Programme Specialist, Gender and Economics Coordination

Contract

This is a NO-C contract. This kind of contract is known as National Professional Officers. It is normally only for nationals. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 5 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be more than 4,764 USD.

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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.

Women in East and Southern Africa represent the most deprived group of the population in spite of their paramount social and economic role. They have limited access to, and control over critical resources, as a result of social, cultural and economic norms. UN Women’s programmatic work to support women’s economic empowerment in the region is centered around three pillars: (i) Improving women’s access to climate resilient agricultural value chains; (ii) Promoting and strengthening women entrepreneurship; and (ii) Enhancing women’s income security and social protection.

COVID 19 hit East and Southern Africa at the beginning of the second quarter of 2020. The pandemic has exacerbated existing gender inequalities in economic opportunities across Eat and Southern Africa where most people earn their livelihoods through the informal economy. The shock triggered by COVID-19 came at time when the region’s economy was already plagued by rising income inequality, financial fragility and mounting debt, and limited fiscal space by Governments. The socio-economic impact of the pandemic affected women disproportionally in the region as a result of their overrepresentation among very small businesses, and informal and vulnerable workers. The lockdown measures have also increased the unpaid care burden of the region or rates of Gender Based Violence against women’s and girls.

To respond to the crisis, Governments across the region are spending significant resources to provide immediate support measures and to boost economic recovery through ‘fiscal stimulus’ packages. It is important to ensure that adopted economic stimulus and recovery package are gender responsive and address equity gaps. UN Women has developed a range of policy tools to support Governments in identifying and addressing the gender impacts of the pandemic, including one on “How to Assess and Engender Fiscal Stimulus Packages to Respond to the Socio-Economic Impacts of COVID-19”.

UN Women, with support from the Government of Korea, is launching the programme “Engendering Fiscal Stimulus Packages and Recovery Efforts Adopted in Response to the COVID-19 Health and Economic crises” to support Governments in East and Southern Africa in engendering fiscal stimulus packages through direct advice and technical assistance, as well as advocacy and policy dialogue. UN Women is seeking to engage the services of a feminist economist to serve as Programme Specialist to provide substantive leadership and coordination for the duration of this project (one year).

Reporting to the Policy Specialist, WEE and the Representative UN Women South Africa Multi-Country Office, the Programme Specialist is responsible for coordinating the programme “Engendering Fiscal Stimulus Packages and Recovery Efforts” which includes coordinating relationships with national partners and stakeholders, monitoring and reporting, and managing the finances and personnel of the portfolio. The Programme Specialist will act as National Economist Specialist in South Africa Office and directly support Mozambique and Uganda and other countries in the region with gender-responsive macro-economic analysis as needed.

Duties and Responsibilities

Coordinate a three-country Project on Engendering Economic Stimulus Packages:

• Coordinate the regional component for East and Southern Africa of the global programme “Engendering Fiscal Stimulus Packages and Recovery Efforts Adopted in Response to the COVID-19 Health and Economic crises”;
• Develop and implement, in collaboration with the Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) unit in HQ, the WEE Policy Specialist in the East and Southern Africa Region, the South Africa Multi Country Office Representative, Uganda and Mozambique Country Offices (COs) in the region a work plan to operationalize the global project “Engendering Fiscal Stimulus Packages and Recovery Efforts Adopted in Response to the COVID-19 Health and Economic crises” for East and Southern Africa in 2021
• Oversee the work of national economists working on this project in the identified countries (Mozambique and Uganda);
• Liaise with the East and Southern Africa Regional Office to regularly monitor progress on programme implementation in Mozambique and Uganda;
• Coordinate the exchange of information and provide inputs to the development of knowledge products internally and externally of the programme;
• Provide coordination support to the Regional Office (RO) and COs in policy outreach and influence, and in resource mobilization activities related to ‘engendering fiscal stimulus packages’ linked to this project;
• Design and implement regional advocacy strategy to influence agenda of key regional institutions (Economic Commissions, AfDB, AU) to engender fiscal stimulus packages;
• Coordinate and technically support cross-learning among the countries in East and Southern Africa in collaboration with a parallel project in West and Central Africa;
• Organize at least one advocacy campaign, training workshop, webinar and production of knowledge product every quarter.

