Program Coordinator, Gender and Humanitarian at UN Women

UN Women - In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. In doing so, UN Member States took an historic step in accelerating the Organization's goals on 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, which focused exclusively on gender equality and women's empowerment.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Program Coordinator, Gender and Humanitarian

Location: Maiduguri, Borno
Type of Contract: Service Contract
Post Level: SB-5
Starting Date: 01-May-2018

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.

The conflict in the North-East poses the biggest humanitarian challenge in Nigeria. It has caused displacement, disruption of livelihoods, food insecurity, increasing rates of severe acute malnutrition, and severely weakened basic social services and protection mechanisms. The situation has been further aggravated by the involuntary return of IDPs from neighboring countries registered by the Nigerian Immigration Service in 2017. Amongst them, the most vulnerable are women, adolescents, older persons, child headed households who are exposed to high protection risks including gender based violence.

UN Women, with the support of the Government of Japan, is implementing a project on Protection, Empowerment and Resilience Building in Borno and Yobe States. The project will empower communities and build resilience through promoting social and behavior change including women’s empowerment to mitigate and address the root causes of GBV as well as promote access to information and services. It will support need-based and market driven income generating activities (IGAs) for vulnerable women with the necessary technical and financial support to empower women economically and reduce the risk of GBV. The project will also support male involvement and participation to promote positive behavior change to reduce GBV and put a strong focus on building the capacity of humanitarian actors to enhance gender mainstreaming in planning and programming processes.

In the context of the project, UN Women will recruit a Program Coordinator to guide the roll-out, monitoring and reporting in relation to the implementation of project activities.

Reporting to UN Women Deputy Country Representative, the Program Coordinator is responsible for the leadership, substantive coordination and overall management of the project for results, working together with the program and operations units of UN Women Country Office in Nigeria, and in partnership with other humanitarian agencies and national partners, especially those present in Borno and Yobe States

Duties and Responsibilities
Facilitate operationalization of the UN Women PERD project:

• Develop the annual work plan and budget and manage implementation of UN Women PERD project as per agreed guidelines in the proposal approved by the Government of Japan
• Oversee the establishment of partnership agreements and recruitment of experts and support staff
• Manage the start-up and implementation of the program and ensure synergies with other humanitarian partners and programs in Borno and Yobe States
• Build and maintain partnerships and cooperation with key stakeholders including, government, civil society and women’s organisations and UN and international partners working in Borno and Yobe States.

Technical Guidance and Support:

• Commission and oversee implementation of assessments and research and data gathering activities to facilitate project implementation;
• Oversee training activities of implementing partners
• Identify capacity building needs of partners and lead the coordination of technical assistance, mentoring, training and capacity development initiatives targeted to partners.

Monitoring and reporting of the PERD project:

• Oversee monitoring of the PERD project implementation, as well as the project finances using results based management tools
• Oversee field missions and review reports on monitoring missions;
• Oversee the submission of narrative and financial reports of implementing partners
• Prepare quarterly reports and donor reports, focusing on results, output and outcomes;

Management of human and financial resources of the PERD project:

• Manage the program budget and draft financial reports;
• Supervise, mentor and coach staff and do performance assessments;
• Oversee recruitment processes as necessary

Coordination and Partnership-Building:

• Facilitate the establishment of State Program Coordinating Committees as prescribed in the PERD project proposal and organize periodic meetings;
• Build strong relationships with humanitarian partners and use inter-agency coordination mechanisms to achieve a coherent presence in the humanitarian response for the PERD project
• Contribute to inter-agency coordination related activities and participate in humanitarian committees and working groups as necessary
• Coordinate with other UN agencies to ensure that the project activities are harmonized and aligned to the Humanitarian Response Plan.

Advocate and facilitate knowledge building, management and communication:

• Guide documentation of the program implementation processes to ensure that products are in accordance with UN Women guidelines; 
• Provide input to briefs, policy updates and other documents related to the humanitarian situation in Nigeria
• Contribute to the exchange of information and knowledge products of the program internally and externally;
• Organize major advocacy campaigns, events, trainings, workshops and knowledge products.

Key Performance Indicators

• Timely and quality program strategies and activities
• Partners and other stakeholders provide positive feedback on advisory services
• Quality reports and timely submission
• Quality monitoring and reporting
• Increased awareness of UN Women’s work
• Quality knowledge products
• Age and sex disaggregated data
• Increased cooperation and communication between UN Women and the humanitarian partners in Borno and Yobe States

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

Functional Competencies:

• Excellent program formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills
• Excellent knowledge of results based management principles and approaches
• Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on results
• Sound knowledge of gender and humanitarian issues
• Ability to lead formulation of strategies and their implementation
• Excellent networking skills
• Ability to negotiate and interact with donors and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising
• Ability to advocate and provide policy advice
• Excellent analytical and problem solving skills
• Ability to write policy papers, speeches, briefing notes.

Required Skills and Experience
Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Social Sciences, Human Rights, Gender/Women's Studies, International Development, or a related field is required

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience at the national or international levels in planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects;
• Technical experience of mainstreaming a gender perspective in humanitarian programmes and experience working in humanitarian settings
• Technical experience of implementing women’s economic empowerment and livelihood projects
• Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies UN partners is an asset;
• Experience working in the UN System is an asset;
• Experience in leading/managing a team.

Lanaguage:

• Fluency in English is required;
• Knowledge of the other UN official working language is an asset;
• Knowledge of Hausa will be an asset.

Application Closing Date
12th April, 2018.

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online