Programme Management Specialist - International - PSA-11 - Syria

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.

UN Women Syria Programme has been working on Syria for many years to strengthen women’s participation in the political process, as well as providing humanitarian support to women and girls in need through the Gaziantep-based cross-border operation. Since the fall of the Assad Regime, UN Women has established an office in Damascus, Syria where its programme advances the implementation of its triple mandate (normative, operational, coordination) in cooperation with Syrian authorities, including line ministries and relevant commissions. 

Guided by UN Women’s Strategic Plan, corporate gender frameworks, and national priorities, the portfolio supports evidence-based engagement, coordination, and partnership-building to ensure that gender equality commitments are translated into concrete results on the ground, and in support to the humanitarian needs of women and girls. 

The Programme Management Specialist provides strategic leadership on advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment across UN Women’s mandate areas by providing strategic leadership and technical programme support, and leading specific UN Women’s advocacy, coordination and technical support to the Syrian government and other stakeholders. The Specialist also plays a key role in establishing and maintaining strategic partnerships, and ensuring effective coordination with government, UN system partners, and civil society to advance national gender equality priorities.

The Programme Management Specialist reports to UN Women’s Head of Office and works closely with programme teams, operations staff, national partners, UN system entities, civil society organisations, and regional and HQ thematic advisers. The Specialist is responsible for providing high-quality technical support and strategic guidance to strengthen gender-responsive programming and policy engagement across UN Women's work in Syria. 

Scope of Work:

Oversee the programmatic development for Syria Office on humanitarian, WEE, and coordination programming, based on the Strategic Note 

• Advise and guide the development of Syria Office, including design and formulation programme/ project initiatives;
• Review and provide feedback to ongoing projects/ programmes on related strategies and documents, workplans, case studies, and related knowledge products and publications;
• Provide strategic and specialized technical advice on the development of systems, processes and mechanisms to support programme planning, implementation, monitoring and progress reporting;
• Review and evaluate proposals and oversee the preparation of donor proposals and reports; and
• Finalize policy documents, briefs and other strategic papers/ materials for the use in the development and presentation of policy and programmatic positions.

Provide technical support to the implementation of the Syria Office programmes

• Assess Syria Office annual work plans and provide recommendations to assure compliance with programme goals and results based indicators;
• Analyze and ensure alignment of project budgets with logical framework matrices and work plans;
• Oversee programme quality control and identification of potential challenges; and
• Ensure all country offices have aligned programme plans with operations plan;
• Establish and maintain relations with government, partners, stakeholders and donors to achieve active collaboration, cooperation and alliances on programme development and implementation and resource mobilization;
• Provide substantive research and inputs in the formulation and implementation of the country resource mobilization strategy. 

Oversee monitoring and reporting for Syria Office programming on humanitarian, WEE, and coordination 

• Review and recommend programme monitoring standards, criteria, and other indicators for measuring and assessing progress/results;
• Oversee the monitoring of progress against mutually agreed results frameworks and performance indicators; 
• Gather information and prepare reports on progress of programme implementation for CO and donors; prepare technical reports;
• Provide technical support in the preparation of audits and follow up on the implementation of audit recommendations; and 
• Develop, coordinate and provide training on results-based management to CO.

Review budget management for Syria Office programmes and manage people

• Lead a team, conduct performance reviews, ensure capacity development of personnel by suggesting development opportunities;
• Monitor Syria Office programme financial situation to ensure adherence to delivery rates and utilization of resources to meet agreed upon targets and results; and
• Ensure effective information flow, communication and coordination between offices, programmes and projects. 

Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies

• Review and develop partnerships and resource mobilization strategies; 
• Finalize relevant documentation on donors and develop potential opportunities for resource mobilization;
• Analyze and research information on donors, prepare substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for cost sharing; and
• Determine programmatic areas of cooperation, based on strategic goals of UN Women, country needs and donors’ priorities and develop the relevant partnerships.

Lead knowledge building and sharing efforts

• Lead the process of identifying and synthesizing of best practices and lessons learned that are directly linked to the implementation of the programme and contribute to their global dissemination;
• Develop Gender Analysis, policy documents, briefs and other strategic papers/materials for use in the development and presentation of innovative and coherent policy and programmatic positions.

Represent UN Women in UN system coordination, with a focus on programming, as delegated by the Head of Office

• Represent UN Women in Programme Management Team (PMT) and Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG);
• Ensure UN Women’s participation in UN system thematic and other working groups to advance UN Women’s mandate;
• As/when delegated by UN Women HoO, Chair the Gender Working Group.

The incumbent performs other duties within their functional profile as deemed necessary for the efficient functioning of the Office and the Organisation.

Supervisory/Managerial Responsibilities:

The PSA will be managing the 3 technical personnel.

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:

• Excellent programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills;
• Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them;
• Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making;
• Excellent analytical skills;
• Excellent knowledge of Results Based Management;
• Strong knowledge of UN programme management systems;
• Ability to lead formulation of strategies and their implementation;
• Strong networking skills.

Minimum Qualifications:

Education and Certification:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in Social Sciences, Political Science, Development, Public Administration, Gender 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 would be an added advantage.

Experience:

• At least 7 years of progressively responsible experience in programme management, including programme design, programme coordination, monitoring and evaluation, donor reporting and capacity building is required;
• Experience in working in a gender related area is required;
• Experience working in Syria or Arab States region is desirable;
• Experience in UN coordination, programme, and policy analysis is required;
• Experience in setting priorities, budgets, work plans, participating in programme development and programme writing is required;
• Experience leading and coaching staff in international settings is required;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems is required;
• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required;
• Knowledge of another UN language (Arabic, French) is 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.