National Junior Consultant-Programme Assistant

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 supports United Nations Member States in setting international standards for achieving gender equality and works with governments and civil society to formulate and enforce the laws, policies, programs and services needed to ensure that the standards are effectively implemented and that they truly benefit women and girls around the world.

UN Women through its Liaison Office to the African Union (AU) and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) engages with the AU and its various organs, the UNECA and civil society organizations, as well as the diplomatic community. Through the office, UN Women provides technical support to Member States and the AU in the adoption, implementation and monitoring of commitments on gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE), in accordance with its mandate. Furthermore, the UN Women Liaison Office represents UN Women in the UN Liaison Team and facilitates the participation of relevant UN Women Offices including regional offices for East and Southern Africa (ESAR), West and Central Africa (WCAR) and North Africa (ROAS) in the regional policy and advocacy processes to advance the GEWE agenda on the continent

UN Women through its Liaison Office to the AU and ECA aims at providing technical assistance to the African Union Commission (AUC) through the Women, Gender and Development Directorate (WGDD) to effectively mainstream gender issues in AU and its programs and policy processes. UN Women Liaison Office also collaborates with relevant departments of the AUC for gender responsive development and implementation of regional initiatives. In addition, the Liaison Office continues to establish and strengthen strategic partnerships with relevant UN agencies, INGOs and CSOs to implement catalytic initiatives in supporting the continental GEWE agenda. In this regard, the Liaison Office carries out knowledge management activities by tracking the implementation of policies as well as identifying and disseminating advocacy messages and good practices to inform decisions and priorities of the AU and its organs. The Liaison Office accordingly endeavors to catalyze the adoption and implementation of gender responsive regional policies which inform programming, policy and partnerships at different levels in Africa.

The Liaison Office as a full-fledged presence, is guided by a Strategic Note (2022-2025) which defines its key development results and management/operational results. The Strategic Note (SN) is aligned with the global UN Women Strategic Plan (2022-2025), the AU GEWE Strategy (2018-2028), Agenda 2063 and other key GEWE frameworks of Africa as well as global normative frameworks.

To support the implementation of ongoing and upcoming priorities, the Liaison Office proposes to engage a Program Assistant who, as a core member of the Liaison Office program team, will support coordination and advocacy efforts of the office. The Program Assistant will work in close collaboration with the programme and operations team in UN Women Liaison Office, Regional Offices, Ethiopia Country Office, and HQs as well as officials in regional organizations, multi and bi-lateral donors and civil society organizations to ensure the successful implementation of UN Women Liaison Office initiatives and programmes.     

Duties and Responsibilities

With guidance and overall supervision of the Special Representative to AU and UNECA, and under close supervision from the Liaison Specialist, the Program Assistant is expected to undertake the following tasks:

1. Assist the coordination of consultations related to the implementation of UN Women Liaison Office Strategic Note 2022-2025
2. Provide substantive and logistical support to the coordination of events, and advocacy initiatives.
3. Prepare concept notes, agendas and related working documents for the ECO regional level policy advocacy and strategic partnership building initiatives.  
4. Support the engagement of the Liaison Office in global and continental intergovernmental processes including by participating in, monitoring, and reporting on informal and formal meetings, taking notes and drafting minutes.
5. Review, analyze and draft summaries of reports and policy documents, and of intergovernmental outcomes, from a gender equality perspective; and draft documents (i.e., concept notes, briefing notes, and presentations)
6. Prepare background research, briefing notes and talking points to inform UN Women Liaison Office engagement in advocacy platforms and initiatives.
7. Participate in UN inter-agency and development partners’ coordination meetings, meetings with AU partners and prepare the notes for files and minutes. 
8. Maintain and update the calendar of the liaison internal and external meetings. 
9. Handle inquiries from partners and facilitate logistics for Liaison Office visitors.
10. Undertake any other relevant duty as may be required.
11. Presentation of background information for formulation of country programme, draft project documents, work plans, budgets, proposals on implementation arrangements.
12. In close liaison with the direct reports reviews projects financial reports for projects and maintenance of internal expenditure control systems for projects, ensuring that project transactions are accurately posted in the respective system, and supports the implementation of audit recommendations for projects.    
13. Report on unit monthly travel status absence, procurement and delivery status of equipment and material procured by the      unit.   
14. Applies established systems and procedures and assists in the creation of substantive knowledge by supporting knowledge compilation and analyzing information in the subject areas of UNFPA Assistant to Government. 
15. Provides logical support to programmes by coordinating review meetings and other project related workshops, conferences, and events.
16. Supports the advocacy of programme portfolio by compiling and synthesizing relevant background material for use in discussion and public events.
17. Performs the general user profile role in Quantum.    
18. Performs other related activities as assigned by the supervisor

Competencies

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:

• Familiarity with Africa regional gender equality issues
• Ability to learn quickly.
• Strong attention to detail
• Proven ability to manage multiple tasks with varying complexity.
• Ability to adapt in a constantly changing and fast-paced environment.
• Excellent written, verbal, & interpersonal communication skills as well as exemplary customer service skills
• Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment and strong teamwork capacity.
• A self-starter: able to anticipate issues and propose solutions.
• Strong interest in working in the UN system, particularly on Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women
• General IT competence and command of main office software programmes

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• BA degree in one of the following disciplines: Law, Gender Studies, Political Science, International Relations, or other relevant Social Science fields is required.  

Experience:

• 0–1-year relevant experience in advocacy, program management and coordination, partnership building experience in gender, women’s and human rights related programs. 
• Strong familiarity working with UN agencies or other agencies in the development sector.
• Good interpersonal, networking and communication skills
• Proven advocacy, analytical and writing skills.
• Computer skills (i.e., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, social media, and others);

Language:

• Excellent communication skill (written and oral) in English language. Knowledge of French language is an asset. 

Application:

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