UN Women Programme Manager - Strengthened Gender Action in Cahul and Ungheni districts in Moldova.

Vacancy Number: Pr21/02352

Location:Chisinau, Moldova
Application Deadline: 20 Dec 2021, 23:59 (GMT+2:00)
Starting date: 17 Jan 2022
Reference to the project: UN Women
Expected Duration of Assignment:One Year with possibility of extension
Submission Instructions:

The United Nations in Moldova is committed to workforce diversity. Women, persons with disabilities, Roma and other ethnic or religious minorities, persons living with HIV, as well as refugees and other non-citizens legally entitled to work in the Republic of Moldova, are particularly encouraged to apply.

Application Process

This is a local position therefore only citizens of the Republic of Moldova are eligible to apply. Applications should be submitted online following the link https://jobs.undp.org/cj_apply.cfm?cur_job_id=103460   and include fully completed UN Women Personal History form (P-11) as attachment and a motivation letter.

Failure to disclose prior employment or making false representations on this form will be grounds for withdrawal of further consideration of his/her application or termination, where the appointment or contract has been issued.

Note:

The system will only allow one attachment, hence all supporting document e.g. P11, CV and Cover letter must be scanned as one attachment.  Only qualified, shortlisted candidates will be contacted for test and interview.

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.




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. 

The work of UN Women in Moldova is guided by its new Country Strategic Note for 2018-2022, aligned with the Republic of Moldova–United Nations Partnership Framework for Sustainable Development 2018–2022, the Global Strategic Plan of UN Women for 2018-2021, the National Strategy on Gender Equality for 2017-2021 (NSGE), the National Strategy for Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence for the Period 2018-2023, and aims to contribute to the gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Strategic Note focuses on three main areas: 1/strengthening women’s participation in politics and decision making, 2/economic empowerment of women and 3/ending violence against women and girls. To achieve progress under these areas, UN Women works with a variety of national and international partners and as part of different national and regional initiatives.

Starting in January 2020 UN Women implements in Moldova a EU-funded Programme Strengthened Gender Action in Cahul and Ungheni districts in Moldova with the short title: “EVA”. 

The programme contributes to the consolidation and fortification of gender mainstreaming at the local level, in line with the provisions of the National Strategy to Ensure Equality between women and men in the Republic of Moldova for the years 2017-2021. The intervention tackles domestic violence against women and children, particularly on improving the capacity and assessment tools of multi-disciplinary specialist response and services, including sexual forms of violence in domestic violence, as this area has not yet been covered by any action or donor.

The programme is aimed at achieving the following results: Gender equality is promoted and mainstreamed in local policymaking and decision making and Victims of domestic, including sexual, violence have greater access to effective survivor-focused multi-disciplinary services and violence prevention is piloted in local schools and communities. 

Scope of work

Under the guidance and direct supervision of the UN Women Programme Specialist, the incumbent provides effective and efficient management of the Programme through a range of actions contributing to the design, planning, management and monitoring of Programme activities. The Programme Manager applies and promotes the principles of results-based management (RBM), as well as a client-oriented approach consistent with UN Women rules and regulations. He/she is responsible and accountable to the Programme Steering Committee for the Programme results.

The Programme Manager will work in close cooperation with and supervise a team of 10 persons, including officers, associates, local coordinators. Additionally, he/she will work in close collaboration with the Programme, Operations, Communications and other programme teams of the UN Women Country Office (CO) for effective achievement of results, anticipating and contributing to resolving complex programme-related issues and information delivery. The incumbent is expected to exercise full compliance with UN Women programming, financial, procurement and administrative rules, regulations, policies and strategies, as well as implementation of the effective internal control systems.