Provide technical support and guidance on engendering fiscal stimulus packages across the region:

• Technically support and oversee national consultants in the development of national strategies that integrate gender equality into their stimulus packages and recovery policies;
• Technically support and oversee national consultants in the provision of ongoing technical assistance and support to COs in Uganda, South Africa and Mozambique in implementing those strategies including, conducting gender analysis of fiscal stimulus packages, participating in missions/online events to discuss and disseminate results and recommendations, technically support countries in the design of policy dialogues and advocacy strategies to promote recommendations to engender fiscal stimulus packages, and other technical support and advice as needed;
• Act as national economist and lead the implementation of the for the South Africa Multi-Country Office and Programmes.

Coordinate Capacity Building Initiatives for partners and other stakeholders:

• Identify capacity building needs and support Uganda and Mozambique country offices through technical assistance, mentoring, training and capacity development initiatives, as needed;
• Adapt existing tools and support Governments in analyzing gender impacts of stimulus packages and integrating gender priorities in economic recovery plans in the region;
• Implement on-the-job technical assistance to national economist and UN Women’s staff in engendering fiscal stimulus packages and gender analysis of macroeconomic policies;
• Design and deliver, jointly with national economists, capacity building activities for Governments in the region to enhance capacity to engender economic policies;
• Technically support and oversee national consultants in Uganda and Mozambique in the provision of technical assistance and training to UN Women country offices and Governments in the process of piloting, implementing, and adapting existing Gender responsive budgeting initiatives to integrate gender priorities in post-COVID19 recovery strategies;
• Design and deliver one regional capacity building event for UN Women staff and Government counterparts on key economic reforms to integrate women’s needs in post-COVID19 recovery in Q2 of 2021

Coordinate the monitoring and reporting on the Project:

• Gather and compile all data, social and economic information necessary for monitoring and reporting on the project from the planning to the evaluation stages;
• Develop key economic indicators, monitor project progress according to the work plan and indicators, and draft monitoring and donor reports for East and Southern Africa ;
• Monitor the implementation of activities and the expenditure of funds by partners; conduct regular monitoring virtual visits;
• Write annual and quarterly reports; review and coordinate the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports;
• Provide inputs to the Project activities and results to Regional Office reporting.

Manage financial resources and supervise personnel:

• Supervise and manage a team of consultants working on the project, review performance and mentorship;
• Coordinate development and preparation of financial resources of the Programme including budgeting and budget revisions, and expenditure tracking and reporting;
• Oversee and monitor the allocation and disbursement of funds to participating partners.

Key Performance Indicators

• Annual work plan and proposed approach to implementation of the project;
• Timely and quality implementation of the project activities against set workplans, timelines and budgets, in line with the Strategic Note
• Quality and timely reporting
• Strong relations with partners and stakeholders
• Regular and timely monitoring of activities
• Timely and quality implementation of advocacy events in line with work plan
• Enhanced best practices and lessons learned documented and circulated
• Final project report
• Delivery of training and capacity building activities

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 analytical skills on gender and economic policy and women’s economic empowerment;
• Strong communications skills in English
• Strong drafting skills and ability to produce a variety of knowledge products for different audiences and purposes
• Experience using and applying macroeconomic technical tools.
• Ability to produce impactful communications materials and knowledge products
• Strong commitment to knowledge-sharing within a multicultural environment
• Ability to design and deliver training and other capacity building strategies in the area of gender and economics to a variety of audiences

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• Master’s degree or equivalent in economics, development economics, feminist economics or any other relevant field of economics or public policy
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience

• At least 5 years of international experience and record of accomplishment in international development promoting policy reform in the area of gender and economics, including macroeconomic policy and women’s economic empowerment policies
• Proven experience with use of gender analysis of the economy, quantitative and qualitative
• Previous professional experience in developing and emerging economies.
• Experience working in East and Southern Africa is a strong asset.
• Experience working in the UN System is an asset

Language Requirements

• Fluency in English is required;
• Knowledge of Portuguese is an asset.

Please note that applications without a completed and signed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment. UN Women Personal History form (P-11) can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment .

UNWOMEN is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.