Programme Specialist, Governance and Participation in Public Life (GPPL) (Open to Fijian Nationals ONLY)

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.

The UN Women Fiji Multi-Country Office (MCO) is based in Suva, Fiji and works alongside over 20 other UN agencies in the region and 14 countries and territories across the Pacific Region. Under its Strategic Note (SN) 2023 – 2027, UN Women Fiji MCO focuses on delivering on four interlinked programme areas underpinned by UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2022 in line with international normative frameworks:

• Governance and Participation in Public Life.
• Women’s Economic Empowerment.
• Ending Violence against Women and Girls.
• Climate Action/Humanitarian Action and Resilience

In line with key global and regional normative commitments, this work includes: supporting legal and policy reforms that facilitate women’s participation in public life; strengthened capacities of diverse women to engage in political life; support to parliamentary bodies to deliver gender equality reforms; support legal and policy responses to prevent, monitor and mitigate violence against women in politics; improve knowledge, data and statistics on women’s political participation; support women leaders in gender-sensitive political institutions including legislative bodies at national and local levels; and support initiatives aimed at changing gender norms so that women are accepted as legitimate and effective leaders. Additionally, UN Women works with a range of partners and stakeholders to support gender-responsive governance institutions, and gender mainstreaming in public policies and national budgets. , to ensure that women and girls are able to fully and effectively engage with, contribute to and benefit from national development efforts.

Reporting to the Policy Specialist, Women’s Political Participation (WPP) (P4), the Programme Specialist will exercise overall responsibility for planning, implementing, and managing UN Women interventions under their portfolio.

The Programme Specialist will work in close collaboration with the programme and operations team, UN Women Headquarters staff, government officials, UN entities, civil society, regional intergovernmental and other organizations, and multi and bi-lateral donors in ensuring successful UN Women programme implementation under the portfolio. 

Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

Duties and Responsibilities

Design and develop programme strategies in Governance and Participation in Public Life

• Design and formulate programme/ project proposals and initiatives.
• Draft inputs to country strategy documents, briefs, policy dialogue and other documents related to Governance and Participation in Public Life

Manage the implementation and management of the Governance and Participation in Public Life programme.

• Finalize the annual workplan and budget and manage their implementation.
• Manage the technical implementation of the programme/project; ensure synergies with other teams.
• Manage the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports.
• Provide guidance to personnel and partners on Results Based Management tools and performance indicators.
• Organize Project Steering Committee, project review and/or evaluation meetings, as needed.

Manage technical assistance and capacity development to project/programme partners.

• Manage the implementation of technical advice and guidance.
• Develop and implement technical tools, and initiatives.
• Build and manage relationships with national partners to support implementation and expansion of the Governance and Participation in Public Life programme; respond to any potential problems.
• Identify capacity building needs of partners and lead the coordination of technical assistance, mentoring, training and capacity development initiatives to partners.

Manage the monitoring and reporting of the programme/ project.

• Manage the monitoring of programme/ project implementation and finances using results-based management tools.
• Oversee field missions and review reports on monitoring missions.
• Write quarterly reports and donor reports, focusing on results, output and outcomes.
• Contribute to the office’s donor and UN Women reports.

Manage the people and financial resources of the Governance and Participation in Public Life programme.

• Manage the programme budget and draft financial reports.
• Supervise Programme Analysts and Technical Specialists, mentor and coach personnel and conduct performance assessments.
• Oversee recruitment processes, as necessary.

Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies.

• Develop and implement partnerships and resource mobilization strategies.
• Finalize relevant documentation on donors and potential opportunities for resource mobilization.
• Analyze and research information on donors, prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for cost sharing.

Contribute to inter-agency coordination on Governance and Participation in Public Life to achieve coherence and alignment of UN Women programmes with other partners across the Pacific region – with a special focus on countries in which UN Women has presence)

• Provide technical support to the Representative and Deputy Representative on inter-agency coordination related activities by attending meetings, events, and participating in groups and committees as needed.
• Coordinate with other UN agencies, government departments, donors and civil society to ensure the projects’ capacity development programme is harmonized and aligned with other in-country efforts.

Manage advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts.

• Develop and review background documents, briefs and presentations related to the Governance and Participation in Public Life.
• Represent UN Women in meetings and policy dialogues on issues related to Governance and Participation in Public Life as necessary.
• Develop advocacy strategies and oversee their implementation.
• Identify best practices and lessons learned to guide programme improvement and strategy planning.
• Develop knowledge management strategies, products and methodologies on [thematic area].

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the office and 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

• Excellent knowledge of gender equality, gender-responsive governance, women’s leadership and political participation.
• Ability to perform qualitative and quantitative research, and use evidence to inform policy advocacy and technical advice.
• Excellent programme planning, formulation, implementation, management and monitoring skills, including strong knowledge of results-based management.
• Team management skills.
• Ability to develop detailed operational plans and budgets and deliver on them.
• Ability to synthesize programme performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making.
• Excellent networking and partnerships-building skills.
• Ability to interact with donors, identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising.
• Excellent analytical and communications skills; ability to write high-quality papers, speeches, briefings and reports.
• Strong knowledge of programme development, implementation, results-based management and reporting.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in human rights, gender/women’s studies, political science, public administration, economics, 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 would be an added advantage.

Experience:

• At least 5 years (with Master’s degree), or minimum of 7 years (with Bachelor’s degree) of  progressively responsible experience at the national and international level in design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes.
• Technical experience in gender mainstreaming and governance, preferably with field.
• Proven experience in integrating gender equality concepts into regional/global frameworks.
• Experience in managing and/or overseeing programmes in this area.
• Experience in leading/managing a team.
• Experience and/or knowledge of the Asia-Pacific region is a very strong asset.
• Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors, in the Pacific, would be strongly desirable.
•  Excellent proven communications and negotiation skills.
•  Experience working in the UN System is an asset.
• Fluency in English is required.
• Knowledge of other UN official working languages is an asset.

Language Requirements:

• Fluency in English is required.

Additional Information:

UN Women Statement on Diversity 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).

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.  Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.