  1. Functions / Key Results Expected

The Programme Manager in close cooperation with UN Women Programme Specialist will ensure the provision of development services and products (commensurate with the scope of the Programme) of the highest quality and standards to national counterparts and clients through applying HRBA and GE approaches. More specifically:

  1. Ensure the timely and efficient delivery of Programme outputs and products leading to the achievement of expected results;
  2. Within the strategic framework concerted with the national counterparts, prepare work-plans reflecting the scope of activities, timing, sequencing, cost and other inputs for the implementation of the Programme activities;
  3. Be responsible for the implementation of the Programme work plan according to indicators for achieving planned results, as well as for the overall management of the Programme in accordance to prevailing UN Women rules, regulations and procedures;
  4. Liaise with the national counterparts, donors and the UN Women office to ensure that Programme results are achieved and Programme resources are managed efficiently and effectively;
  5. Present work-plans, periodic narrative progress reports and expenditures status reports to the Programme Board and UN Women Country Office;
  6. Ensure the effective management of human resources pertaining to the Programme, including both staff, consultants and short-term experts; conduct periodic performance appraisals; build, lead and motivate a solid team of professionals; validate terms of reference for international and national consultants;
  7. Manage efficiently the financial resources of the Programme, including budgeting and budget revisions, as well as expenditure tracking and reporting;
  8. Continuously record and maintain relevant Programme activities, issues, risks, etc in the corporate UN Women system following internal guidelines and procedures;
  9. Monitor the substantive design and implementation of initiatives and conduct periodic assessments and after-action reviews in these areas. Monitoring tools will include field visits, surveys, focus groups and weekly programme team meetings.
  10. Identify key performance indicators as well as develop and maintain a monitoring system to ensure effective information sharing, provision of feedback and elaboration of top-quality progress reports;
  11. Ensure high quality information and visibility of the Programme activities to the mass media and stakeholders;
  12. Perform any other duties connected directly with the implementation of the Programme as required.

Specific tasks:

  • The Programme Manager will provide guidance and support to the programme staff, national partners on gender mainstreaming and on the elimination of violence against women and children and build strategic links with the policy and practical work at central and local levels;
  • The Programme Manager will provide guidance and advice to the program, development partners and national counterparts on implementation of key UN and EU frameworks and conventions on women’s rights and empowerment, with the specific focus on EVAWC;
  • The Programme Manager will ensure effective partnership, networking and coordination between other ongoing UN Women, UNICEF, and other UN agencies and partners’ programmes and activities in the country for a more holistic and coherent approach to programme implementation;
  • The manager will also be responsible for translating the communication and advocacy strategy into concrete actions and activities linked to the initiatives of the overall joint programme and leveraging all opportunities for visibility and advocacy with the support of the Communications Officer.

Key Results:

The key results have a direct impact on the overall successful achievement protection and respect of women and children`s rights by the local stakeholders in the targeted districts. Accurate analysis and presentation of information enhances UN Women’s position as a strong development partner. The information provided facilitates decision-making of the Programme Steering Committee, the Beneficiary and UN Women management.

  1. Competencies

Core Values:

  • Respect for Diversity;
  • Integrity;

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 Core Values and Competencies:

https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/About%20Us/Employment/UN-Women-values-and-competencies-framework-en.pdf

Functional Competencies

  • Strong 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;
  • Strong analytical skills;
  • Strong knowledge of Results Based Management;
  • Good knowledge of UN programme management systems.

Requirements for experience

Education:

  • Master’s Degree in public administration, economics, law, gender or related areas;
  • A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
  • Additional training and certification in programme/project management would be an advantage.

Experience:

  • At least 6 years of progressive working experience in the design, management and/or implementation of projects/programmes and/or working in a relevant position to this post;
  • Previous experience in development assistance or related work for a donor organization, governmental institutions, NGO or private sector / consulting firm is a very strong advantage;
  • Extensive experience in managing teams;
  • Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, etc.) and advance knowledge of spreadsheet and database packages, experience in handling of web-based management systems.

Language Requirements:

  • Proficiency in oral and written English, Romanian and Russian;
  • Working knowledge of one or more additional languages relevant for Moldova, including Bulgarian, Gagauzian, Romani, Ukrainian or sign language would be an asset.