UN Women: WCSO Programme Support Consultant, Home-Based, National Consultant (Afghan Nationals only)

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 chronic, poverty, climate change, economic decline, and natural disasters. Afghan women and girls face unique and amplified vulnerabilities particularly the series of restrictions and bans that restrict their access to education, health, workplaces and public spaces. In this context, it remains urgent that Afghan women and girls are provided targeted support and that they can continue to shape the development of their country, and that their gains are protected. UN Women remains fully committed to supporting Afghan women and girls and to putting them at the centre of the global response to the poly-crises crisis in Afghanistan.

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 Private Sector 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.

To respond to the urgent need of support for women’s civil society (WCSOs), UN Women Afghanistan has a unit dedicated to support and capacitate civil society organizations. The unit works to support women’s civil society through the provision of:

• Core and project grants strengthen the institutional and adaptive capacity of women-led civil society organizations (WCSOs).
• Technical and capacity-building support to strengthen their work and experience in direct implementation in local communities.
• Coalitions and peer support spaces.

The unit’s objective is to contribute to the strengthening of women civil society organizations to advance their work in Afghanistan. The consultant will be reporting to the Programme Manager of the WCSO Unit. The consultant will work to support the WCSO Unit on grantmaking, programme support, and knowledge management/ communications support for analyzing trends, challenges, and opportunities.

Description of Responsibilities /Scope of Work

       1. Coordinate Civil Society Engagement and Partnerships under WCSO Unit 

• Liaise with WCSO partners and coordinate on common needs and challenges required to be addressed to programmatically and operationally facilitate harmonized approach to WCSO partner engagement.
• Identify partner needs, challenges, and opportunities to inform programme support and capacity-strengthening efforts.
• Support organization and facilitation of consultations, coordination meetings, and engagement activities with partner organizations.
• Liaise with programme teams, subnational offices, and relevant stakeholders to ensure timely follow-up and coordination.
• Support documentation of key outcomes, lessons learned, and recommendations arising from partner engagement activities.
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       2. Facilitate Coalition Building and Knowledge Sharing of CSO

• Support the planning of peer-to-peer exchange activities, learning events, and knowledge-sharing sessions among WCSOs partnered with UNW ACO.
• Identify learning needs, capacity gaps, and areas of mutual interest among partner organizations to inform the design of peer exchange opportunities.
• Facilitate consultations with WCSOs and programme teams to develop learning agendas and thematic priorities for peer-to-peer engagement.
• Support moderation of virtual peer learning sessions, workshops and knowledge-sharing platforms, ensuring inclusive and meaningful participation.

3. Support to Grantmaking and Programmatic Processes

• Support facilitation of timely partner onboarding, agreement processing, amendments, and project closure processes.
• Provide operational and administrative support for grantmaking processes in accordance with UN Women rules, policies and procedures.
• Assist in tracking and reviewing applicant submissions, including applications, supporting documentation, capacity building plans and related follow-up actions.
• Maintain organized records of grantmaking and partner management processes including master matrix, ensuring documentation is complete, up to date and accessible for monitoring and decision-making purposes.
• Support all PGAMs actions for project onboarding and project closures processes.
• Support the organization and delivery of capacity development and accompaniment of programme partners on UN Women grant management, reporting, documentation and compliance requirements, as needed.     
• Assist in tracking active and closed projects and assist with programmatic processes including, reviewing all extension and amendment requests and provide feedback as part of quality assurance.

• Support the review and preparation of No-Cost Extension (NCE) requests and related documentation for management review and approval.

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  4. Administrative Support

• Assist in preparing and maintaining administrative documentation, correspondence, and records related to programme implementation.
• Provide general administrative support to the team, as required, to facilitate the effective implementation of programme activities

Consultant’s Workplace and Official Travel

This is a home-based consultancy

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 knowledge of programme and grant management;
• Ability to coordinate with partners and stakeholders;
• Strong facilitation, communication and reporting skills;
• Ability to identify needs, risks and solutions;
• Good organizational, documentation and IT skills;
• Gender sensitivity and inclusive collaboration

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 project/programme management certification (such as PMP®, PRINCE2®, or MSP®) would be an added advantage.

Experience:

• At least two years of relevant work experience in international development, programme implementation including grantmaking, programme oversight, and capacity building;
• Experience in civil society, and with women’s issues, is desirable;
• Experience in United Nations System is desirable.

Languages:

• Fluency in Dari or Pashto and working knowledge of English are 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.