Programme Specialist

Job Description

Location: New York, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Application Deadline: 28-Jul-22 (Midnight New York, USA)

Type of Contract: TA International

Post Level: P-4

Languages Required: English

Duration of Initial Contract: until 5 June 2023

Background

The duration of the assignment is until 5 June 2023. Whereas an external candidate will be offered a temporary appointment, subject to release agreements, staff members in UN Women may be administered as a temporary assignment and staff members in the UN Common system may be administered under a loan arrangement.

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 Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental division (PPID) sets the programmatic standards, assures the quality of program design, and provides guidance to country level programme work of UN Women, as well as supports the coordination role of UN Women at regional and country level. The division has global policy expertise in the areas identified in UN Women Strategic Plan for 2022-2025. It also manages global Trust Funds, and Global Programmes, and it provides technical capacity to countries on request, including a humanitarian response capacity. The Political Analysis and Programme Development Unit (PAPDU) provide strategic analysis and support business development within a regional context to enable UN Women to better support localization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) and high quality programme development and mobilization of non-core resources.

The PAPDU also bridges UN Women’s field level initiatives with headquarters, particularly with the Office of the Executive Director (EDO) and the Strategic Partnership, Coordination and Intergovernmental Support Bureau. It specifically supports the EDO with regional political analysis, and correspondence to position UN Women’s mandate. The PAPDU also ensures that UN Women promotes South-South cooperation and cross-regional coordination.

Under the supervision of the Chief - Political Analysis and Programme Development Unit the Programme Specialist is responsible for providing political and regional analysis, support partnerships building at field levels, link the normative processes in New York to field operations, resource mobilization and knowledge management.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Provide substantive political and regional analysis for Asia and Pacific

• Provide regional context, and political insights to strategic analysis process including Strategic Notes UNSDCFs, (SNs)/Annual Workplans (AWPs) and UN Women’s corporate Strategic Plan;

• Stay abreast of regional political developments, gender equality issues (GE Issues), and cross-regional trends;

• Provide inputs to UN Women senior management participation in the SG’s Executive Committee as relevant for Asia and Pacific.

2. Provide substantive programme development support to Country Offices (COs) and Regional Offices (Ros) with a focus on Asia and Pacific

• Provide substantive support to COs/ROs on UN Women’s engagement in the UN Development Cooperation Frameworks (UNSDCF) and the internal UN Women support facility.
• Provide substantive support to COs/ROs on programme development [concept notes, programme documents etc.] at regional and country levels to mobilize resources and grow UN Women’s programmes at the field level;
• Provide technical support and advice to field offices in their programming on localization of the SDGs;
• Oversee the work done by the donor reporting focal in PAPDU;
• Provide technical support to COs/ROs on the integration of normative and inter-governmental commitments (CSW Agreed Conclusions, UPR, GA resolutions, HLPF voluntary reports) in field-level programming and advocacy to ensure an effective flow of information between HQ and field offices
• Advise COs/RO on the translation and incorporation of Headquarter (HQ) driven campaigns into programme development and link UN Women’s programming to normative frameworks;
• Lead the operationalization of key recommendations from corporate evaluation linked to strategic programme development;
• Identify programme support needs in collaboration with PSMU, to provide capacity building and programme support to COs/ROs to accelerate programme and business development,;
• Provide technical support along with UN Women’s UN System Coordination Division, to facilitate COs/ROs in carrying out their coordination function, to ensure their full contribution through the UNDG Regional Directors teams.

3. Build and maintain partnerships and establish and maintain and interagency collaboration

• Lead the engagement with HQ based inter-agency task forces, committees and initiatives to ensure that UN Women issues are considered in development planning and formulation.
• Manage the engagement to positon UN Women’s programmes in IATFs, ITFS, HQ-based inter-agency

• coordination and crisis mechanisms thematic trends, from the respective of regions/countries so that policy direction and guidelines respond appropriately to demand from the countries.
• Engage with Permanent Missions within the region to disseminate information on UN Women’s programming and to discuss partnerships;
• Identify opportunities for new partnerships with emerging partners’ i.e., academia, faith-based organizations, youth groups etc.;
• Promote inter-agency coordination on programming, in line with the QCPR on the development of joint programming, including the FPIs.

4. Lead Cross-regional collaboration and knowledge management

• Collect and disseminate best practices on programming at regional and country levels, and contribute to UN Women’s knowledge management efforts;
• Develop and dissemination of gender-sensitive tools and methodologies for efficient and effective development programmes.
• Develop and maintain global, regional and national knowledge networks and practices on innovative

• programming and approaches at field level;
• Facilitate the inclusion of South-South and Triangular Cooperation and advocacy efforts in UN Women’s
• programming;
• Promote intra and cross-regional programme collaboration and knowledge management;
• Provide oversight and operational support to COs/RO in coordination with PSMU, including addressing audit observations, when needed to ensure business continuity;
• Share appropriate tools, mechanisms and practices in support of enhanced coordination efforts and linkages with regional staff.

Key Performance Indicators:
The key results directly impact on the overall effectiveness of UN Women’s Senior Management to position UN Women’s mandate and our work and to accelerate resource mobilization and programme development:

• Quality inputs to programme development, reports, presentations, and other high quality materials;
• Quality inputs into trainings and tools to increase programme capacity of field offices;
• Quality support which leads to increased resources mobilized and partnerships;
• Innovation is mainstreamed in UN Women’s programming;
• Timely and quality collection of information which leads to relevant programme development

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

• Excellent programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills
• Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them
• Excellent knowledge of Results Based Management
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making
• Excellent knowledge in thematic area
• Ability to lead formulation of strategies and their implementation
• Strong networking skills
• Ability to negotiate and interact with donors, identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master`s degree (or equivalent) in development related disciplines, economics or public policy or other social science fields.
• A combination of relevant academic qualifications and two years of experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• Minimum of 7 years of extensive experience in development programme, including in gender equality and women’s rights at the international level, preferably in developing countries within the UN system, Agencies, Funds or Programs.
• Experience working with intergovernmental bodies and processes is an advantage.
• Prior experience in the UN System is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required. Working knowledge of another UN language is is an asset.

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc . Kindly note that the system will only allow one attachment. Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Note:

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.)