Planning and Coordination Specialist

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 MCO-Caribbean (MCO) covers 22 English and Dutch speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean. The MCO currently maintains a physical presence in five (5) countries but there remains high and consistent demand for the exercise of UN Women’s integrated mandate across the 22 countries and territories.

The MCO Caribbean 2022 -2025 programme builds on the works of the 2017-2021 Strategic Note with a focus on the Normative Framework (Proposed Outcome 1), Women’s Economic Empowerment (Proposed Outcomes 2 and 3), Ending Violence against Women and Girls (Proposed Outcome 4) and Climate Change and Disaster Risk Resilience (Proposed Outcome 5). All the Outcomes like the SDGs are interconnected and interrelated. The MCO will focus on Governance and Participation in Public Life across all Outcome Areas and Peace and Security within the context of Outcomes 4 and 5. The programme will be implemented both at the regional and multi-country level.  The Planning and Coordination Specialist will support Barbados and the OECS.

Reporting to the MCO-Caribbean Representative, the Planning and Coordination Specialist will provide support to the Country Representative in strategic programme planning, inter-agency coordination, resource mobilization and partnership building, as well as advocacy and communication.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide support to the Country Representative in strategic planning for the Multi Country Office

• Provide advice on the formulation of concept notes for UN Women’s intervention areas; as well as the office’s strategic note.
• Develop country programming processes and products, including the annual workplan, strategic note, and programme/ project documents, the preparation of UN Multi-Country Sustainable Development Framework and other UN system joint programming documents.
• Follow up on required action/outstanding issues and report on outcome/ result.
• Alert the Representative on critical issues to be addressed.

Provide technical support to the Country Representative and Multi Country Office on inter-agency coordination especially as it relates to Emergencies.

• Participate in and provide support to joint inter-agency UN planning processes and similar exercises, especially those related to emergency response across the Caribbean.
• Prepare briefing materials for the MCO on issues to be discussed in the UN and other events and meetings.
• Provide analysis and advice to Resident Coordinator (RC) and the UN Country Team (UNCT) on the gender dynamics and opportunities to support inclusive engagement of women in the development assistance provided by the UNCT.
• Prepare inputs to Common Country Assessment (CCA)/ MSDCF and other documents.
• Provide technical support to UNCT in monitoring and reporting and prepare analytical and regular progress reports on UN Women’s programme experiences.
• Provide substantive support and representation at conferences and meetings, joint programme development, joint advocacy and research in collaboration with the Representative.
• Coordinate MCO Caribbean Emergency Response.
• Coordinate UNW’s inter-agency emergency response.
• Participate in Crisis Response Team.
• Coordinate work with partners to ensure gender responsive emergency response.

Provide technical support and guidance to the development of strategic partnerships and resource mobilization efforts

• Manage activities and other promotional events to engage bilateral and multilateral institutions/ donors, private sector and civil society to expand and/or sustain interest and resources for UN Women programmes and joint UN system programmes.
• Provide support and advice to the Country Representative in forging and implementing strategic partnerships to increase outreach on UN Women’s work in Barbados and the OECS.
• Provide guidance and advice to development partners and national counterparts on implementation of key UN frameworks and conventions on gender equality.
• Provide network and capacity development to partner Civil Society Organizations and other stakeholders.

Provide advocacy and communication support to the Multi Country Office

• Support the MCO Annual Communication Strategy, develop content and ensure proper management/ monitoring of the MCO website and social media channels.
• Develop, implement, and monitor advocacy campaigns on issues related to Gender Empowerment and Women’s Economic Empowerment, with a specific focus on International Women’s Day, the HeForShe Campaign and the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence.
• Participate in and contribute to policy dialogues around gender equality and the empowerment of women (GEWE), especially as it relates to GEWE in emergencies.

Facilitate knowledge building and sharing on Gender Equality in Emergencies.

• Manage the development and dissemination of good practices and lessons learned; ensure incorporation into programme planning.
• Manage capacity building exercises.

Key Performance Indicators

• Timely and quality contribution to the UNCT and emergency coordination meetings;
• Quality inputs and technical support provided to UN agencies;
• Quality inputs to planning processes and reports;
• Quality briefing notes, and communication and advocacy materials;
• UN Women partners, including donors provide good feedback on their working relationship with UN Women, based on evaluations and assessments;
• Increased awareness of UN Women’s work;
• Increased resources mobilized and interest in GEWE among partners and donors.

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:

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Functional Competencies

• Strong knowledge of gender equity and women’s empowerment issues
• Strong knowledge of UN system and understanding of inter-agency coordination processes
• Strong knowledge of results-based programme planning and management
• Strong analytical skills
• Ability to promote and monitor inclusion of gender-specific objectives, indicators, targets and activities in the UN agencies programmes
• Ability to provide advice and support.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree (or equivalent) in international development, public administration, public policy, or other relevant social science 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 5 years of progressively responsible experience working with inter-agency coordination and strategic programme planning processes;
• Experience in the development, planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting of programmes;
• Experience working in gender equality and women’s rights at the international level is an asset;
• Experience working in developing countries within the UN system, Agencies, Funds or Programs is an asset;
• Experience working in a multi-country context is an asset;
• At least 2 years’ work experience in Barbados and/or the OECS is preferred.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required
• Knowledge of the other UN official working language, especially Spanish, is an asset.

Applications:

• Positions in the National Officer categories are subject to local recruitment.
• All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from ; Please group all documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows one document to be uploaded.
• Applications without the completed UN Women P-11 form will be treated as incomplete and will not be considered for further assessment.

Other:

Submissions to UNDP Jobs are limited to a maximum of 10 MB, virus-free or corrupted contents to avoid rejection, and no more than 1 email transmission.   All applications must be submitted through UNDP jobs.  Please do not send applications to UN Women staff as they will not be accepted.

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, colour, 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).