COORDINATION AND PLANNING SPECIALIST - Nairobi, KENYA

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. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors. Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, the UN Women will lead and coordinate United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality translate into action. UN Women supports improved UN coordination and accountability mechanisms, and up-scaling of the quality of support provided to Member States in addressing national gender equality priorities. UN Women’s coordination work is supported at the regional level by its Regional Centers – working with the UN Development Group (UNDG) Regional Groups and the Regional Coordination Mechanisms. At the country level UN Women supports and works within UN Country Teams (UNCT). UN Women has placed emphasis on improving its planning and results based management as an organization. The Regional Centers will support and provide guidance to UN Women country presence in planning and results based management. The Coordination and Planning Specialist reports to the Regional Director in Nairobi, Kenya, who provides overall strategic guidance and direction to UN Women’s work in the region. In carrying out the functions, she/he will work closely with the relevant units in headquarters such as Programme and Coordination Divisions. The Coordination and Planning Specialist supports the Regional Director, who is a member of the Regional Director’s Team to: a) manage and implement activities to enhance system wide coherence on gender equality and the empowerment of women; b) support UN Women country presences on the ground in their coordination roles with the UNCT in the identification of technical expertise, the implementation of corporate-level accountability tools; and c) provide support to UN Women country presences to ensure high quality planning processes at regional and country level, including through application of results-based programme planning and management.

Duties and Responsibilities

Summary of key functions: Support to the Regional Director on UN programming and coordination at the Regional level and support to country-level work; Support UN system partnership and alliance building at the Regional level; Support enhanced results-based management practices at the country level to ensure more coherent and coordinated UN Women commitments within the UN Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF); Knowledge management and capacity building. Support to the Regional Director on UN programming and coordination at the Regional level and support to country-level work Support the Regional Director in his/her participation in the UNDG Regional Team and related technical bodies as well as the Regional Coordination Mechanism; Support UN Women country presences in the development of gender-specific country programming processes and products, including the preparation of UNDAF and other UN system joint programming documents, in close collaboration, with UNCT members, and other development partners to ensure that a gender perspective is mainstreamed; Ensure effective knowledge management and capacity development of UN Women in the region in rolling out and support system-wide tools on gender equality; Provision of guidance to UN Women in the Region on joint programming modalities and strategies; Manage UN gender coordination mechanisms at the Regional and National level as needed from time to time; Prepare briefing materials for the Regional Director on issues to be discussed in the UN and other events and meetings. Follow up on required action/outstanding issues and report on outcome/result. Alert Regional Director on critical issues for action to be addressed; According to the results envisioned in the Management Results Framework in UN Women’s Strategic Plan, periodically review and assess UN Women’s engagement in inter-agency processes and joint programmes in the field and in New York to devise improved strategies for ensuring that UN Women‘s investment in coordination processes is yielding results in support of gender equality and women’s human rights. Additionally, in coordination with regional evaluation specialists, promote UN Women’s engagement in joint evaluations on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Support enhanced results-based management practices at the country level to ensure more coherent and coordinated UN Women commitments within the UNDAFs. Technical support to regional and country level colleagues in the development and monitoring of work planning processes; Provide capacity development support to regional and country level colleagues on results based programme planning and management; Ensure quality of regional and country level planning instruments, promoting application of good practice in the development, design, monitoring and reporting of results; Collaborate with Regional Evaluation Specialists and country Monitoring & Evaluation focal points to ensure that findings and lessons from evaluations are reflected in strategic planning processes and Result Based Management and training on results based management. Knowledge management and capacity building Analyze global practice and lessons learned on coordination and advice the Regional Director and internal and external partners to enhance knowledge and build capacity; Collect and share lessons learned on coordination and UN system programming and development and to contribute to development of knowledge management products and tools in UN Women; Ensure the use of evaluation findings to feed into knowledge management and decision making at the regional level; Design and implement capacity building training activities to enhance skills and knowledge On request, make accessible to national partners, Regional Center and UNCT, a comprehensive roster of highly experienced and technically qualified professionals that are gender experts in a range of fields. Impact of Results: The successful management of coordination activities will facilitate and enhance the ability of the Regional Director to work effectively within the context of UN system priorities in the region and support coherent UN response and implementation in line with national strategies and priorities.The key results also impact on the success of the UNCT activities, strengthening of overall coordination capacity, design, implementation and operations of UN activities, creation of strategic partnerships in support of regional and national priorities. Support to results based programme planning and management will improve focus of UN Women programming, its alignment with clear national and corporate objectives, and better results reporting.

Competencies

Core Values and Guiding Principles: Integrity: Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct Professionalism: Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive of work. Cultural Sensitivity and valuing diversity: Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrating an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity. Core Competencies: Ethics and Values: Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity Organizational Awareness: Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment Development and Innovation: Take charge of self-development and take initiative Work in teams: Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds. Communicating and Information Sharing: Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication Self-management and Emotional Intelligence: Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others Conflict Management: Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution. Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing: Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making: Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making Functional Competencies Substantive experience in the area of development and or gender equality and women’s empowerment issues Knowledge of UN system and understanding of inter-agency coordination processes Ability to conceptualize and convey strategic vision from the spectrum of development to experience Demonstrated negotiating, cultural sensitivity and diplomatic skills Familiarity with results-based programme planning and management, and the ability to clearly communicate and explain RBPPM approaches Well-developed people management skills Effectiveness and pro-activity Ability to leverage information technology, executive information systems, management techniques and tools for optimal office performance Strong interpersonal, communication and presentation skills Good planning, goal-setting and prioritization and organizational skills

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Advanced university degree in development related disciplines, international relations, development studies or other social science fields. Experience: At least 7 years of progressively responsible development experience that combines strategic and managerial leadership in development cooperation, international relations, public administration or other related field, some of which should be in the area of gender equality and women’s rights at the international level, preferably in developing countries within the UN system, Agencies, Funds or Programmes. Language Requirements: Written and oral proficiency in English is required. Knowledge of the other UN working knowledge is desirable. 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. All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from http://www.unwomen.org/about-us/employment 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.

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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.