UN Women: Program Consultant, Home-based or Geneva, Switzerland, SSA

Background/Context

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.

Job Description

UN Women hosts the Secretariat of the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF).

The WPHF Secretariat provides support to the Funding Board, mobilizes resources from Governments, companies, foundations and individuals, designs and manages global funding windows and mechanisms, provides day to day support to Country Offices implementing WPHF programs, ensures timely and quality monitoring and reporting.

The Secretariat’s mandate is also to strengthen stakeholders’ knowledge of and engagement with women, peace and security issues through proper internal and external communications, advocacy and outreach.

Finally, the Secretariat provides knowledge management services for the WPHF and manages Community of Practice (Co P) for WPHF partners and grantees.

Under the overall supervision of the Head of the Secretariat of the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund and the direct supervision of the Program Coordinator of the Regular Funding Cycle, the Consultant will support the implementation and management of the WPHF Regular Funding Cycle (RFC) portfolio in the area of women, peace and security and humanitarian action with a focus on the Arab States and Sahel portfolios (Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Burkina Faso, Chad and Niger).

The Consultant works in close collaboration with other WPHF teams and Funding Windows as well as with Participating UN Organizations (PUNO) in countries and civil society, ensuring successful program implementation of the Regular Funding Cycle portfolio.

The Consultant also provides substantive inputs to the Fund’s advocacy, knowledge building, reporting and partnerships.

Description Of Responsibilities/ Scope Of Work

Contribute technically to the development of funding allocations, implementation and management of the Fund’s Regular Funding Cycle portfolio in the area of women, peace and security and humanitarian action.

• Support in providing substantive inputs to the design and implementation of funding allocations under the Fund’s Regular Funding Cycle through supporting with the coordination of Calls for Proposals with country offices, including the organization of information sessions and National Steering Committees and preparation of materials for prospective applicants.
• Review and evaluate proposals from prospective applicants, including longlisting and shortlisting, and share overview analysis of the demand;
• Support coordination, intervention and implementation of the Funding Initiatives on Forced Displacement under the Fund’s Regular Funding Cycle;
• Support in providing substantive inputs to the development of the Fund’s cross-cutting priority areas and grant making principles.
• Contribute to the preparation of annual workplans, portfolio planning, funding forecasts and implementation priorities for the assigned country portfolio.

Provide technical assistance and capacity development support in the implementation of the Fund’s Regular Funding Cycle portfolio in the area of women, peace and security and humanitarian action.

• Coordinate and provide technical support to Participating UN Organizations (PUNO) in the implementation of the Fund’s Regular Funding Cycle portfolio;
• Support maintaining relationships with PUNOs and Resident / Humanitarian Coordinator Offices to support the implementation of the Fund’s Regular Funding Cycle portfolio;
• Identify opportunities for capacity building and trainings for partners, including through the Fund’s Community of Practice and Learning Hub in coordination with the WPHF Learning Hub (L-Hub).
• Maintain portfolio management and tracking tools to monitor programme implementation, reporting milestones and agreed actions to ensure timely delivery of the portfolio.

Provide technical inputs to the monitoring and reporting of the Regular Funding Cycle’s portfolio in the area of women, peace and security and humanitarian action.

• Monitor progress of implementation of grants and track financial delivery at global and country level of the Fund’s Regular Funding Cycle portfolio;
• Monitor portfolio budget implementation and financial performance across assigned countries, identify implementation and financial risks, and follow up with Participating UN Organizations and Country Offices to support timely delivery.
• Draft reports on monitoring missions, country results and portfolio results;
• Support in providing substantive inputs to the preparation of WPHF reports, donor reports, and ad-hoc reporting;
• Support with financial and narrative monitoring of the implementation of the Fund’s Regular Funding Cycle portfolio; including country delivery.

Provide substantive inputs to advocacy, knowledge building and partnerships of the Regular Funding Cycle’s portfolio in the area of women, peace and security and humanitarian action.

• Develop relevant documentation such as background documents, briefs, project summaries, presentations, and speeches on the Regular Funding Cycle’s work;
• Draft and contribute to donor proposals, concept notes, investment cases and other resource mobilization documents to support the expansion of the Fund's Regular Funding Cycle portfolio.
• Support coordinating and organizing meetings, events, and knowledge products on the Regular Funding Cycle’s work;
• Participate in meetings and public information events with partners and stakeholders relevant to work the work of the Regular Funding Cycle, as delegated.
• Develop analytical briefs and background information about country and regional needs focusing on women, peace and security and humanitarian action.
• Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is homebased or Geneva based.

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:
• FUNCTIONAL COMPETENCIES
• Good program formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills
• Good knowledge of Results Based Management
• Ability to gather and interpret data, reach logical conclusions and present findings and recommendations
• Good analytical skills
• Good knowledge of technical area
• Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising
• Required Qualifications

Education and Certification

• Master’s degree or equivalent in social sciences, human rights, gender/women's studies, international development, or a related field is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experiencemay be acceptedin lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience

• At least 2 years of progressively responsible work experience in one or more of the following areas is required - in program management, program implementation, grant management, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, donor reporting and/or capacity building.
• Experience in designing, implementing or managing programs related to women, peace and security, gender equality, peacebuilding and/or humanitarian action is required.
• Experience working in conflict-affected and humanitarian contexts, particularly in the Arab States and/or Sahel regions is desirable.
• Experience working with UN Multi-Partner Trust Funds or other pooled funding mechanisms is desirable.
• Experience working with women-led and women's rights organizations is an asset.
• Languages
• Fluency in English and Arabic is required.
• Working knowledge of French is desirable.
• Knowledge of other UN languages is of advantage.
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