel

Work arrangement
Yes