Programme Management 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.

Since 2014, UN Women in Yemen has been providing support to women displaced by the conflict, while advocating for greater women’s engagement in the ongoing political process within WPS efforts. To this end, UN Women utilizes a multi-sectoral approach that contributes to achieving the following results as part of all stakeholder’s collective response to Yemen crisis:

• Enhancing access to life saving support to women and youth through protection and economic empowerment.
• Strengthening the humanitarian – development – peace nexus efforts in Yemen.
• Supporting women and youth advocates participate and lead in multi-track peacebuilding processes and governance structures.

UN Women has also been working in close collaboration with the Resident Coordinator and the broader UN system to provide coordination, normative and programme support that strengthens gender equality and women’s empowerment efforts. UN Women has been implementing a variety of projects related to supporting women’s rights actors working for peace and strategically, it has outlined three priority areas:

• Women, Peace, and Security (WPS): Increase women’s leadership and inclusion in peace process as well as enhance gender in peacebuilding in support of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325).
• Gender mainstreaming in humanitarian response: Provide capacity building support to leaders, networks, civil society, and UN agencies on gender mainstreaming in humanitarian programming.

Humanitarian action: Address the needs of vulnerable women and girls to ensure those affected by the crisis can participate in, are empowered by and benefit from response and recovery efforts.

Serving governments, CSOs, UN Country Teams/Humanitarian Country Teams (UNCTs/HCTs), and UN Women country offices, UN Women provides policy advisory services, creates, and disseminates knowledge, evidence and data on gender equality, and advances coherence for gender in humanitarian action/refugee response, including through gender mainstreaming and the coordination of humanitarian/refugee response spaces/structures/platforms on gender equality at regional and country level. 

Under the supervision of the Representative, the Programme Management Specialist is responsible for managing the development, implementation, monitoring and reporting of programmes for the Yemen Country Office, including providing technical support to the implementation of the Yemen Country Office programme, managing the monitoring and reporting for the Yemen Country Office, overseeing and guiding people and budget management for the programme team, building partnerships and providing support in developing resource mobilization strategies, and managing knowledge building efforts.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Manage the programmatic development for the Yemen Country Office, based on the Strategic Note

• Provide overall programme advisory support to the Office Management;
• Guide the development of the CO programme, and provide technical support to the design and formulation of programme/ project initiatives;
• Review and provide feedback to project/ programme strategies and documents, workplans, case studies and related knowledge products and publications, as needed;
• Provide technical advice on the development of systems, processes and mechanisms to support programme planning, implementation, monitoring and progress reporting;
• Review and evaluate proposals and oversee the preparation of donor proposals and reports;
• Draft policy documents, briefs and other strategic papers/ materials for the use in the development and presentation of policy and programmatic positions.

      2. Provide technical support to the implementation of the Yemen Country Office programme

• Review programme annual work plans to assure compliance with UN Women programme goals and results-based indicators;
• Analyze and ensure alignment of project budgets with logical framework matrices and work plans;
• Draft reports on activities, outputs and outcomes; and compile information in preparations of country office donor and UN Women reports;
• Analyze and ensure alignment of project budgets with logical framework matrices and work plans;
• Manage programme quality control and identification of potential challenges;
• Align programme activities with operations team in close liaison with Operations Managers;
• Build and manage relationships with national partners, as necessary.

      3. Manage the monitoring and reporting for the Yemen Country Office

• Recommend and establish programme monitoring standards, criteria, and other indicators for measuring and assessing progress/results;
• Manage the monitoring of mutually agreed results frameworks and performance indicators;
• Coordinate the process of gathering information and preparing progress reports on programme implementation; prepare technical reports;
• Prepare programme team for audits and monitor implementation of audit recommendations;
• Provide training on results-based management to office staff, as necessary.

      4. Oversee and guide people and budget management for the programme team

• Lead a team, perform staff performance reviews, ensure capacity development of staff members by suggesting development opportunities;
• Monitor and analyze financial situation on the portfolios and programmes to ensure adherence to delivery rates and utilization of resources to meet agreed upon targets and results;
• Ensure effective information flow, communication and coordination across the office, between programmes, projects and operations, and with other UN Women offices and units.

      5. Build partnerships and provide support in developing resource mobilization strategies

• Develop and implement partnerships and resource mobilization strategies;
• Analyze and research information on donors, finalize substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for resource mobilization and cost sharing;
• Determine programmatic areas of cooperation, based on strategic goals of UN Women, country needs and donors’ priorities and develop the relevant partnerships.

      6. Manage knowledge building efforts

• 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.

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

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

• Strong programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills.
• Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them.
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Strong knowledge of Results Based Management.
• Good knowledge of UN programme management systems.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Social Sciences, Political Science, Development, Public Administration, Gender 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 in programme management, including programme design, programme coordination, monitoring and evaluation, donor reporting and capacity building;
• Experience in working in a gender related area is an asset;
• Experience in setting priorities, budgets, work plans, participating in programme development and programme writing;
• Experience in leading teams effectively is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Arabic is strongly desirable.

 

Very important note:

In accordance with the UN Staff Regulation 4.5 (c) A fixed-term appointment does not carry any expectancy, legal or otherwise, of renewal or conversion, irrespective of the length of service. This fixed-term appointment is budgeted for a term of 1 year.

Application:

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

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).