Programme Manager

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 in South Sudan supports the government to implement commitments to international normative standards on gender equality and women’s human rights. The new UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2022-2026 and the corresponding UN Women South Sudan Strategic Note (2022-2026), defining UN Women’s strategic engagement in South Sudan, focuses on strengthening the national structures and mechanisms for gender mainstreaming in policies, plans and budgets; supporting efforts to prevent and eliminate violence against women; promoting women’s economic empowerment ; promoting policies and government investment in women’s empowerment and resilience building in the context of climate change, humanitarian crisis as well as threats to peace and security. UN Women works with a range of stakeholders in South Sudan including the government, civil society and women’s organizations, youth, UN agencies and donors, to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Currently, UN Women in partnership with the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare and the Office of the Vice President (Gender and Youth Cluster) is implementing a programme that aims at promoting the social economic empowerment of women and adolescent girls in South Sudan. The project called “South Sudan Women Social and Economic Empowerment Project (SSWSEEP)”, will be implemented in 10 states and 2 administrative areas in South Sudan focusing on promoting women’s access to economic opportunities, protection and access to GBV information and services and also strengthening the capacity of the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare to effectively implement its mandate of promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. The project has four (4) components, namely: a) Community Empowerment Support to Women and Girls, b) Establishment of the Women’s Entrepreneurial Opportunity Facility (WEOF), c) Scaling up services for Survivors of GBV and d) Institutional strengthening focusing on the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare, Gender and Youth Cluster, and related national institutions.

Reporting to the Country Representative, the Programme Manager is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the management, development, implementation, monitoring and reporting of the South Sudan Women Economic Empowerment Project. The Programme Manager is responsible for managing the human and financial resources of the team. This includes providing technical support to the implementation of the Country Office SSWSEEP, overseeing the monitoring of progress against mutually agreed results frameworks and performance indicators, monitoring Country Office SSWSEEP financial situation to ensure adherence to delivery rates and utilization of resources to meet agreed upon targets and results. In addition, the Programme Manager is responsible for leading and managing the project in line with regional and national priorities and developing effective partnerships with Government counterparts, the World Bank and other critical stakeholders.

Duties and Responsibilities

Oversee and Manage South Sudan Women Economic Empowerment Project (SSWSEEP).

• Lead the development, implementation, and monitoring of South Sudan Women Economic Empowerment Project, including the budget and results framework;
• Manage delivery of the day-to-day programme activities to ensure prompt and adequate delivery of results;
• Ensure effective use of resources and compliance with UN Women rules, policies, and procedures as well as donor/fund requirements;
• Lead the preparation for programme audits and implementation of recommendations.

Manage technical guidance and capacity development to project/programme partners.

• Lead and oversee the provision of substantive technical advice and guidance to project/programme partners and develop technical products and documents as needed;
• Lead relationship building with national partners to support implementation and expansion of the country programme; respond to any potential problems;
• Lead capacity building opportunities and initiatives of key institutions and mechanisms;
• Provide timely advice on programmatic areas;
• Provide partners with advanced technical advice, training, and capacity development initiatives.

Lead the monitoring and reporting of the programme.

• Oversee the establishment of an effective monitoring system for the delivery of programme results;
• Oversee the preparation of quarterly and annual progress reports and donor reports and organize progress reviews, as necessary.

Lead the management of people and finances for the country programme.

• Responsible for overall country programme budget; and office operations;
• Review financial reports to ensure they are in accordance with UN Women procedures and submit the reports to UN Women HQ and donors;
• Finalize terms of reference for new staff, consultants and contractors and oversee the recruitment process, as necessary;
• Manage the performance of personnel under the project by provide managerial direction, guidance and leadership as well as performance feedback and coaching;
• Ensure performance assessment are completed on time and identify learning and development opportunities to support personnel’s engagement;
• Ensure all personnel under the project are fully aware of UN Women’s workplace relations policies.

Lead in Stakeholder management, partnership building and resource mobilization strategies.

• Establish and maintain partnerships with, government, the World Bank team, civil society organization and other stakeholders and donors;
• Determine programmatic areas of cooperation, based on strategic goals of UN Women, country needs, the SSWSEEP needs and donors’ priorities and develop the relevant partnerships;
• Provide strategic support to the development of a resource mobilization strategy and support resource mobilization efforts for the project.

Lead knowledge building and sharing and communications and advocacy strategy.

• Lead the development and expansion of knowledge management strategies and methodologies for the project; lead the development and implementation of communications/advocacy initiatives;
• Manage the process of identifying and synthesizing of best practices and lessons learned that are directly linked to the implementation of the programme and contribute to their global dissemination;
• Introduce innovation and best practices to enhance programme performance.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the South Sudan Women Economic Empowerment Project (SSWSEEP).

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: 

Functional Competencies:

• Excellent programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills;
• Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them;
• Excellent knowledge of RBM principles and approaches;

• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making;
• Excellent knowledge of gender equality and women’s empowerment;
• Excellent knowledge of country and/or region;
• Ability to lead formulation of strategies and their implementation;
• Ability to envision and lead the strategic direction for UN Women in the country.

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;
• A project/programme management certification (such as PMP®, PRINCE2®, or MSP®) would be an added advantage.

Experience:

• At least 10 years of progressively responsible experience at the national and/or international level in design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects is required;
• Experience in gender equality, women’s economic empowerment is required;
• Experience in establishing inter-relationships among international organization and national governments is required;
• Experience leading and coaching diverse staff in international settings is required;
• Experience working with International Financial Institutions is an added advantage;
• Ending violence against women and human rights of women experience is desirable;
• Experience in administrative systems and UN system norms is desirable;
• Experience in the region is desirable.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required;
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish);
• Knowledge of Arabic is desirable.

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from: . 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.

Notes:

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.