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.

Under the overall guidance and direction of the Deputy Regional Director, the Sri Lanka Country Programme Coordinator will provide analytical, technical and programme management support for coordinating the implementation of UN Women projects in Sri Lanka. Using the result-based management (RBM) approach, he/she will exercise overall responsibility for timely planning, programme/project development, monitoring, and reporting of all UN Women’s projects in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lanka Country Programme Coordinator works with the Programme Support Unit of the UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) to oversee and coordinate activities of different projects as well as enhance strategic collaboration with international and national partners, including government, civil society, multi and bi-lateral donors, UN agencies and other development organisations ensuring coherence and successful implementation of the UN Women programme in Sri Lanka.
Key Functions and Accountabilities:

1.    Lead strategic planning and implementation of UN Women Sri Lanka Country Programme

• Develop and implement country programme strategy, annual work plans in accordance with UN Women ROAP’s strategic note and bi-annual work plans, including result and resources framework and management of budget;
• Coordinate and oversee project/programme development and implementation in Sri Lanka;
• Manage delivery of the day-to-day programme activities to ensure prompt and adequate delivery of results;
• Ensure effective use of resources and compliance with UN Women rules, policies, and procedures as well as donor/fund requirements;
• Prepare for programme audits and implement its recommendations;
• Liaison with regional management team to implement recommendations of the Country Portfolio Evaluation (CPE).

2.    Ensure high quality programme through effective monitoring, reporting and evaluation

• Establish an effective monitoring system for the delivery of programme results, including effective application of RBM tools, management targets, cross thematic linkages and complementary results;
• Provide oversight on the financial and substantive monitoring and evaluation of the projects, identification of operational and financial problems, development of solutions;
• Support the ROAP by monitoring project/programme execution, providing technical, financial and administrative oversight to ensure corporate compliance and audit readiness;
• Prepare quarterly and annual progress reports and donor reports and organize progress reviews as necessary;
• Attend field missions and write reports on monitoring missions.

3.    Manage human and financial resources of the programmes

• Coordinate development and preparation of financial resources of the Programme including budgeting and budget revisions, and expenditure tracking and reporting Manage programme budgets;
• Oversee human and financial resource in accordance with UN Women procedures and coordinate submission of reports to the Regional Office and donors;
• Supervise and coach programme personnel and manage performance;
• Write terms of reference for new personnel, consultants and contractors and oversee the recruitment process, as necessary.

4.    Support Normative and UN Coordination functions of the UN Women presence in Sri Lanka

• Coordinate Sri Lanka Country Programme to ensure strong representation and participation in Comprehensive Country Assessment (CCA)/UNSDCF roll out and implementation, and similar exercises related to the UN system, as necessary;
• Provide guidance to the UNCT in mainstreaming gender in UN joint programmes and processes in line with the recommendations of the UNCT SWAP Gender Scorecard exercise;
• Coordinate progress reports on UN Women’s programme results in support of UN women inter-agency coordination role;
• Collaborate with the Regional Office, provide coordination support to UN Agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and national authorities to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment activities in Sri Lanka;
• Provide normative support to women’s machinery, relevant government entities and civil society to engage with treaty bodies and advocate for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment;
• Identify and inform the RO of joint programming opportunities and participate in the development of UN joint programmes, as necessary.

5.    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 based on strategic goals of UN Women, country needs and donor priorities and develop relevant partnerships, including identification of opportunities for cost sharing.

6.    Manage knowledge building and sharing

• 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.
• Develop knowledge management strategies and methodologies.
• Identify and synthesize best practices and lessons learned from the programme.

7.    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:

• Integrity;
• Professionalism;
• Respect for Diversity.

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 Values and Competencies Framework:

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 to inform management and strategic decision-making.
• Strong knowledge of gender equality and women’s empowerment
• Strong knowledge of country and/or region
• Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising and develop strategies.

Recruitment Qualifications:

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree in international relations, development studies, public policy, gender or other social science field
• 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:

• Minimum 5 years of relevant experience at the national or international level in design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects.
• Experience in establishing partnerships with government entities, CSOs, UN agencies and other relevant stakeholders.
• Experience in organizing multi-stakeholder meetings and coordinating with a wide range of stakeholders, including government, civil society and non-governmental organisations, women groups, and local communities. Experience in preparing background documents, agenda and talking points for such meetings.
• Experience in the field of gender and human rights of women
• Excellent knowledge of policies and programmes and government related policies and instruments to advance gender equality and empowerment of women in the context of Sri Lanka
• Familiarity with the United Nations system and its coordination mechanisms would be an advantage.
• Experience in leading a team is an asset.
• Experience in working independently with minimal supervision.

Languages:

• Good written and communication skills in English and fluency in national language of the country.
• Knowledge of another official UN language is desirable (French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish).

Statements :

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.)