International NGO Zimbabwe – Project Officer

International NGO Zimbabwe  Title Deputy Representative: UN Women Location Harare

International NGO Zimbabwe  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. In Zimbabwe, UN Women’s country programme is aligned to the national development plan objectives, the National Gender Policy, Zimbabwe Medium Term Plan (ZMTP) 2011-2015, the national Broad Based Women’s Economic Empowerment Framework, the Zimbabwe National Gender-Based Violence Strategy, and the ZUNDAF Outcome 7 on Women’s Empowerment, Gender Equality and Equity. UN Women, in partnership with Government of Zimbabwe, CSOs, donors and UN agencies, focuses on delivering within six interlinked programme areas such as:

DEPUTY REPRESENTATIVE (OPEN TO ZIMBABWEAN NATIONALS ONLY OR THOSE WITH THE RIGHT TO WORK IN ZIMBABWE)

Location :Harare, ZIMBABWE

Application Deadline :14-Jun-13

Type of Contract :FTA Local

Post Level :NO-D

Languages Required :English

Starting Date :(date when the selected candidate is expected to start)01-Jul-2013

UN Women International NGO Zimbabwe 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. In Zimbabwe, UN Women’s country programme is aligned to the national development plan objectives, the National Gender Policy, Zimbabwe Medium Term Plan (ZMTP) 2011-2015, the national Broad Based Women’s Economic Empowerment Framework, the Zimbabwe National Gender-Based Violence Strategy, and the ZUNDAF Outcome 7 on Women’s Empowerment, Gender Equality and Equity.

• 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.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Deputy Representative is supervised by the Country Representative who provides strategic guidance and direction to the incumbent. The Deputy Representative supports the Representative in the overall management of the country programme. The incumbent is responsible for substantially contributing to the design, implementation, management and oversight of the country programme to ensure effective and efficient delivery of results as planned in UN Women’s Strategic Plans. The incumbent is expected to bring innovative thinking which fits and adapts to the changing environment to the strategic development of the programme portfolio, to respond to national priorities and commitments to gender equality and women’s empowerment, and to help raise resources to fund it. He/she also plays a key role in ensuring effective use and management of UN Women resources in compliance with UN women programming and operational policies and regulations.

 International NGO 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 parnership 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

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.

• Promoting Ethics and Integrity / Creating Organizational Precedents

Developing and Empowering People / coaching and mentoring:

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

• Creating and promoting enabling environment for open communication

Conflict Management / Negotiating and Resolving Disagreements:

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

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

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

• 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

 International NGO Zimbabwe

Required Skills and Experience

Education

• 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.  Several years field based experience working with multi-cultural teams required.

Language Requirements

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

QUALIFIED AND EXPERIENCED FEMALE CANDIDATES ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY.

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