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.

Afghanistan is one of the world’s most complex emergencies, and the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Afghan people are grappling with the impact of conflict, poverty, economic decline, and natural disasters. In this context, Afghan women and girls face unique vulnerabilities and require urgent support as gender inequality is interwoven with conflict dynamics and humanitarian needs. The individual will be reporting to Programme Manager, who will be the point of contact on the contract and payment issues.

UN Women has been in Afghanistan for two decades. UN Women’s programming approach is informed by analysis of the political, economic and humanitarian situation, risks to and capacities of partner organizations, and needs of Afghan women and girls. UN Women Afghanistan currently has five key programme priorities: (1) Integrated Programming and Localization, (2) Women’s movement building through core grant making; 3) Policy and Research; 4) Economic Resilience and women empowerment and 5) Coordination, Access and Humanitarian Response. UN Women Afghanistan operates through its main office in Kabul and five sub-offices located in the provinces of Balkh, Bamyan, Herat, Kandahar and Nangarhar. 

The Women’s Civil Society Unit responds to this urgent situation. It aims to safeguard and strengthen Afghan women’s organizations as essential actors for the protection of women’s rights, gender equality and access to livelihoods. The project is fully aligned with the United Nations Strategic Framework for Afghanistan (2023–2027) and the UN Women Afghanistan Strategic Note (2023–2027), contributing to the joint priorities on Economic Opportunities and Resilient Livelihoods and Social Cohesion, Inclusion, Gender Equality, Human Rights and Rule of Law. 

Reporting to the Programme Manager of the WCSO Unit, the Monitoring & Reporting and Coordination Specialist will lead on monitoring and reporting efforts working both with the Unit colleagues and grantee partners under the WCSO unit. She/he will help coordinate coherent and unified monitoring across the partners, manage programme evaluations, and support key reporting and knowledge management efforts required by the Unit.

Scop or work:
Under the direct supervision from the WCSO Programme Manager, the Monitoring, Reporting & Coordination Specialist will carry on the below functions: 

Monitoring & Technical Assistance to Civil Society Partners through Sub-Office Field Coordinators

• Oversee monitoring frameworks and ensure quality data collection across partners. 
• Provide technical guidance to partners on indicators, baselines and reporting tools.
• Review and provide feedback on grantee progress and final reports and prepare recommendations for improvements.
• Update and maintain monitoring databases and grantee matrices.
• Undertake monitoring missions and provide ongoing technical accompaniment for Sub-Office Coordinators and grantee partners.
• Produce capacity development tools, including training materials and packages, programme guidance notes and other related support for grantee partners and their projects.
• Implement orientation and training sessions to grantee partners and Sub-Office Field Coordinators.

Reporting and Knowledge Management of the Unit

• Analyse and capture data from grantee progress and final reports including important lessons, good practices, successful results and collating indicators of grantee projects.
• Capture and synthesize lessons learnt and good practices from partners engagement in country as well as facilitate learning from similar humanitarian contexts at the regional and global level.
• Prepare substantive reports and written contributions for various purposes, including the annual donor report, briefs, newsletters, case studies, etc.
• Work with relevant CO and RO programme staff to contribute to continued learning between WCSO Unit and other UN Women initiatives working with WCSOs for strengthened internal knowledge management.
• Carry out or support research on specific topics, when needed, aimed for knowledge sharing

Programme Oversight, Coordination and Implementation Support 

• Support programme management oversight for the WCSO Unit, ensuring alignment with approved programme documents, donor agreements, and UN Women Policies. 
• Support programme planning, sequencing and implementation of Sub-Offices teams, ensuring clarity of roles, timelines and deliverables. 
• Lead on internal coordination with relevant units (operations, finance, procurement, partnerships and communications) to ensure timely programme delivery. 
• Support the design, launch and operationalization of WCSO Programme Phase II, including the development of processes, tools and implementations of roadmaps. 
• Monitor programme operational constraints, and contextual developments and propose mitigation measures in coordination with management. 
• Serve as focal point for WCSO programme discussions with donors, partners and internal stakeholders, as required. 

Evaluation

• Oversee programme evaluations, including development of ToR,and technical review.
• Ensure WCSO Phase I evaluation findings and recommendations are translated into programme adjustments in Phase II. 
• Assess quality and methodological issues of evaluation report and provide feedback and recommendations for improvements and ensure feedback from management is also consolidated and taken into account.
• Produce short knowledge management summaries extracting key information from the evaluation for internal and external dissemination

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:

• Strong knowledge of programme formulation and implementation and Results Based Management 
• Strong knowledge of monitoring and evaluation, evaluation design, data collection and analysis, and reporting 
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports 
• Strong analytical and report writing skills · Good knowledge of UN programme management systems
• Strong monitoring and reporting skills

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Political Science, International Development Studies, Gender/Women’s Studies, Economics or Sociology, or related field is required.
• A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• ⁠A project/programme management certification (such as PMP®, PRINCE2®, or MSP®) is desirable.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in civil society programming, monitoring of partners, knowledge management and/or reporting is required.
• Experience with training partners or staff on programming, monitoring and/ or evaluation is desirable.
• Experience in Afghanistan or other conflict post conflict setting supporting women civil society organisations is desirable.
• ⁠Experience in the United Nations, a governmental, other multilateral or civil society organization focused on international development and/or philanthropy highly desirable.

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.