UN Women, in partnership with Government of Zimbabwe, CSOs, donors and UN agencies, focuses on delivering within six interlinked programme areas such as:

• Increasing women’s leadership and participation in decision making; 
• Enhancing women’s economic empowerment, especially of those who are most excluded;
• Ending Violence Against Women and Girls;
• Engaging women in all aspects of peace and security;
• Making gender equality central to national planning and budgeting processes; and
• Strengthening the UN system’s work in advancing gender equality. 

 Advisory and specialized technical support 

• As Deputy Representative, serve as key advisor to the Representative and as a senior member of his/her management team in the CO strategic discussions and formulation of programs, including work planning;
• Provide specialized technical and strategic support in managing all aspects of CO programme design and management of related activities and for ensuring accountability in programme monitoring, reporting and evaluation; 
• Support, guide and provide input to assure quality control in the formulation of relevant, high quality, results-based and rights-based country programmes and to ensure programme coherence, technical integrity, inter-unit programme cooperation and coordination;
• Provide strategic and specialized technical advice to the Representative and put in place systems, processes and mechanisms to improve/enhance programme planning, implementation, monitoring and timely progress reporting;
• Draft policy documents, briefs and other strategic papers/materials for use in the development and presentation of innovative and coherent policy and programmatic positions in support of national development priorities and commitments to gender equality and women’s empowerment, incorporating regional and global perspectives and contributing to regional and global strategies;
• Review and evaluate proposals submitted to the CO. Oversee the preparation of donor proposals and reports to ensure quality, timeliness, compliance with requirements as per established rules, regulations, including the commitments under the UNDAF and the UN Women global Strategic Plan to facilitate the review and approval of proposals and reports by the Representative. Take timely action to take any corrective action to meet standards for submissions;
• Regularly assess the country level annual work plans, monitor progress on the achievement of goals and targets, and present the Representative with recommendations to assist in development planning;

  Programme management, monitoring and oversight 

• Recommend and establish program monitoring standards, criteria and other indicators for measuring and assessing progress/results, in close collaboration with the Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist; 
• Monitor the progress on mutually agreed results frameworks and performance indicators and take timely support, action and/or decisions as required;
• Lead the processes of preparing reports on progress of programme implementation, assessing results and identifying areas for the Representative’s action and/or decision to ensure achievement of results as planned and in accordance with UN Women’s goals and objectives and accountability framework, in close collaboration with the Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist;
• Identify areas that may require improvement and capture best practices/lessons learned, using corporate monitoring tools, as well as Audits and other corporate reports. Take action to improve areas of weakness;
• Ensure substantive and high quality proposals following the established rules, and regulations, and adhering to the Strategic Plan and Annual Work plans;
• Establish and/or support the development of sustainable and solid relations with government and CSO counterparts, for effective advocacy and partnerships resulting in the achievement of UN Women goals and objectives in the country, and consequently in the enhanced reputation and credibility of UN Women in delivering results on gender equality and women’s rights;

Resources and Operations/Office management

• Support the Representative in the management of the CO;
• Manage the formulation of the annual CO work plan and monitor implementation, in close collaboration with the Operations Manager and the Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist;
• Develop and facilitate an integrated results-based approach to the work of the Country Office using the annual work plan as the road map, in close collaboration with the Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist and the program team;
• Support the Representative in the management of human, material, and financial resources, in line with UN Women policies, rules and procedures; 
• As required coordinate the provision of administrative services with service providers;
• Propose and secure annual allocations for the country programme, and ensure the efficient and effective use of such resources in compliance with UN Women financial rules, regulations, and procedures;
• Support the Representative in the formulation and implementation of a country resource mobilization strategy; 
• Empower, and help develop international and national programme staff, under the incumbent’s supervision, providing them with managerial direction , guidance and leadership; 
• Contribute substantially to staff management as a whole within the CO, particularly on learning, career management, and teamwork;
• Establish and maintain a harmonious working environment; seek to strengthen team-building by encouraging active participation and interaction at all levels; foster staff motivation, development and empowerment; and lead by example; 
• As required advise on and support the establishment of a CO security strategy and plan in line with UN procedures and requirements; and
• Ensure an ethics-based approach to management of all human and financial resources;
• Substantive support to UN coordination, advocacy and partnership building 
• Establish and maintain effective consultations with government partners, stakeholders and civil society partners to achieve active collaboration, cooperation and alliances on programme development and implementation, and sustained partnerships;
• Represent UN Women in meetings as delegated/appropriate to consult, collaborate and interact on common issues and activities and to participate in the CCA/UNDAF process to ensure the integration of gender equality and women’s empowerment. Actively seek out participation of UN Women in UN system thematic and other working groups to establish effective networks, facilitate joint programming and promote UN Women competencies and interests to advance gender and women’s human rights;
• Support the Representative in partnership building and advocate for UN Women with government counterparts, CSOs, donor community and other partners;
• Represent UN Women in national and international fora as requested by the Representative;

