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.

Reporting to the Regional Director, Eastern and Southern Africa, the Country Programme Manager, Somalia is responsible for strategic positioning of UN Women as a leader in Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Somalia. In addition, the Country Programme Manager is responsible for leading and managing the Country portfolio and for translating the UN Women’s Strategic Plan (SP) in line with regional and national priorities, into development initiatives and results by developing, implementing and managing programs and; and developing effective partnerships with Government counterparts, UN system agencies and organizations, civil society organizations, and with bilateral and non-traditional donors in order to promote inter-agency partnerships, support for UN reform, and mobilization of visibility and resources to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Duties and Responsibilities

Manage country programme in Somalia:

• Lead the development, implementation, and monitoring of the country programme annual workplan, including 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 support 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:

• Lead the establishment of an effective monitoring system for the delivery of programme results;
• Manage 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;

Lead inter-agency and country coordination:

• Participate in country level Comprehensive Country Assessment (CCA)/United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) processes and similar exercises related to the Resident Coordinator (RC) system;
• Lead the writing of analytical and regular progress reports on UN Women’s program experiences in support of UN Women’s inter-agency coordination role;
• Collaborate with the CO/Regional Office, provide strong coordination support to UN Agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and national authorities;
• Lead inter-agency initiatives in country to ensure programmatic integration, sharing of lessons and best practices, and economies of scales;
• Ensure that UN Women is strategically placed with the UN planning processes, joint programmes and other inter-agency initiatives;
• Provide leadership and guidance to the UN Country Team (UNCT) in supporting enhanced response to national partners in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Lead partnership building and resource mobilization strategies:

• Establish and maintain partnerships with other UN agencies, governments, donors, civil society organization and other stakeholders;
• Develop network and build working relations with key partners;
• Coordinate existing civil society platform and networks in coordinating joint efforts and provide space for dialogue on gender equality and women’s empowerment;
• Conceptualize, design and implement resource mobilization strategies;
• Plan and oversee the implementation of advocacy and awareness campaigns and fund raising events, as required.

Lead knowledge building and sharing and communications and advocacy strategy:

• Lead the development and expansion of knowledge management strategies and methodologies for the country programme;
• 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 Office and the Organisation.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities:

The incumbent leads a team 12 Personnel – 3 FTAs, 5 Service Contract, 1 UNV and 3 Consultants. 7 personnel have direct reporting line to incumbent.

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: https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values??

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.

Experince:

• 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 establishing inter-relationships among international organization and national governments is required.
• Experience leading and coaching staff in international settings is required;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required;
• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.
• Experience in the in the field of gender and human rights of women is desirable;
• Experience in administrative systems and UN system norms is desirable;
• Experience in country and/or region is desirable.

Language Requirements:

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

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc. 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.

Note:

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.