UN Women: Programme Analyst (Innovation and Enterpreneurship), NPPSA-9, San Jose, Costa Rica

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 in Costa Rica implements programmes and initiatives aimed at advancing women’s economic and political empowerment, ending violence against women and girls, and promoting the women, peace and security agenda. Within this framework, the Country Office prioritizes women’s economic empowerment by supporting entrepreneurship, innovation, and digital and financial inclusion. This work will be strengthened through the implementation of the SDG Fund Joint Programme, “Local Finance for SDG Acceleration in Costa Rica: Strengthening 12 Local Governments to Foster Innovation and Gender-Transformative Green Development.”

Through this Joint Programme, implemented jointly with UNDP and UN Habitat, UN Women in Costa Rica will advance women’s economic empowerment by strengthening a gender-responsive local innovation and development ecosystem that expands women’s access to decent work, entrepreneurship, financial and digital inclusion, and investment opportunities, particularly in green sectors, the care economy, and rural communities. Through Community Innovation Laboratories (LINCs), UN Women will promote women’s leadership in innovation, co-create gender-responsive investment opportunities, and strengthen the competitiveness of women-led, green, and cooperative enterprises. UN Women will also support innovative local financing mechanisms, including results-based lending, blended finance, and public-private partnerships, while working with financial institutions to develop inclusive financial products for underserved rural MSMEs and strengthen women entrepreneurs’ investment readiness and access to capital. In parallel, UN Women will build municipal capacities for gender-responsive planning, budgeting, investment formulation, and resource mobilization, and facilitate local financing platforms and multi-stakeholder partnerships that connect public and private investment with gender-transformative and sustainable development initiatives, ensuring that women participate in and benefit equitably from local economic growth and innovation.

Reporting to the Programme Coordinator for Costa Rica, the Programme Analyst in Innovation and Entrepreneurship contributes to the effective management of UN Women programmes in the office by providing substantive inputs to programme design, formulation, implementation and evaluation and coordinating processes related to innovation and entrepreneurship to achieve expected results. The Programme Analyst guides and facilitates the delivery of UN Women programmes by coordinating relationships with national partners and stakeholders, monitoring results achieved during implementation and ensuring appropriate application of systems and procedures and develops enhancements if necessary. The Programme Analyst works in close collaboration with the programme and operations team, UN Women HQ personnel, Government officials, multi and bi-lateral donors and civil society ensuring successful UN Women programme implementation under portfolio.      

Scope of Work:

1.Contribute technically to the development of programmestrategies in the area of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

• Provide substantive inputs to the design and formulation of programme/ project proposals and initiatives; and
• Identify areas for support and intervention related to the programme.

2.Provide substantive technical support to the implementation and management of Innovation and Entrepreneurship programme areas

• Provide technical inputs to the annual workplan and budget; 
• Contributes to the implementation of programme activities;
• Coordinate relationships with national partners to support implementation and expansion of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Programme/Portfolio, raise potential problems and suggest solutions; and
• Lead the coordination of the call/request for proposals, including the organization of technical review committees, and capacity assessment of partners;
• Review, coordinate and monitor the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports; and
• Train partners on Results Based Management and monitor implementation.

3.Provide technical assistance and capacity development to project/programme partners

• Coordinate and provide technical support in the implementation of programme activities, through technical assistance, mentoring, training and capacity development initiatives, as needed; 
• Develop technical knowledge products;
• Maintain relationships with national partners to support implementation and expansion of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship programme areas; and
• Identify opportunities for capacity building of partners and facilitate technical/ programming support and trainings to partners, as needed.

4.Provide technical inputs to the monitoring and reporting of the programme/project

• Monitor progress of implementation of activities and finances using results-based management tools;
• Develop monitoring tools, collect necessary information and systematize results;
• Draft reports on monitoring missions, programme results, outputs and outcomes; and
• Provide substantive inputs to the preparation of donor and UN Women reports.

5.Provide substantive technical inputs to the management of people and finances of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship programme areas

• Monitor budget implementation and make budget re-alignments/ revisions, as necessary;
• Provide substantive inputs to financial reports; and
• Coordinate with consultants and provide feedback on their products/reports.

6.Provide substantive inputs to building partnerships and resource mobilization strategies

• Provide substantive inputs to resource mobilization strategies; analyze and maintain information and databases;
• Explore resource mobilization opportunities from private sectors, financial institutions, local governments, public institutions, among other non-traditional donors.
• Prepare relevant documentation such as project summaries, conference papers, briefing notes, speeches, and donor profiles; and
• Participate in donor meetings and public information events, as delegated.

7.Provide technical support to inter-agency coordination on Innovation and Entrepreneurship to achieve coherence and alignment of UN Women programmes with other partners in the country

• Coordinate with other UN agencies that implementation on joint prorgrammes and/or initiatives related to Innovation and Entrepreneurship and support joint monitoring and communication of results;
• Promote good working relations with other UN agencies working on these topics;
• Explore potential opportunities to increase interagency colaborations and joint programmes in these technical areas; and
• Provide substantive technical support to the Programme Coordinator for Costa Rica on inter-agency coordination related activities by drafting background reports, briefs, and talking points and informing on the implementation of joint initiatives.

8.Provide substantive inputs to advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts

• Develop background documents, briefs and presentations related to Innovation and Entrepreneurship; 
• Coordinate and organize advocacy campaigns, events, trainings, workshops and knowledge products; and
• Coordinate the development of knowledge management methodologies, and products on Innovation and Entrepreneurship

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

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:

• Good programme 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 innovation and entrepreneurship technical areas 
• Ability to identify and analyze trends, opportunities and threats to fundraising

Minimum 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 experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
• A certification in innovation management or methodologies would be an added advantage.

Experience:

• At least 2 years of progressively responsible work experience in development programme/project implementation, coordination, monitoring and evaluation, donor reporting and capacity building is required.
• Experience in working to support entrepreneurs, especially women-led businesses, 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 innovation management is desirable.
• Experience coordinating and liaising with government agencies and/or donors is desirable.
• Experience in the use of a modern web-based ERP System, preferably Oracle Cloud, is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in English is required.
• Fluency in Spanish is 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.