Knowledge management and capacity building 

• Identify lessons learned and areas of emphasis to guide programme improvements and future strategic development planning;
• Manage the process of collecting and sharing lessons learned on gender equality and women’s empowerment to build knowledge and capacity of partners and stakeholders;
• Design and implement capacity building training activities to enhance skills and knowledge in results based management; results based reporting and budgeting, and systematic quality assurance;
• Oversee cutting-edge research and knowledge generation to inform and advise national development priorities and commitments for gender equality and women’s empowerment, ensuring the integration of regional and global contexts and developments;
• Contribute to global and regional programme knowledge networks and practices, and development of knowledge products;
• Identify lessons learned from resource and staff management to ensure effective change management as required in adapting the programme and CO to meet changed circumstances;

Competencies

Core values/guiding principles

Integrity: 

• Demonstrate the values of United Nations and UN Women, act without consideration of personal gain, resist undue political pressure in decision-making, no abuse of power or authority, stand by decisions in the organization’s interest, and take action in cases of unprofessional or unethical behaviour;

Professionalism: 

• Show pride in work and achievements, demonstrate professional competence and mastery of subject matter, conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments and achieving results, motivated by professional rather than personal concerns, show persistence when faced with challenges, and remain calm in stressful situations;

Respect for Diversity: 

• Work effectively with people from all backgrounds, treat all people with dignity and respect, treat men and women equally, show respect for and understand diverse opinions by examine own biases and behaviours to avoid stereotypical responses, and do not discriminate against any individual or group;

Core competencies

Ethics and Values: 

• Promoting Ethics and Integrity / Creating Organizational Precedents;

 Organizational Awareness: 

• Building support and political acumen;

 Developing and Empowering People / coaching and mentoring: 

• Building staff competence, creating an environment of creativity and innovation;

Working in Teams: 

• Building and promoting effective teams;

 Communicating Information and Ideas: 

• Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication;

 Self-management and Emotional intelligence:

• Creating an emotionally intelligent organization;

 Conflict Management / Negotiating and Resolving Disagreements:

• Leveraging conflict in the interests of the organization & setting standards;

 Knowledge Sharing / Continuous Learning: 

• Sharing knowledge across the organization and building a culture of knowledge sharing and learning;

Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making: 

• Fair and transparent decision-making; calculated risk-taking;

Functional competencies

• Proven ability in managing and empowering teams to work effectively together in reaching results;
• Demonstrated  analytical and technical skills in managing development projects/programmes particularly those that are pertinent to UN Women strategic priorities on gender issues and women’s rights;
• Demonstrated political acumen and technical capacity in representing the organization effectively in national and international fora to advocate and to promote organizational priorities, initiatives and a better understanding of the organizational strategic agenda;
• Proven ability to lead and to drive results;
• Ability to establish and maintain broad strategic networks and partnerships with UN agencies and other international partners to promote partnership and build alliances to advance organizational interests and competencies;
• Ability to go beyond established procedures and practices, introduce new approaches and strategic innovations;
• Good knowledge of Results Based Management principles and approaches.

• Advanced university degree in Law, Public Administration, Economics, Political Science, Gender Studies, Social Sciences or related field;

 Experience

• A minimum of seven years of relevant professional  experience that combines intellectual, strategic and managerial leadership in development programmes with a strong focus in the area of gender equality and women’s empowerment at the national or international level, preferably in developing countries within the UN system, Agencies, Funds or Programmes;
• Field based experience working with multi-cultural teams required;

Language Requirements

• Proficiency in written and spoken English and national language of the duty station.  

All posts in the GS categories are subject to local recruitment.

Applicant information about UNDP rosters

Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.

Workforce diversity

UNDP is committed to achieving diversity within its workforce, and encourages all qualified applicants, irrespective of gender, nationality, disabilities, sexual orientation, culture, religious and ethnic backgrounds to apply. All applications will be treated in the strictest confidence.