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. In Nigeria, UN Women works to support the Government’s national development agenda, which prioritizes the empowerment of women and girls and their contribution to all areas of economic, political, and social development.

Women-owned/led businesses are a growing share of all enterprises in many African countries. Studies indicate that up to one-third (34.5%) of formal firms in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) report women ownership participation (World Bank, 2011). Public procurement represents an attractive market for women entrepreneurs since it accounts for 15 to 30 per cent of GDP globally. In addition, procurement can sometimes consume as much as 50 per cent of GNP in some countries. Public procurement, therefore, creates market opportunities that have long been recognized as an engine for growth for small and medium enterprises.

Yet women-owned small and medium enterprises (WSME) are severely underrepresented as suppliers, securing only an estimated 1 per cent of procurement contracts. In Nigeria, women remain under-represented as entrepreneurs accessing public procurement opportunities. Furthermore, most women-led businesses are in the informal sector, which excludes them from the participation threshold outlined in the Public Procurement Act. The Act requires businesses, which seek to supply public goods and services to be formally registered. Since most women-led businesses are unregistered and function within the informal economy, they are automatically excluded. Also, there are other requirements relating to tax and annual turnover which most women entrepreneurs do not meet either. The disparities between women’s economic participation and inclusive growth exist partly because most of the WSME are currently engaging at meso and micro levels within the informal economy and are not involved in macro – level activities such as procuring public goods and services.

Other common barriers encountered by women in accessing public procurement include, corruption, bribery, favoritism/nepotism in government structures, including in the form of sexual harassment and gender-based violence. Similarly, women entrepreneurs very often, encounter difficulties due to limited information around the drafting of bids and lack technical capacities to execute the contract. Women entrepreneurs also lack access to information and networks to respond to procurement calls. Long delays in payment from government procuring entities also discourages small-sized women-owned businesses to bid.

UN Women ’s Regional Office for West and Central Africa will implement the project: Women’s Economic Empowerment through Affirmative Procurement Reform in West and Central Africa between 2021-2024. The regional project seeks to support women’s economic empowerment through enhanced opportunities of women-led businesses to access public procurement and corporate supply chains in four countries of West Africa: Senegal, Nigeria, Mali, and Cote d’Ivoire. The project will also integrate affirmative procurement initiatives in the context of COVID 19 response and recovery strategies. The proposed project supports reform and institutional strengthening to improve women-led businesses access to public procurement and supports the development of gender responsive procurement initiatives as part of the COVID-19 response strategies.

UN Women seeks to recruit a Programme Associate to support the implementation of the WEE Affirmative Procurement programme in Nigeria. Reporting to the Programme Manager Women Economic Empowerment, and in close cooperation with the Deputy Country Representative in the Country Office, the Programme Associate works with and provides support to the members of the WEE and other programme teams in the development and implementation of effective programmes consistent with UN Women rules and regulations. She/he contributes to the research, financial management, and programme implementation including providing necessary operational, administrative, and programmatic support. The Programme Associate will also support activities of the wider CO operations and programme teams as required.

Duties and Responsibilities

Provide administrative support to the financial management of the Programme Unit

• Support the creation of projects in Quantum, prepare budget revisions, revise project awards and status; and determine unutilized funds and the operational and financial close of a project.
• Provide administrative support in monitoring and preparation of budget and the finances of programmes/projects, and in the preparation of FACE forms.
• Perform delegated role in Quantum.
• prepare non-PO vouchers for development projects.
• Process payment for consultants
• Create requisitions in Quantum system for development projects.

Provide logistical support to the Programme Unit

• Undertake all logistical, administrative and financial arrangements for organization for meetings, workshops, events, and missions.
• Make travel arrangements for the Programme Team, including travel requisitions and claims.
• Draft minutes in meetings, as delegated.
• Assemble briefing materials and prepare power-point and other presentations, in collaboration with the Programme team.
• Organize and coordinate filing of documents; maintain mailing lists.

Provide administrative support to resource mobilization

• Organize, compile, and process documentation and information from donors, and programme team as inputs to various databases and documents.
• Support the overall resources’ mobilization strategy of the Country Office

Provide support in Facilitation of knowledge building and knowledge sharing

• Provide administrative support to the organization of training for the office staff and partners on programme and operations related issues.Support the development and review of background documents, briefs and presentations related to the Gender Statistics in the CO.
• Support the monitoring and communication on the use of gender statistics for policy making, strategies development, advocacies, etc.
• Support Identifying and documenting best practices and lessons learned to guide project improvement and strategy planning.
• Support the development of knowledge management strategy, products and methodologies on Gender Statistics.
• Support knowledge management’s efforts on CO’s activities.

Provide programmatic support to the formulation, management and monitoring of projects/programmes

• Provide programmatic support in the preparation of programme work plans, budgets, and proposals on programme implementation arrangements, including tracking the delivery of funds.
• Provide support to the programme team on routine deliveries and reporting of activities and finances.
• Provide administrative support for the audit of programmes/ projects and support implementation of audit recommendations.
• Identify sources and gather and compile data and information for the preparation of documents, guidelines, speeches and position papers, in collaboration with the Programme team.
• Provide significant support to indicators tracking on the different projects of the Country Office

• Provide valuable support on project implementation – monitoring and related finances (project deliveries) using results-based management tools (RMS, Quantum, etc.)

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

Functional Competencies

• Good knowledge of programme management.
• Ability to administer and execute administrative processes and transactions.
• Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats.
• Ability to manage data, documents, correspondence and reports information and workflow.
• Strong IT skills.

Key Performance Indicators

• Timely and accurate support to events, workshops, and missions.
• Full compliance of administrative activities with UN Women rules, regulations, policies and procedures.
• Timely and accurate tracking of data for CO management and donor purposes.
• Quality maintenance of internal systems.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification

• University degree in social sciences, including political science international studies, public administration, economics, Law or a related field, is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with an additional two (2) years of qualifying experience may be accepted in place of the advanced university degree

Experience

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in administrative or programme management
• At least 3 years professional experience in gender, women’s rights, economic and social development issues or the SDGs.
• Experience in organizing high-level international events is an asset.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and experience in handling of web-based management systems.
• Experience in supporting programme teams.

Language Requirements

• Fluency in English is required
• Working knowledge of another official UN language is an asset;

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in administrative or programme management
• At least 3 years professional experience in gender, women’s rights, economic and social development issues or the SDGs.
• Experience in organizing high level international events is an asset.
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and experience in handling of web-based management systems.
• Experience in supporting programme teams.

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.

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 based on 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.)