Project Officer

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; the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development; human rights; as well as 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 and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. 

UN Women Office in the Republic of North Macedonia in line with its priorities set in the UN Women Strategic Plan (2022-2025) and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2021-2025), is coordinating the UNCT on gender equality, supports the country on the normative commitments and is working in thematic areas of governance and national planning, ending violence against women and women, peace and security. In fulfilling its mandate, UN Women is cooperating with UN, the government, and the CSOs to advocate for women’s empowerment and advancement of gender equality. 

Since 2023, UN Women has been implementing the project “Promoting Gender Responsive Policies and Budgets: Towards Transparent, Inclusive and Accountable Governance in Republic of North of Macedonia – phase 2” funded by Switzerland, and the programme “Promoting Gender responsive governance in North Macedonia” funded by Sweden.

Both initiatives include specific components focusing on gender responsive policy making and budgeting, spanning over the following Outcome-level results:

“Promoting Gender Responsive Policies and Budgets: Towards Transparent, Inclusive and Accountable Governance in Republic of North of Macedonia – phase 2”:

Outcome 1: Central and local government institutions advance gender equality through gender responsive legislation, strategies, and budgeting processes. 

Outcome 2: Women and civil society organizations exercise their voice, agency and leadership in decision-making and budgeting processes.

“Promoting Gender Responsive Governance in North Macedonia”:

Outcome 1: The Government of North Macedonia advances gender equality and promotes civil society and women’s participation in decision making through gender responsive policies and budgeting processes.

Programme interventions focus on strengthening the role of the National Gender Mechanisms in establishing an effective institutional capacity development on Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) and systematic integration of gender perspective in Public Finance Management. At the local level, capacity development and mentoring support on gender responsive policy making and budgeting are provided to the Local Self-Government  Units (LSGUs), which include local administration and elected officials from partner municipalities. Additionally, extensive support is extended to strengthen oversight and accountability mechanisms in the country, through increased capacities and engagement of key oversight institutions. Finally, part of the interventions focuses on strengthening the capacities of women to voice their needs and advocate for increased accountability and financing for gender equality, while CSOs are supported to promote women’s leadership and participation in decision making and budgeting processes.

The UN Women Office in North Macedonia is seeking to hire a Project Officer to provide support with the implementation of the programme activities and to contribute to achieving the intended results, under the portfolio on gender responsive policy making and budgeting. Under the direct supervision of the Programme Analyst and overall direction and guidance by the Head of Office, the Project Officer will be responsible for implementing activities in line with the work plans and results frame, monitor closely the results against performance indicators, provide technical guidance and oversee the work of experts and responsible parties.  

Duties and Responsibilities

 

Summary of Key Functions:

•    Support with project implementation

•    Monitoring and evaluation

•    Support with office coordination activities

•    Other/administrative support

Project Implementation

•    Support the implementation of the programme activities under the gender responsive policy making and budgeting portfolio in accordance with the annual work plan and towards achieving the planned outcomes and outputs;

•    Regular follow-up with national experts/consultants and civil society groups/think tanks involved in the implementation of activities, including revision of their deliverables and results;

•    Maintaining regular communication and extending technical support to municipalities implementing Gender Responsive budgeting initiatives;

•    Provide guidance and support to UN Women implementing partners/responsible parties, carrying specific interventions within the project;

•    Draft activity updates and inputs to project progress reports;

•    Provide inputs to the development of annual donor reports;    

•    Support project related events, including trainings organized by project partners and facilitate the organization of events directly organized by UN Women.

Monitoring and evaluation

•    Monitor regularly project activities implementation by conducting field visits and maintaining close communication with project partners, project consultants and institutional contractors;

•    Contribute to the preparation and consolidation of quarterly/semi-annual progress reports and financial reports;

•    Keep records and file all documents related to planning and implementation in line with the office filing system;

•    Provide technical support and guidance in the field of Gender Mainstreaming, and GRB to partners and institutions involved in the programme interventions;

•    Provide inputs to UN Women annual results reporting and UNCT/UNSDCF annual reports.

