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.

UN Women in South Sudan supports the government to implement commitments to international normative standards on gender equality and women’s human rights. The new UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2022-2026 and the corresponding UN Women South Sudan Strategic Note (2022-2026), defining UN Women’s strategic engagement in South Sudan, focuses on strengthening the national structures and mechanisms for gender mainstreaming in policies, plans and budgets; supporting efforts to prevent and eliminate violence against women; promoting women’s economic empowerment; promoting policies and government investment in women’s empowerment and resilience building in the context of climate change, humanitarian crisis as well as threats to peace and security. UN Women works with a range of stakeholders in South Sudan including the government, civil society and women’s organizations, youth, UN agencies and donors, to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Currently, UN Women in partnership with the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare and the Office of the Vice President (Gender and Youth Cluster) is implementing a programme that aims at promoting the social economic empowerment of women and adolescent girls in South Sudan. The project called “South Sudan Women Social and Economic Empowerment Project (SSWSEEP)”, will be implemented in 10 states and 2 administrative areas in South Sudan focusing on promoting women’s access to economic opportunities, protection and access to GBV information and services and also strengthening the capacity of the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare to effectively implement its mandate of promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. The project has four (4) components, namely: a) Community Empowerment Support to Women and Girls, b) Establishment of the Women’s Entrepreneurial Opportunity Facility (WEOF), c) Scaling up services for Survivors of GBV and d) Institutional strengthening focusing on the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare, Gender and Youth Cluster, and related national institutions.

Under the supervision of the Programme Manager, the Programme Specialist is responsible for managing the development, implementation, monitoring and reporting of programmes for the SSWSEEP, including providing technical support to the implementation of the SSWSEEP programme and managing the monitoring and reporting, budget management for the programme team, building partnerships and providing support in developing resource mobilization strategies, and managing knowledge building efforts.

Duties and Responsibilities

Key Functions and Accountabilities:

Provide technical support to the implementation of the SSWSEEP:

• Review programme annual work plans to ensure compliance with UN Women programme goals and results-based indicators;
• Analyze and ensure alignment of project budgets with logical framework matrices and work plans;
• Draft reports on activities, outputs and outcomes; and compile information in preparations of country office donor and UN Women reports;
• Analyze and ensure alignment of project budgets with logical framework matrices and work plans;
• Under the guidance of the supervisor, manage programme quality control and identification of potential challenges;
• Align programme activities with operations team in close liaison with Operations Managers;
• Build and manage relationships with national partners, world bank team and other key stakeholders as necessary.

Manage the programmatic development for the SSWSEEP project:

• Provide technical support to the design and formulation of programme/ project initiatives under SSWSEEP;
• Review and provide feedback to project/ programme strategies and documents, workplans, case studies and related knowledge products and publications, as needed;
• Provide technical advice on the development of systems, processes and mechanisms to support programme planning, implementation, monitoring and progress reporting;
• Review and evaluate proposals and oversee the preparation of donor proposals and reports;
• Under the guidance of the supervisor, draft policy documents, briefs and other strategic papers/ materials for the use in the development and presentation of policy and programmatic positions.

Manage the monitoring and reporting for the SSWSEEP:

• Recommend and establish programme monitoring standards, criteria, and other indicators for measuring and assessing progress/results;
• Manage the monitoring of mutually agreed results, frameworks and performance indicators;
• Coordinate the process of gathering information and preparing progress reports on programme implementation; prepare technical reports;
• Prepare programme team for audits and monitor implementation of audit recommendations;
• Provide training on results-based management to office staff, as necessary.

Budget management for the programme team:

• Monitor and analyze financial situation on the portfolios and programmes to ensure adherence to delivery rates and utilization of resources to meet agreed upon targets and results;
• Ensure timely disbursement of funds to partners, payment to vendors and consultants;
• Ensure effective information flow, communication and coordination across the office, between programmes, projects and operations, World Bank and the Ministry of Gender through PMU.

Build partnerships and provide support in developing resource mobilization strategies:

• Develop and implement partnerships and resource mobilization strategies;
• Analyze and research information on donors, finalize substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for resource mobilization and cost sharing;
• Determine programmatic areas of cooperation, based on strategic goals of UN Women, country needs and donors’ priorities and develop the relevant partnerships.

Promote Knowledge Building and Management:

• Manage the process of identifying and synthesizing of best practices and lessons learned that are directly linked to the implementation of the programme and contribute to their global dissemination;
• Ensure documentation of project learnings and development of evidence-based product in accordance with UN Women, WB and government guidelines;
• Under the guidance of the supervisor, support the establishment of key advocacy networks and campaigns at the national and subnation.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization:

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: https://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/employment/application-process#_Values

Functional Competencies:

• Strong programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills;
• Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them;
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making;
• Strong analytical skills;
• Strong knowledge of Results Based Management;
• Good knowledge of UN programme management systems.

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Social Sciences, Political Science, Development, Public Administration, Gender 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 in programme management, including programme design, programme coordination, monitoring and evaluation, donor reporting and capacity building is required;
• Experience in working in a gender related area is required;
• Experience in setting priorities, budgets, work plans, participating in programme development and programme writing is required.

Language Requirements:

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

Application:

All applications must include (as an attachment) the completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) which can be downloaded from: https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-P11-Personal-History-Form.doc. 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.

Notes:

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 rigorou