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.
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.
To respond to the demands of national partners, UN Women established its presence in 2008 in Sarajevo. Priorities of UN Womenโs Country Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) are based on the 2021-2025 United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework signed between the Government of BiH and the United Nations system in BiH. Key priorities of UN Women in BiH under its 2021-2025 Strategic Plan span four key priority areas: 1) ending violence against women; 2) supporting the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda, especially through the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 and ensuring that women are empowered to fully contribute to and lead in public and political life; 3) enhancing women's economic empowerment by working to create equal opportunities and access to resources, including by recognizing, reducing, and redistributing unpaid care and domestic work and promoting womenโs entrepreneurship; and 4) strengthening gender-responsive governance by making gender equality central to national development planning and budgeting.
Under the supervision of the UN Women Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), the Programme Management Specialist is responsible for managing the development, implementation, monitoring and reporting of programmes for the Bosnia and Herzegovina Country Office (CO), including providing technical support to the implementation of the overall country programme, managing the monitoring and reporting for the BiH CO, overseeing and guiding people and budget management for the programme team, building partnerships and providing support in developing resource mobilization strategies, and managing knowledge building efforts.
The Programme Management Specialist leads the programme team and identifies new programme areas while ensuring consistency with the priorities set in UN Women 2021-2025 Strategic Plan as well as in the 2021-2025 United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework signed between the Government of BiH and the United Nations system in BiH, and creative responses to emerging challenges and opportunities. The scope of work of the Programme Management Specialist requires experience and in-depth understanding of gender equality and women's empowerment issues in BiH, as well as management and programming expertise, to translate UN Women's strategic plans into effective development initiatives and results. It also requires developing mutually reinforcing partnerships with relevant Government counterparts, UN organizations, civil society organizations, and with bilateral and non-traditional donors to promote inter-agency partnerships, support for UN reform, and mobilization of resources to advance gender equality and women's empowerment.
The main role is to lead UN Womenโs programmes, ensuring smooth functioning of programmes/projects in BiH. The Programme Management Specialist also acts as an advisor to the UN Women Representative and Operations Manager on all programmes/projects aspects of the UN Women Country Office in BiH.
Key Functions and Accountabilities
Manage the programmatic development for the BiH Country Office, based on the Strategic Note
Provide overall programme advisory support to the Office Management; Guide the development of the Country Office programme, and provide technical support to the design and formulation of programme/ project initiatives; 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;ย Draft policy documents, briefs and other strategic papers/ materials for the use in the development and presentation of policy and programmatic positions.ย Provide technical support to the implementation of the Country Office programme
Review programme annual work plans to assure 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;ย 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, as necessary.ย Manage the monitoring and reporting for the Country Officeย
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;ย Provide training on results-based management to office staff, as necessary.ยOversee and guide people and budget management for the programme teamย
Lead a team, perform staff performance reviews, ensure capacity development of staff members by suggesting development opportunities; 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 effective information flow, communication and coordination across the office, between programmes, projects and operations, and with other UN Women offices and units.Build partnerships and provide support in developing resource mobilization strategies
Develop and implement partnerships and resource mobilization strategies; Further develop and coordinate partnerships and cooperation with UN entities, including through implementation of the new Gender Equality Accelerator Joint Programme and inter-agency processes related to UNSDCF implementation, to ensure effective gender mainstreaming in the work of the UN in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as with international partners, private sector and civil society organizations. 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 donorsโ priorities and develop the relevant partnerships. Follow-up on resource mobilization activities for new projects in coordination with the Representative.Manage knowledge building efforts
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. Work with relevant UN Women units, networks and Communities of Practice to identify and disseminate best programme practices; Contribute to the development and maintenance of global, regional and national knowledge networks and practices. Oversee the production of knowledge products to meet UN Women needs and standards of quality.The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organization.
Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities:ย
The Programme Management Specialist reports directly to the UN Women Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She/he supervisers and leads programme support personnel and coordinates activities of the programme teams. She/he works in close collaboration with the operations team, with UN Women staff at regional and HQ levels, as well as with Government officials, technical advisors and experts.
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 Self-management and Emotional Intelligence Conflict managementPlease visitย this linkย for more information on UN Womenโs Values and Competencies Framework:ย
Functional Competenciesย
Strong ability to lead programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on themย Ability to synthesize programme 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 Ability to effectively lead and empower teamsRecruitment Qualifications
Education and certification:
Masterโs 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 PMPยฎ, PRINCE2ยฎ, or MSPยฎ) 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 desirable. Experience in setting priorities, budgets, work plans, participating in programme development and programme writing is required. Experience in effectively leading and empowering teams is required.Language Requirements:
Fluency in English and Bosnian is required. Knowledge of another official UN language is an asset (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,ย and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age,ย ability, national origin,ย 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 toย UN Womenโsย policiesย and proceduresย andย theย standardsย of conduct expected of UN Women personnelย 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.)
Note: Applicants must ensure that all sections of the application form, including the sections on education and employment history, are completed. If all sections are not completed the application may be disqualified from the recruitment and selection process.
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