UN Women – In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. In doing so, UN Member States took an historic step in accelerating the Organization’s goals on 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, which focused exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Programme Specialist, WPS
Location: Abuja
Type of Contract: FTA Local
Post Level: NO-C
Duration of Initial Contract: Initial duration of one year
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.
- In Nigeria, UN Women works to support the Government’s national development agenda, which prioritizes the empowerment of women and girls and their contribution to all areas of economic, political and social development. The objective of building and sustaining peace and security across the country is critical for Nigeria, which faces several security challenges including the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East, the Farmers/Herders conflict in the Middle Belt, and conflicts over natural resources in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.
- Ongoing efforts to address these conflicts often overlook women’s role and contributions. Women are often seen only as victims of conflicts that need to be protected rather than agents of change for peace. This leaves untapped, the potential and capacities of women whose contributions can be harnessed to promote transformative change and sustainable peace.
- Through its just-concluded program on, Promoting Women’s Engagement in Peace and Security in Northern Nigeria (2014-2018), UN Women has worked to support the Nigerian government (federal level), three northern states (Adamawa, Plateau and Gombe) and selected constituent local government areas (LGAs) to strengthen women’s leadership, advance gender equality and improve protection for women and children in conflict settings, by ensuring the implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325).
- UN Women is planning to expand its women peace and security portfolio to a second phase, which will focus on policy support to the Government of Nigeria towards implementation of Security Council resolution 1325 at national and state levels, including strengthening the capacity of policymakers to advocate and promote for gender-responsive security policies. The Women Peace and Security (WPS) programme will also seek to support the establishment and training of a women peace mediators’ network; support gender-responsive security sector policies; and strengthen the role and engagement of the media in promoting the WPS agenda.
- UN Women will recruit a Programme Specialist to support implementation of the next phase of its WPS programme in Nigeria. Under the strategic guidance of the Country Representative, and with day-to-day reporting to the UN Women Deputy Representative, the Programme Specialist exercises overall responsibility for planning, implementing, and managing UN Women interventions under the WPS thematic area in close collaboration with a senior technical consultant and other project staff. She/he 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.
Duties and Responsibilities
Design and develop programme strategies in the area of WPS:
- Design and formulate programme strategies to guide roll-out of UN Women’s WPS programme;
- 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 WPS
Manage the implementation and management of the WPS programme:
- Finalize the annual workplan and budget and manage their implementation in accordance with the program document
- Facilitate the technical implementation of the programme in consultation with a senior WPS consultant, and ensure synergies with other teams;
- Oversee timely submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports
- Provide guidance to staff and partners on Results Based Management tools and performance indicators
- Organize Project Steering Committee, project review and/or evaluation meetings, as needed.
Manage technical assistance and capacity development to project/programme partners:
- Build and manage relationships with national partners to support implementation and expansion of the WPS Program, respond to any potential problems
- Provide guidance and support to implementing partners to enhance programme implementation and reporting
- Identify capacity building needs of partners and lead the coordination of technical assistance, mentoring, training and capacity development initiatives targeted to partners.
- •Manage the monitoring and reporting of the programme/ project
- Monitor programme implementation and finances, using results-based management tools
- Monitor the implementation of activities and the expenditure of funds by partners and conduct regular monitoring visits
- Prepare quarterly and annual progress reports, including reports to donors
- Provide inputs from WPS programme activities and results to inform corporate reporting requirements
Manage the people and financial resources of the WPS programme:
- Manage the programme budget and draft financial reports
- Oversee programme financial monitoring, including budget revisions, and expenditure tracking and reporting
- Oversee and monitor the allocation and disbursement of funds to implementing partners
- Oversee recruitment processes, as necessary
- Oversee the work of programme staff under direct supervision, and provide mentorship and coaching support as necessary
Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies:
- Develop and implement partnerships and resource mobilization strategies;
- Review donor funding trends and priorities and identify opportunities for resource mobilization;
- Prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of donor cooperation and identify opportunities for cost sharing.
Contribute to inter-agency coordination on WPS 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;
- 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 the WPS program
- Represent UN Women in meetings and policy dialogues on issues related to WPS as necessary;
- Develop advocacy strategies and oversee their implementation;
- Organize major advocacy campaigns, trainings, workshops and knowledge products to share lessons on the WPS programme.
- Identify best practices and lessons learned to guide programme improvement and strategy planning;
- Develop knowledge management strategies, products and methodologies on WPS
- Ensure documentation of the WPS programme implementation process and products, in accordance with UN Women guidelines;
- Contribute to the sharing and exchange of information and WPS knowledge products internally and externally through the programme
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
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 WPS
- Strong analytical skills
- Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising and develop strategies
Required Skills and Experience
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 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 WPS
- 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 is required;
- Working knowledge of another official UN language is an asset;
- Knowledge of Hausa/Tiv/Idoma/Igede is an asset
More Information
- Job City Abuja
