Programme Specialist, Governance and Women’s Political Participation

Contract

This is a SC-5 contract. This kind of contract is known as Service Board / Service Contract. It is normally only for nationals. More about SC-5 contracts.

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. UN Women programming in Zimbabwe aims to create an enabling environment for gender equality and women’s empowerment by supporting the Government of Zimbabwe to fulfil its obligations in the national Constitution and global gender equality frameworks, and by building the capacity of women to claim their rights.

Reporting to the Deputy Country Representative, the Programme Specialist Governance and Women Political Participation exercises overall responsibility for planning, implementing, and managing UN Women interventions under their portfolio. The Programme Specialist supports the effective management of the UN Women work in the areas of Women’s Political Participation and Decision Making, Gender and Elections, Women and security sector participation, capacity support for Chapter 12 Commissions and civil society, alignment of laws to the Constitution, strengthening accountability in the implementation of gender equality provisions in the Constitution and inter-governmental processes at regional, sub-regional and international levels. The Programme Specialist supports the delivery of UN Women results by ensuring appropriate application of systems and procedures and by analysing and documenting results achieved during implementation.

The Programme Specialist works in close collaboration with the programme and operations team, UN Women regional and HQ staff, Government officials, multi and bi-lateral donors and civil society ensuring successful UN Women programme implementation under portfolio.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Design and develop programme strategies in the area of Governance and Women’s Political Participation, underpinned by gender, peace and security concerns
• Design and formulate programme/ project proposals and initiatives;
• Draft inputs to country strategy documents, briefs, policy dialogue and other documents related to Governance and Women’s Political Participation, underpinned by gender, peace and security concerns
• Manage the implementation and management of the Governance and Women’s Political Participation programme, addressing gender, peace and security issues
• Finalize the annual workplan and budget and manage its implementation;
• Manage the technical implementation of the programme; ensure synergies with other teams;
• Ensure integration and coordination of the programme with the other results areas of UN Women’s work in Zimbabwe.
• Manage the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports;
• Provide guidance to personnel and partners on Results Based Management tools and performance indicators;
• Provide programme advisory support to the country ffice Management within the thematic area/portfolio assigned;
• Provide support towards international processes at regional, sub regional and international levels including state party reporting;
• Take responsibility for ensuring effective use of resources and compliance with UN Women rules and procedures as well as with donor or fund requirements;
• Guides, supervises and manages the performance of a team of support staff that assists the programme
• Organise programme review and/or evaluation meetings, as needed.

Manage technical assistance and capacity development to programme partners

• Manage the implementation of technical advice and guidance, including to Management on trends and interventions related to the portfolio.. Develop and implement technical tools and initiatives.
• Identify capacity building needs of partners and lead the coordination of technical assistance, mentoring, training and capacity development initiatives to partners.
• Undertake interventions aimed at strengthening capacity of key institutions and mechanisms with the aim of mainstreaming gender issues in their policies and programmes, including undertaking gender audits;
• Support and participate in various policy dialogues on the inclusion of women in peace building processes and their specific perspectives and needs including public policy;
• Support partners in government and civil society to conduct trainings and awareness raising efforts targeting judiciary, police, traditional chiefs and men and youth associations/clubs on gender, governance and peace building;,

Manage the people, monitoring and financial resources of the programme

• Exercise overall responsibility for planning, implementation, management, and coordination aspects of the programme, including budgets and draft financial reports;
• Ensure effective application of RBM tools and monitoring achievement of results;
• Manage the portfolio of on-going projects through technical monitoring and administrative and financial supervision ensuring the proper application of a monitoring system to track progress on programme results and indicators;
• Lead programmes/projects appraisal and evaluation according to results-based management requirements;
• Coordinate and supervise the activities of programme staff, project staff, experts and consultants working as part of the technical assistance team;
• Responsible for the timely preparation and quality control of all substantive technical reports, briefs and required documents;
• Conduct field visits to supervise, coordinate and monitor field level activities of portfolio;

Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies

• Implement the Office partnerships and resources mobilization strategies to achieve programme outcomes within the areas assigned.
• Create and coordinate partnerships with the relevant UN Agencies, government institutions, constitutional independent commission, security academic institutions, bi-lateral and multi-lateral donors, private sector, civil society etc.
• Analysis and research of information on donors, preparation of substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for cost-sharing.
• Follow up on resource on mobilization activities for fund raising for new projects in coordination with the UN Women Management.

Contribute to inter-agency coordination to achieve coherence and alignment of UN Women programmes with other partners in the country

• Provide technical support to UN Women Management on inter-agency coordination related activities by attending meetings, events, and participating in groups and committees, particularly related activities on governance, peace and women’s leadership as needed;
• Coordinate with other UN agencies, government departments, donors and NGOs to ensure the programme’s capacity development interventions are harmonized and aligned with other in-country efforts.
• Take part in processes and exercises related to the Resident Coordinator system ensuring that gender concerns relating to governance, gender and security, elections and women’s participation are clearly reflected and mainstreamed in process.
• Work closely with UN Agencies participating in joint programming aligned to the governance and women political participation portfolio.

Manage advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts

• Support the enhancement of advocacy networks at national level and linkages to international networks related to the sectoral/thematic areas assigned;
• Proactively and substantively support and implement relevant, high-impact advocacy activities and campaigns with key partners.
• Identify and synthesise best practices and lessons learnt directly linked to programme country policy goals in governance, gender mainstreaming in security, women participation and decision making;
• Proactively contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice;
• Providing substantial contributions to communication and media briefs on the implementation of this sector work.

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

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Core Values and Competencies: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/about%20us/employment/un-women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf?la=en&vs=637

Functional Competencies

• Strong programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills

• Strong knowledge of Results Based Management

• Ability to synthesize programme performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making
• Strong knowledge of governance, peace and women’s political participation
• Strong analytical skills
• Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising and develop strategies
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in teams, delivering through and with others;
• Writing skills that include an attention to detail as well as a grasp of conceptual frameworks;
• Excellent communication, reporting and capacity building skills;

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in political sciences, human rights, gender/women's studies, international development, or a related field with good knowledge of gender and peace building 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 governance, peace, and women’s political participation;
• 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 English and a local language is required;
• Working knowledge of another official UN language 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