Coordination Specialist, Operations and Systems – P3

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.

Established by UN General Assembly Resolution 50/166 in 1996, the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) is the first and remains the only global UN funding mechanism dedicated exclusively to providing direct grants to civil society organizations working to prevent and end all forms of violence against women and girls (EVAW/G). Since 2010, UN Women has administered the UN Trust Fund on behalf of the UN system, providing a strong institutional foundation and field support through a global infrastructure of country and regional offices.

With nearly three decades of experience, the UN Trust Fund has become a key global mechanism for funding initiatives that aim to eliminate violence against women and girls. It plays a critical role in fostering collaboration across governments, UN agencies, and civil society to address the root causes and consequences of violence, aligning its work with broader international policies and frameworks. The UN Trust Fund focuses on providing long-term grants to organizations that work in diverse contexts, particularly those representing marginalized groups, such as indigenous women, women living with disabilities, and women from rural or conflict-affected areas. Its investments are survivor-centered and aim to have sustainable, long-term impacts. To date, the UN Trust Fund has funded over 700 initiatives in over 140 countries and territories, significantly contributing to global efforts to end violence against women and girls.

Reporting to the Capacity Development and Grants Operations Manager, the Coordination Specialist, Operations and Systems is responsible for (1) coordinating the UNTF to EVAW’s operational side of the Grant-making Programme to ensure compliance with UNTF timelines, requirements and quality standards; (2) coordinating with national partners and other stakeholders in all operational aspects related to grant-giving and grant selection processes; (3) managing and maintaining grants management systems utilized by applicants and grantees to report on their projects to the UN Trust Fund; and (4) supporting activities at the UNTF-EVAW and UN Women corporate level as requested.

Key Functions and Accountabilities:

1. Coordinate end-to end operational aspects of the Grant-making Programme

• Implement the operational components of the Grant-making Programme work plan in alignment with the UNTF-EVAW’s Call for Proposals timelines, the Annual Work Plan, and in accordance with both the 2021–2025 and upcoming 2026–2030 UNTF Strategic Plans, working closely with the Grants and Programme Management Team
• Manage financial resources for operational side of the Call for Proposals processes, including budgeting, and expenditure tracking and reporting;
• Prepare the Budget Guidance document and other finance and operations related documentation of the annual Call for Proposals, including through consultations and feedback from internal and external stakeholders;
• Manage the identification, selection and recruitment of external expertise required for the successful implementation of the Fund’s annual Call for Proposals, including translators, issue area experts and members of the Fund’s Technical Review Groups (approximately 60+ technical experts in ending violence against women each year with various language skills and regional expertise);
• Maintain and update external consultant rosters for technical reviewers, translators, and technical assistance for database use during grant review as needed, including through targeted recruitment of new issue experts based on the specific focus of each grant-giving cycle;
• Oversee payments to the technical reviewers, translators, and GMS vendors.
• Coordinate finalization of Partner Agreement documents in compliance with UN Women rules and regulations: Review and edit the Partner Agreement documentation as needed; Coordinate the Partner Project Documents preparation, approval, and signatures;
• Oversee and monitor the allocation and disbursement of funds to new grantees under each grant-giving cycle.
• Ensure high-quality, timely and complete documentation and records management on all operational aspects related to the grants management programme;
• Provide inputs into yearly assessments of Fund’s processes as related to the Grant-making Programme and compile lessons learned and best practices to increase the Fund’s operational efficiency and efficacy.

2. Coordinate with national partners and other stakeholders in all operational aspects related to grant-giving and grant selection processes

• Provide capacity development support to applicants through the preparation of easy-to-understand tips and tools (including webinars and FAQs) on how to complete their financial and operational requirements for application submission.
• Provide technical/system related guidance to potential grant applicants to support the completion of applications, including Concept Notes and Full-Fledged Proposals, to ensure compliance with Fund’s policies and use of application technologies;
• Coordinate the NGO capacity assessment documentation request to the pre-selected applicants, as well as the quality assurance and records management of the documents received;
• Coordinate the review of the NGO assessments by UN Women RO/COs: identify capacity gaps and provide advice and support to offices to facilitate their timely completion of the with the NGO assessment exercise for pre-selected for grant organizations;
• Coordinate and conduct the NGOA assessments undertaken by the UN Trust Fund;
• Review completed implementing partner assessment forms (NGOA) and supporting documentation packages; conduct and disseminate the analysis of the results of the NGO capacity assessments.
• Ensure high-quality, timely and complete documentation and records management on annual NGO assessment processes.

3. Manage and maintain grants management systems utilized by applicants and grantees to report on their projects to the UN Trust Fund

• Manage the implementation and maintenance of the UN Trust Fund’s Grants Management Systems (GMS), including monitoring of the timeline, deliverables, budget and expenditure;
• Prepare and present work-plans, periodic narrative progress reports and expenditures status reports related to GMS;
• Coordinate the technical support with external vendors to ensure the grants management systems are functioning smoothly;
• Coordinate the development and quality assurance of any subsequent enhancements of the Grants Management Systems (GMS), including through conducting the User Acceptance Test (UAT) for all modules in English, French and Spanish by using different roles/users.
• Coordinate online application system set up, refining, editing web related applications, coordinate translation of edits to the web application documentation and all system related changes with the vendors, as well as ensure quality assurance of each application cycle in the GMS in three languages;
• Serve as the main contact for the Helpdesk Support and provide webinars to a range of system users. Provide troubleshooting on technical issues reported to the Helpdesk: investigate into and report the issues in the Issue Register; verify the fix with the vendor and revert to the user.
• Conduct the application assignment process to the Technical Review Group Members (technical experts in ending violence against women) in the Grant Management System, provide training on their use of the online database system, and compile and analyze their feedback for further GMS enhancement and improved user experience;
• Update system user guides for grantees and fund users to reflect changes in the grants management systems and to improve the content and reader-friendliness based on feedback and suggestions from users.
• Oversee capacity development activities related to all type of system users, including webinars, guidance materials, in person and online training..
• Support team members in running database reports and exports and ensure timely updates of call-related documentation on the system site as well as regular email status updates to applicants.
• Record and maintain documents on relevant activities, issues, and risks related to GMS.

4. The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization. .

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities: The incumbent will supervise the GMS and CFP Consultant.

Competencies :

Core Values:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

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 Values and Competencies Framework:

Functional Competencies:

• Strong coordination and programme implementation skills;
• Strong budget and finance skills
• Strong knowledge of Results Based Management
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports in order to inform management and strategic decision-making
• Strong analytical skills
• Good knowledge of UN programme management systems

Recruitment Qualifications:

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Social Sciences, Political Science, Development, Public Administration, Gender Studies or 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 would be an added advantage

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international level in managing complex and multi-component programme interventions with national partners, related to Grant-making and Operations;
• Experience in coordinating, implementing, monitoring and evaluating development programmes and projects is required;
• Experience in Grants Management is required;
• Experience with databases and data management is required;
• Previous experience working in the UN system is desirable.

Language Requirements:

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

Statements :

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.)

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