Regional Programme Coordinator / Ending Violence Against Women

Background

Organizational Context

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.

Ending violence against women (EVAW) is a priority area for West and Central region (WCAR) which aims to advance integrated approaches to ensure that all women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence. This includes support to Member States, civil society and other partners to advance and monitor comprehensive, evidence-driven approaches to preventing violence against women and girls and ensuring coordinated multi-sectoral quality services are available to survivors, while promoting accountability to legal and policy commitments, in addition to support for women’s rights and civil society movements, with attention to intersectionality and leaving no one behind.

In recent years, there has been a notable global and regional pushback on women’s rights and gender equality. This regression is evident in various forms, including legislative rollbacks, cultural resistance to women’s active participation in society, and increasing normalization of violence against women and girls.

The  “Advocacy and Transformative Feminist Coalition to End Violence against Women in West and Central Africa” (ACT  program), is funded by the Commission of the European Union and led by UN Women, will therefore work on supporting and investing in strong and empowered feminist women’s rights organizations at the global and regional levels and in building coalitions with multiple stakeholders and actors from all sectors to strengthen global advocacy to end violence against women and girls.

Under the guidance of the Policy and Programme Management Specialist, (EVAW HQ) and the direct supervision of WCARO Regional Policy Specialist (EVAW), the Regional Programme Coordinator is responsible for the coordination and implementation of all regional components of the new EU programme that UN Women is implementing with the UN Trust Fund. This includes, establishing, nurturing and managing partnerships with regional women’s rights and feminist coalitions, other development actors and multistakeholder partners to advance a shared advocacy agenda on ending violence against women and girls. The Regional Programme Coordinator will also oversee all knowledge generation and research that is undertaken in the region as part of this initiative, ensuring the technical quality of all regional advocacy and knowledge products. The Regional Programme Coordinator will also be responsible for ensuring progress against the results framework, performance indicators and the monitoring and reporting of the financial situation and personnel of the programme to ensure delivery rates, targets and results are on track.

Duties and Responsibilities

Key Functions & Accountabilities

1-   Coordinate the EVAW Programme focused on strengthening women’s rights movements, coalition building and advocacy to end violence against women and girls

• Coordinate WCAR Programme work plan development and implementation according to programme document;
• Liaise with the Regional Policy Specialist for EVAW, global and regional counterparts, donors, UN Women and partners to ensure the programme results are achieved and resources are managed;
• Prepare regional presentation of work-plans, periodic narrative progress reports and expenditures status reports to the Programme Board and UN Women;
• Establish systems for project planning, implementation and monitoring, in collaboration with partners;
• Record and maintain documents on relevant programme activities, issues, and risks.

2-   Coordinate the regional strategy to on pushback on women’s rights and gender equality in the region.

• Implement a comprehensive regional strategy to address pushback on women’s rights, in alignment with UN Women’s global and regional priorities.
• Coordinate with UN Women’s West and Central Africa Regional Office (WCARO) and other stakeholders to identify legislative and cultural barriers to women’s rights.
• Conduct research and analysis to develop evidence-based strategies to inform initiatives countering the pushback on women’s rights and gender equality in the region.
• Mobilize regional civil society organizations (CSOs) and women’s rights organizations (WROs) to build effective advocacy strategies and cross regional alliances to counter pushback narratives and action.

3-   Oversee the design of research, policy advocacy and campaigning initiatives and the development of relevant knowledge products under the programme

• Oversee any regional research initiatives in line with the programme document to advance advocacy priorities of women’s rights and feminist organizations.
• Research, develop and present analytical reports, research papers, briefing notes, background papers, summaries, correspondence, and knowledge products on ending violence against women and girls in their diversity.
• Work with women’s rights and feminist organizations, other partners, HQ and communications team to develop, design and implement advocacy actions and campaigns to advance the priorities of the programme.
• Work closely with and provide advice to global/regional/ national bodies and interagency groups to influence policies, resolutions and other outcomes related to EVAW and women’s rights movements and where necessary represent UN Women;
• Identify promising practices, technical expertise, and strategic opportunities in ending violence against women and strengthening women’s rights and feminist movements in the region.

4-   Mobilize and strengthen women’s rights networks in the region

• Identify capacity strengthening needs and provide technical guidance to regional women’s rights organisations including the Abuja Feminist Alliance grassroots organizations and women-led initiatives.
• Organize and facilitate regional best-practice exchanges for women’s rights organisations, networks and civil society organisations meetings, workshops, and conferences related to women’s rights.
• Identify advocacy opportunities at regional and global levels to amplify achievements and entry points for accelerated action by regional women’s groups and networks.
• Document and share best practices and lessons learned within the women’s rights movement.

5-   Guide coordination with regional partners and other stakeholders

• Coordinate relationships with regional partners and country-level stakeholders in the region to support implementation and expansion of the programme, raise potential problems and provide solutions;
• Provide guidance to partners on establishment of performance indicators, and monitoring achievement of results;
• Identify capacity development needs and support partners through technical assistance, mentoring, training, cross-partner learning, and capacity development initiatives.

6-   Coordinate the programme management including planning, monitoring and reporting , financial management and management of finances and human resources.

• Gather and compile all information necessary for monitoring and reporting on programmes and projects from the planning to the evaluation stages;
• Monitor the implementation of activities and the expenditure of funds by partners; conduct regular monitoring visits;
• Write annual and quarterly reports for the region; review and coordinate the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports;
• Provide inputs from programme activities and results to WCARO reporting.
• Supervise and manage a team of administrative staff, review performance and mentor/ coach staff;
• Coordinate development and preparation of financial resources of the Programme including budgeting and budget revisions, and expenditure tracking and reporting;
• Oversee and monitor the allocation and disbursement of funds to participating partners.

7-   Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies

• Provide technical support to the development of partnerships and resource mobilization strategies;
• Identify potential programmatic areas of cooperation, based on strategic goals of UN Women, regional needs and donors’ priorities and develop the relevant partnerships.

8-   Advocate and facilitate knowledge building and management and communication

• Ensure documentation of the programme implementation process and products produced are in accordance with UN Women guidelines;
• Contribute to the exchange of information and knowledge products internally and externally of the programme;
• Organize major advocacy campaigns, events, trainings, workshops and knowledge products.

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

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.
• Strong budget and finance skills.
• Strong knowledge of Results Based Management.
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports in order to inform management and strategic decision-making.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Good knowledge of UN programme management systems is an asset.

Required Skills and Experience

Education & Certification

• Master’s degree or equivalent in public administration, law, human rights, gender equality, management, social sciences or other related areas 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 at the national or international level in managing complex and multi-component programme interventions with national and/or regional partners, preferably related to ending violence against women and girls;
• Experience in coordinating, implementing, monitoring and evaluating development programmes and projects;
• Strong knowledge and/or experience working with women’s rights organizations in the region is desirable.
• Previous experience working in the UN system is an asset.

Language

• Fluency in English and French are required.
• Working knowledge of another UN official language (Russian, Arabic, Spanish and Chinese) is desirable.

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.

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 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.