UNWOMEN PROGRAMME SPECIALIST, HEAD OF BUKAVU OFFICE

UN Women programme direction and results frameworks are spelled out in its global and regional strategic plan (2012-2013). This plan puts emphasis on deepening UNW support to countries to implement their commitment to gender equality and women human rights particularly in the areas of enhancing women's economic security and rights; reducing the prevalence of violence against women ; promoting gender equality in democratic governance in stable and fragile states. The Strategic Plan also calls for greater alignment with and support to emerging UN regional coordination mechanisms.   UN Women relies on a wide range of partnerships in fulfilling its mandate (i.e. governments, and intergovernmental organizations, civil society organizations; including women's NGOs and grassroots organizations, networks, the academia, multilateral partners and faith based organizations). Its support is aligned with commitments to gender equality and women's human rights as agreed in international and regional framework such as the MDGs, the Beijing Platform for Action, CEDAW, and the Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa and the Protocol on Women Human Rights in the African People Charter.  UNW established its presence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in 2002 and 2003. The main focus of its interventions has been a substantive support and partnership with all key stakeholders to promote gender equality through addressing feminized poverty and exclusion, violence against women, women's active participation in the peace processes, gender equality in democratic governance as well as in HIV/AIDS responses. The necessity to advance gender equality and women's human rights in DRC has been enhanced by the heightened incidences of sexual and gender based violence in conflict zones.  UNW will capitalize on its position and successful experience to strengthen partnerships with key national stakeholders as well as donors to ensure the realization of women's rights in DRC, within the framework of the UNW DRC Annual Work Plan.  In order to strengthen its presence in DRC, UNW seeks to recruit a Programme Specialist. The Programme Specialist will represent UNW in key events and meetings in Bukavu. S/he will be responsible for ensuring effective execution of the Bukavu programme and UNW's mandate with respect to the advancement of women human rights in Bukavu, DRC.

Duties and Responsibilities

Under the direct supervision of the DRC Country Representative, the Programme Specialist will have following functions:  Summary of Key Functions: Strategic Direction Setting Programme Management Capacity Development and Technical Assistance External Relations Administration and Human Resources Management Resource Mobilization Strategic Direction Setting: Participate in the development of a cohesive, focused and effective advocacy and policy making strategy for gender equality and women's empowerment in Eastern DRC Design an Eastern DRC Office Work Plan aligning to and reflecting the organization's overall strategy and region's key priorities Undertake quarterly or more frequent evaluations of activities against the Work Plan and strategy Participate in meetings and consultations with key stakeholders, including government, civil society, donors, private sector, the UN and UN Women Kinshasa Support the establishment and engagement of a multi-stakeholder Local Advisory Committee to regularly provide guidance and oversight at local level Programme Management: Oversee the implementation of UNW's strategy and programmes in Eastern DRC Oversee the development of a system for identifying, assessing and tracking potential partners to implement programmes in Eastern DRC. Work with the Country Representative in Kinshasa to ensure due diligence in programme management and close monitoring and evaluation of implementing partners' agreement. Ensure quarterly preparation and submission of financial and narrative progress reports. Capacity Development and Technical Assistance: Identify specific capacity development and technical assistance needs among partner. Identify, design and implement capacity development activities based on partners' specific needs, including training on UN Women's programme and financial procedures for programme implementation, on a regular basis. Undertake annual audits of partners as required.  External Relations: Promote UN Women's vision, mission and core values among partners in the region. Liaise, develop and maintain close relationships with governmental and non-governmental counter-partners, media and donors aiming to promote understanding and visibility of UN Women's work in the region. Provide Country Representative with accurate and up-to-date situation analysis of developments in the region, particularly related to the situation of women in Eastern DRC. Ensure appropriate representation of UN Women at the local events and regional fora. Identify potential new donors and update donor profiles biannually Administration and Human Resources Management: Identify and manage all legal requirements for UN Women's presence in the Eastern DRC, including management of partner relationships. Create and oversee all office budget and financial systems and provide financial reports to the Country Representative. Promote an open, diverse and participatory work environment, focused on developing staff's capacity and team work. Provide guidance, assistance and support to staff members as appropriate. Conduct annual performance evaluations. Prepare a comprehensive annual programme and financial report Resource Mobilization: Develop and implement a resource mobilization strategy for the Eastern DRC region including joint programming with UN partners in line with national and regional priorities. Monitor a harmonized programming approach, including on gender equality basket or thematic funds. Prepare and submit timely proposals and concept notes to potential funding mechanisms  Perform any other functions and tasks as required:

Competencies

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 formulation and monitoring of management projects. Proven skills in IT (including use of Microsoft Word, Excel, and Power-Point). Experience in developing and managing office budget and financial systems. Solid knowledge in human resources management Management and Leadership: Builds strong relationships with stakeholders and clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback. Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude. Ability to produce high quality work and to balance competing priorities within demanding timeframes. Proven leadership skills and ability to work in a complex international setting. Excellent people management and interpersonal skills. Demonstrates strong oral and written communication skills. Willingness to reside in Bukavu and ability to travel throughout Eastern DRC.

Required Skills and Experience

Education: Advanced University Degree or equivalent in Political or Social Science, International Relations, Law or related field Experience: Minimum 7 years of active participation and leadership in a position with gender-related development programmes. Minimum 5 years experience of working internationally on women's human rights in Africa. Experience working in post-conflict contexts  Extensive experience working with local community-based organizations, international NGOs, and donors  Proven experience or knowledge in gender equality and women's empowerment  Strong background in programme and grant management    Language requirements Fluency in written and spoken French and English is a requirement. Knowledge of Swahili or another local language of Eastern DRC is an advantage  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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