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 centre 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.

Under the framework of providing normative support to national government, UN Coordination and  strengthening strategic partnership, UN Women supportsnational partners (government, non-governmental institutions) and international partners in the implementation of existing international and national commitments to women’s rights and gender equality; it facilitates networking and exchange of good practices and advocates for women’s rights and gender equality in all areas of life. UN Women is a Non-Resident Agency in Montenegro and is working closely with the UN Country Team to support national stakeholders in advancing the gender equality agenda in line with the objectives and priorities set in the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2023–2027, in particular Outcome 2: By 2027, all people, especially the vulnerable, increasingly benefit from equitable, gender-responsive and universally accessible social and child protection systems and quality services. UN Women’s engagement in Montenegro is overseen through its Country office in Albania.

 Currently, UN Women is implementing a UN Joint Programme with UNICEF Montenegro aimed at advancing the prevention of and response to violence against women and children in Montenegro. The programme is financially supported through the Montenegro SDG Acceleration Fund and is designed to strengthen national systems and services for survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) and violence against children (VAC), with a strong emphasis on coordination, legal reform, and institutional capacity development. The UN Women component of the intervention builds on the findings of the recent GRB assessment for Montenegro, and aims to enhance the GRB approach to addressing and costing violence against women. In particular, UN Women will focus on strengthening capacities of public officials to budget and cost the implementation of existing VAW policy frameworks and VAW services. In addition, UN Women will develop a policy paper jointly with UNICEF on the intersections between VAW and VAC. Key activities of the programme include:

• Enhancing gender-responsive budgeting (GRB) and developing costing models for services addressing violence against women, in cooperation with key ministries and Parliament.
• Strengthening the legal and policy framework in Montenegro, including through analysis and recommendations to address technology-facilitated violence in line with the Istanbul Convention.
• Promoting evidence-based policymaking through the development of a policy paper exploring the intersections of violence against women (VAW) and children (VAC).

In this context, UN Women Albania is looking to hire a Local Technical Coordinator to support the local coordination and implementation of activities of the UN Joint Programme ‘Strengthening the System Support on Prevention of Violence Against Women, Girls, and Boys’.

The Technical Coordinator will work under the direct supervision of the project manager and focal point for Montenegro at UN Women Albania, and in close coordination with UNICEF Montenegro to ensure effective implementation and coordination of the project activities, contributing to strengthened multisectoral cooperation, increased institutional capacities, and improved services for survivors. In addition, the incumbent will be expected to strengthen partnerships with national and local institutions and partners, identifying possible areas for strategic partnerships in Montenegro.

Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work

• Provide overall coordination and technical advice on the implementation of all project activities under the UN Women component of the UN Joint Programme ‘Strengthening the System Support on Prevention of Violence Against Women, Girls, and Boys’. This includes supporting the organization of  events and trainings, coordinating with national and local institutions,  provide advice on agenda setting and participant lists, and, ensuring effective follow up with partners including keeping meeting minutes and reporting back from meetings.
• Facilitate regular liaison and partnership building with local institutions, including the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Welfare, the Ministry of Human and Minorities’ Rights, civil society organisations (CSOs), and local governments, ensuring regular communication and engagement throughout  the project.
• Contribute with technical inputs to the development of trainings modules, conduct technical and legal reviews and prepare summaries pertaining to Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) and Ending Violence Against Women (EVAW).
• Support the engagement, regular communication and relevant meetings with UN Agencies particularly UNICEF as the UN Joint Project Lead.
• Attend and support UN Women in strategic meetings taking place in institutional premises including thematic working groups on GRB and EVAW.
• Identify, monitor, and support UN Women’s engagement in key processes and policy dialogue pertaining to EVAW and GRB, and gender equality more broadly. 
• Collaborate closely with consultants and experts recruited under this project, ensuring synergies and alignment of deliverables.
• Ensure knowledge management, including documenting lessons learned, good practices, and recommendations for scaling up or replication of project activities.
• Contribute to advocacy and communication efforts to highlight project achievements and raise visibility with stakeholders and the wider public.
• Support regular donor reporting and UN Women internal reporting.
• Other duties as requested by hiring office. 

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy in Montenegro. 

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.

Please visit this link for more information on UN Women’s Values and Competencies Framework: 

Functional Competencies:

• Proven ability to conduct research, provide sound analysis, and draft high-quality reports and documents; Demonstrated ability to interact effectively with various public and non-public stakeholders  particularly in the areas of gender equality, gender responsive budgeting and violence against women;
• Excellent writing skills in English and Serb-Montenegrin;
• Strong interpersonal skills;
• Strong initiative-taker;
• Focuses on impact and results for the partner;
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.

Education and Certification:

1. Master's degree in international development, gender, human rights, social sciences, economics or related fields
2. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of relevant professional experience in project coordination involving local and national stakeholders in the field of gender equality  
• Prior experience working with national partners, CSOs or international actors to prevent and address violence against women in Montenegro, including leading/coordinating VAW initiatives, awareness raising campaigns, conducting research and analysis on VAW, providing services to survivors, amongst others 
• Experience in gender-responsive budgeting would be considered an asset.
• Previous experience with UN system or similar international organisations would be an advantage.
• Proficiency in the use of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.).

Languages:

• Proficiency in written and spoken Serbian/Montenegrin and English required. 

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, and promotes regardless of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, national origin, 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 to UN Women’s policies and procedures and the standards of conduct expected of UN Women personnel 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.