Programme Specialist  – UN Women

Job Description

Location	Khartoum, SUDAN
Application Deadline	05-Dec-22 (Midnight New York, USA)
Time left	3d 9h 11m
Type of Contract	Service Contract
Post Level	SC-5
Languages Required	Arabic    English
Starting Date (date when the selected candidate is expected to start)	03-Jan-2023
Duration of Initial Contract	ONE YEAR
Expected Duration of Assignment	ONE YEAR with possibility of extension

UNDP 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.

UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (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. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality are translated into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts while building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

From a gender perspective, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent a significant step forward from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), covering for the first-time core areas of the feminist agenda. The Inter-agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs), created under the auspices of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC), has identified a robust set of 230 unique indicators to monitor progress in achieving the SDGs. Overall, a quarter of these indicators explicitly or implicitly address gender equality. The challenges of effectively monitoring the SDGs from a gender perspective cannot be overstated. Of the 14 proposed indicators to monitor SDG 5, there are only 4 (referred to as Tier I indicators) for which internationally accepted standards for measurement exist and for which data are regularly collected by most countries. Lack of statistics in these areas arises both from a failure to prioritize gender equality in data collection and from a lack of resources. Gender statistics are rarely prioritized in data collection and the resources devoted to them, both at the national and international level, remain grossly inadequate. The demand for greater support for statistics will only increase as countries begin to implement the SDGs.

To support member states in implementing the 2030 Agenda, UN Women’s Flagship Programme Initiative Making Every Woman and Girl Count (MEWGC) aims to affect a radical shift in the production, availability, accessibility and use of quality data and statistics on key aspects of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The program has three objectives: (i) Promoting an enabling environment by putting in place a supportive and well-coordinated policy environment to ensure gender-responsive localization and effective monitoring of the SDGs; (ii) Increasing data production by removing technical barriers and constraints to ensure that quality, comparable and regular gender statistics are produced to monitor the implementation of national policies and meet reporting commitments under the SDGs; and (iii) Improving data accessibility by ensuring that the data produced are widely available and used effectively by different players with sufficient capacities to understand, analyze and use them to inform advocacy, research, policies and programmes and to monitor progress on the SDGs.

In Sudan, Making Every Woman and Girl Count (MEWGC) is an initiative meant to strengthen the capacity of the Government and Non-State Actors to produce and use gender statistics to inform and monitor the implementation of Sudan’s gender-related commitments in the 2030 Agenda.

Reporting to the Team Leader – Women Economic Empowerment, the Program Specialist exercises overall responsibility for planning, implementing, and managing UN Women interventions under his/her portfolio. She/he works in close collaboration with the programme and operations team, UN Women HQ staff, the UN Women regional office, Government officials, multi and bi-lateral donors and civil society to ensure successful UN Women programme implementation under this portfolio.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Design and develop programme strategies in the area of Gender Statistics:

• Design and formulate programme/ project proposals and initiatives;
• Draft inputs to country strategy documents, briefs, policy dialogue and other documents related to Gender Statistics.

2. Manage the implementation and management of the Gender Statistics projects

• Finalize the annual workplan and budget and manage their implementation.
• Manage the technical implementation of the project; ensure synergies with other teams;
• Develop procurement plans and oversee procurement processes in accordance with corporate rules and regulations.
• 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.

3. Manage technical assistance and capacity development to project/programme partners:

• Build and manage relationships with national partners to support implementation and expansion of the Gender Statistics programme; respond to any potential problems;
• Facilitate coordination mechanisms of the project by providing technical assistance 
• Provide technical assistance in the capacity development initiatives to implementing partners.

4. Manage the monitoring and reporting of the programme/project:

• 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;
• Contribute to office donor and UN Women reports.

5. Manage the people and financial resources of the Gender Statistics programme:

• Manage the programme budget and resources, and draft financial reports;
• Supervise Programme Analysts and Technical Specialists; Mentor and coach staff and conduct performance assessments;
• Oversee recruitment processes, as necessary.

6. Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies:

• Develop and manage the partnerships needed to implement MEWGC in Sudan, including with governments, donors, international agencies, civil society and philanthropic organizations and the private sector.
• Strengthen UN Women’s partnerships with key regional and national stakeholders, including KNBS, UN agencies, civil society organizations and other data collecting organizations in the country in order to present a wide range of relevant data on gender equality and women’s rights to contribute to the regional and thematic monitoring of SDGs, other publications and other associated communications materials;
• Participate and/or represent UN Women in regional inter-agency statistical forums;
• Develop and implement partnerships and resource mobilization strategies;
• Finalize relevant documentation on donors and potential opportunities for resource mobilization;
• Analyze and research information on donors, prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for cost sharing.

7. Contribute to inter-agency coordination to achieve a coherent and aligned presence for Gender Statistics in Sudan:

• Provide technical inputs to technical inter-agency discussions related to SDGs indicators and monitoring in the region
• 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.
• Participate and/or represent UN Women in national inter-agency statistical forums;

8. Manage advocacy, knowledge management and communication efforts:

• Develop and review background documents, briefs and presentations related to the Gender Statistics;
• Represent UN Women in meetings and policy dialogues on issues related to Gender Statistics as necessary;
• Develop advocacy strategies and oversee their implementation;
• Identify best practices and lessons learned to guide project improvement and strategy planning;
• Develop knowledge management strategies, products and methodologies on Gender Statistics.

– Key Performance Indicators:

• Timely and quality of programme delivery in line with MEWGC budget and workplans, and in line with all UN Women operational rules and regulations, including security
• Timely and quality monitoring and reporting of activities;
• Quality of reporting, including best practices and lessons learned documented and circulated;
• Quality of advocacy, communication and knowledge management initiatives;
• Adherence to UN Women rules, regulations, policies and procedures in all operations;
• Strong relationships with various partners and stakeholders as relevant to role;
• Relations with partners and stakeholders;
• Effective initiative and participation in further resource mobilization of the gender statistics project.
• Regular communication with other agencies and partners;

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 Gender Statistics;
• Strong analytical skills;
• Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising and develop strategies.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, human rights, statistics, econometrics 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 8 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 Gender Statistics is an added advantage;
• 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.

Languages:

• Fluency in English & Arabic are required.
• Working knowledge of another official UN language is an asset;
• Knowledge of any of the Sudanese local 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 https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form-en.doc.

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.