UN WOMEN COUNTRY PROGRAMME MANAGER

Grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, UN Women will work 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. Placing women's rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women will lead and coordinate United Nations System efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States' priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. China has a rapidly growing economy that has made unprecedented progress in lifting its population out of poverty since the 1980s, but also a developing country with roughly 150 million people still living below the international poverty line. In promoting gender equality, China is a communist state espousing gender equality as one of its core founding principles. China has a law specifically to protect women (the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women) and claims that almost all other laws have been gender mainstreamed. Also, it has developed the third Outline for the Development of Chinese Women (2011-2020). However, it remains a middle-ranking country on the Gender Empowerment Index. This may be because their definition of and approach to gender equality may not conform to those of the UN, and because their implementation seems weak. It is predictable that gender equality issues will continue even after China achieves a high level of economic growth. Since China alone has more than 650 million women, not only for justice but it is politically important to continue to engage China in and expand UN Women's work, keeping in mind strategic entry points to be relevant in such a huge country. Several issues need urgent attention and of UN Women's interest to address, such as violence against women, women's political participation, HIV/AIDS, economic empowerment and employment equality, female suicide, climate change and disaster risk reduction, while facing with the challenges: decreasing donor aid as China grows into a middle income country, and under resourced and under developed civil society sector, for example. Creative interventions such as through inter-agency work and south-south cooperation would be of particular importance.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the overall supervision of the RPD for East and South East Asia SRO and close guidance from the Chief of the Asia Pacific and East and South East Asia section, the Country Programme Coordinator will undertake the following functions: Functions / Key Results Expected Technical Leadership and Coordination and Country Level: Provide technical input into policy dialogue to increase gender equality issues in relevant discussions; Carry out advocacy to maximize UN support towards the realization of policies on gender equality in line with international and national commitments; Prepare technical background documents and briefs within the context of UN Women's' work in China; Lead the discussion with UN Women's sub-regional office for East and South East Asia on strategic opportunities for partnerships and new programmes in China in line with the mandate of UN Women; Monitor trends and issues affecting women in China and develop strategic responses to opportunities and challenges. Strategic Policy Coordination, Partnership and Representation: Enhance UN Women's participation in inter-agency and inter-governmental processes; Participate in heads of agency meetings as well as in consultation meetings with donors to ensure that the principles of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment are integrated in the UN and donors' programs in China; Ensure good coordination and collaboration with the UN on Gender Equality; Support synergies between actors working on the same issues at national levels building upon each one's comparative advantage; Position UN Women as the lead agency on Gender equality in China; Provide leadership and quality oversight over the efforts to strengthen government institutions, especially the Ministry of Women; Develop strong partnerships with a wide range of constituencies, including NGOs and the Women's Movement. Advocacy, Donor Relations and Resource Mobilization: Carry out ongoing advocacy to ensure that UN support towards the realization of national plans and priorities are undertaken in a gender responsive manner, and within agreed regional and international frameworks that promote and protect gender equality; Identify, develop and follow-up on strategic opportunities for resource mobilization. Programme Management, Communication and Knowledge Management: Manage the country programme from design to implementation and assessment of programme effectiveness through course correction as necessary; In consultation with government, civil society and UN partners and stakeholders, lead the management, implementation and evaluation of the country strategic plan based on UN Women's Global Plan, and in line with regional and national priorities; Provide oversight, close guidance and direction to ensure strategic focus, result orientation and effectiveness and efficiency in all aspects of UN Women's operations and programmes in China; Coordinate UN Women's programmes and activities and ensure synergies and complementarities among programmes in diverse thematic areas related to gender equality in China; Oversee, monitor and assure quality control in the substantively and financially implementation of high quality, results-based, rights-based and relevant country programmes and projects in line with corporate guidelines and consistency with corporate policies and strategies; Ensure UN Women's strategic and technical support to government counterparts, non state actors and UN agencies through direct involvement and provision of advisory services as needed; Work closely with government and national partners to ensure ownership and delivery of programmes; Lead UN Women's efforts to ensure ongoing and substantive communication with partners as well as current and potential donors; Manage, coordinate and provide guidance for high quality reporting for those donors who have contributed to programmes in a timely fashion; Contribute to UN Women's annual reports in consultation with relevant Programme Officers and the Regional Programme Director; Lead a process of increased team building and internal communication to maximize synergy between programme areas; Manage the process of collecting and disseminating lessons learned on gender equality and women's empowerment strategies and contribute to UN Women's knowledge management efforts; Lead and manage the preparation of UN Women reports and knowledge products as required, ensuring relevancy, quality and appropriateness of content and presentation; Lead the development/expansion of knowledge management strategies, networks and methodologies at the country, regional and global level. Financial and Human Resources Management Ensure that the Country Programme Office has the human and financial resources and capacities needed to respond to requests for assistance and to deliver on its commitments to support and advance gender equality and to participate effectively as a member of the UN Country Team; Manage the Country Office resources and administration to ensure proper utilization of allocated funds and accountability; Manage staff and office in an empowering and effective manner, paying particular attention to training and mentoring; Provide clear direction and monitor performance of the teams working on UN Women initiatives based on specific benchmarks; Develop short term as well as long term perspectives on staffing issues including succession planning where relevant, increased possibilities of transition to national staffing and staff capacity development. Impact of Results The overall impact of the Country Programme Manager's portfolio will result in increased realization of Gender Equality and Empowerment of the women in CHINA and increase the visibility and impact of the work of UN Women China.

Competencies

Core Values/Guiding Principles: Integrity: Demonstrating consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct. Cultural Sensitivity/Valuing diversity: Demonstrating an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating differences in values and learning from cultural diversity. Corporate Competencies: Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN's values and ethical standards; Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UN Women and the UN; Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability; Treats all people fairly without favoritism. Functional Competencies: Knowledge Management and Learning Promotes knowledge management in UN Women and a learning environment in the office through leadership and personal example; Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more practice areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills. Development and Operational Effectiveness Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting; Ability to lead the formulation and monitoring of management projects; Solid knowledge of financial and human resources management, contract, asset and procurement, information and communication technology, general administration; Ability to lead business processes re-engineering, implementation of new systems (business side), and positively affect staff behavioral/attitudinal change; Management and Leadership Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback; Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude; Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills; Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities; Leads teams effectively and shows mentoring as well as conflict resolution skills; Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Masters Degree (or equivalent) in Social Science (International Development studies, Gender/Women's studies, Economics, Sociology and/or a closely related discipline); Knowledge in gender and development issues. Experience: A minimum of 5 years of progressively responsible experience in international development work preferably focused on, or strongly involving gender equality at national, regional or international levels; Experience in project development/management and coordination, as well as in budget preparation. Language: Fluency in written and spoken English.

Click here for important information for US Permanent Residents ('Green Card' holders).

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.