Support with office coordination activities

•    Ensure continuous collaboration and coordination with the Programme Analyst/Project Manager and the project team on the implementation of the activities at the country level;

•    Contribute to the organization of regional events and initiatives organized in the frames of the UN Women Regional programme on GRB

Support with the development of thematic documents, analyses and knowledge products on Gender Responsive Budgeting;

•     Contribute to synthesizing and documenting project related practices and lessons learned;

•     Ensure continuous coordination, guidance and supervision with project experts/consultants;

•     Participate in meetings of the UN Outcome Groups and provide inputs to preparation of background documents and joint reports;

•    Support UN Women team in the organization of key advocacy/awareness raising events, in close cooperation with the communications and knowledge management specialist;

Other/administrative support

•     Provide input to various tasks such as workshops, research, analyses and publications;

•     Support the office team in the organization of events, workshops, trainings;

•     Support with filing system in the office and ensure documentation as per UN Women rules and guidelines;

•    Support with the organization of the office library.

*Any other responsibilities as assigned.

**The implementation of the above-mentioned duties will expect also occasional travel within the country and abroad.

Key Performance Indicators

•    Adherence to UN Women rules and regulations

•    Timely and quality inputs to project implementation 

•    Timely and quality inputs to workplans and budgets

•    Timely monitoring and tracking of project results and finances

•    Timely organization of events and trainings

•    Quality inputs to reports and knowledge products

•    Timely support to the programme team

Competencies

Core Values: 

• Respect for Diversity 
• Integrity 
• Professionalism
• Team spirit 

Core Competencies: 

• Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues 
• Accountability 
• Creative Problem Solving 
• Effective Communication 
• Inclusive Collaboration 
• Stakeholder Engagement 
• Leading by Example 

Functional Competencies

Knowledge Management and Learning
•    Shares knowledge and experience;
•    Seeks and applies knowledge, information, and best practices from within and outside UN Women;
•    Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more practice areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills;

 

Development and Operational Effectiveness
•    Demonstrates excellent written and oral communication skills;
•    Communicates sensitively, effectively and creatively across different constituencies;
•    Demonstrates very good understanding of and experience in communications and outreach/advocacy;
•    Ability to perform a variety of standard specialized and non-specialized tasks and work processes that are fully documented, researched, recorded and reported;
•    Ability to review a variety of data, identify and adjust discrepancies, identify and resolve operational problems;
•    Uses Information Technology effectively as a tool and resource.

Leadership and Self-Management
•    Focuses on result for the client and responds positively to feedback;
•    Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
•    Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
•    Proven networking skills and ability to generate interest in UN Women’s mandate;
•    Identifies opportunities and builds strong partnerships with clients and partners.

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 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 4 years of experience in implementing projects/programmes, including coordination, monitoring and evaluation and donor reporting, in the field of gender equality and women’s empowerment; •    Experience in the field of gender responsive governance, particularly gender responsive budgeting, would be considered an asset; •    Experience in organizing conferences, high-level events and trainings, would be considered an asset; •    Experience in working with international organizations and/or the UN is an asset.
Language Requirements:	Fluency in English and Macedonian is required.

 

Interested candidates should submit their applications on-line, through the UNDP Web site . The deadline for submission of the application is 30 March 2024. For further requirements, detailed Terms of Reference and a copy of the UN Personal History form (P-11) are available on UNDP Web site  . Applications received after the closing deadline will not be considered. No telephone calls please.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Applications should contain:

• Cover letter stating your interest in and qualifications for the advertised position. Please paste the letter into the “Resume and Motivation” section of the online application.
• Completed and signed UN Women Personal History Form – please download the form by opening the link  

Please make sure you have provided all requested documents.

 

How to Submit the Application:

To submit your application online, please follow the following steps:

• Download and complete the UN Personal History Form (P11);
• Merge your UN Personal History Form (P11) and cover letter into a single file. The system does not allow for more than one attachment to be uploaded;
• Click on the Job Title (job vacancy announcement);
• Click “Apply Now” button, fill in necessary information on the first page, and then click “Submit Application;”
• Upload your application/single file as indicated above with the merged documents
• You will receive an automatic response to your email confirming receipt of your application by the system

 

Special consideration  

As this position is under Service Contract modality, only citizens of North Macedonia will be considered for the vacancy.

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.)