Location : Abuja, NIGERIA
Application Deadline : 15-Jul-10
Type of Contract : FTA International
Post Level : P-5
Languages Required :
English
Expected Duration of Assignment : 1 Year (renewable)
Background
The United Nations Development Funds for Women (UNIFEM) is mandated by the UN General assembly :
* to support innovative and catalytic programming that assists member states to advance women's empowerment and gender equality in line with national , regional and global priorities;
* to promote gender equality and women empowerment across the UN cooperation development system ;
UNIFEM's programme direction and results framework are spelled out in its global and regional strategic plan (2008-2011), This plan put emphasis on deepening UNIFEM's support to countries to implement their commitment to gender equality and women Human rights particularly in the areas of enhancing women's economic security and rights; reducing the prevalence of violence against women and HIV and AIDS; promoting gender equality in democratic governance in stable and fragile states. The Strategic Plan also calls for greater alignment with and support to emerging UN regional coordination mechanisms.
UNIFEM relies on a wide range of partnerships in fulfilling its mandate. i.e Governments, and intergovernmental organizations, civil society organizations; including women's NGO and grassroots organizations and networks-academic and multilateral partners, faith based organizations. Its support is aligned with commitments to gender equality and women human rights as agreed in international and regional framework such as the MDG, the Beijing platform for action, CEDAW, the solemn declaration on Gender equality in Africa and the protocol on Women Human rights in the African People charter
UNIFEM established its presence in Nigeria since 1996. The main focus of its interventions has been a substantive support and partnership with all key stakeholders to promote gender equality through addressing feminized poverty and exclusion, violence against women, economic empowerment for the marginalized women, gender equality in democratic governance as well as in HIV/AIDS responses. The opportunity to advance gender equality and women Human Rights in Nigeria has been enhanced by the presence of ECOWAS, one of the major regional economic commissions in Africa.
UNIFEM will capitalize on its position and successful experience to strengthen the partnerships with key national and regional stakeholders as well as donors to ensure the realization of women's rights in Nigeria.
The goal of UNIFEM presence in Nigeria, during the life span of its strategic Plan, is to ensure that gender equality and women's empowerment are achieved, and women's human rights are enforced. As such, the following areas have been identified as strategic areas for UNIFEM's supports:
* Violence against women (VAW)
* HIV/AIDS
* Women's Economic Empowerment
* Conflict Management and Peace-building
* Women in decision-making
In order to strengthen its presence in Nigeria, UNIFEM seeks to recruit a country programme director who will also be the UNIFEM representative to ECOWAS. The country programme director will be the first line of contact between UNIFEM and its partners clients, and will represent UNIFEM in key events and meetings in Nigeria. He/she will be responsible for ensuring effective execution of UNIFEM's mandate and responsibility with respect to the advancement of Women Human rights in Nigeria.
Duties and Responsibilities
Under the overall guidance of and reporting to the Regional Programme Director (RPD) for UNIFEM West Africa, the Country Programme Director will draw support and resources and coordinate with the RPD on sub regional opportunities for advocacy including engagement with ECOWAS. The Country Programme Director is an integral part of the UNCT and will work in close partnership with other UN agencies. As such, the Country Programme Director will be responsible for the following:
Strategic Policy coordination , Partnerships and Representation:
* The Country Programme Director will monitor trends and issues affecting women in Nigeria and develop strategic responses to opportunities and challenges including the formulation and implementation of plans, strategies and activities in line with UNIFEM's strategic plan 2008-2011.
* He/She will enhance UNIFEM's participation in inter-agency and inter-governmental processes. As such he/she will participate in heads of agency meetings as well as in consultation meetings with donors to ensure that the principles of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment are integrated in the UN and donors' programs in Nigeria and resourced.
* He/She will ensure a better coordination and collaboration of UN country Team on Gender Equality.
* He/She will support synergies between actors working on same issues at national levels building on each one's comparative advantage.
* He/She will position UNIFEM as the leader agency on gender equality in Nigeria.
* He/She will provide leadership and quality oversight over the efforts to strengthen Government's institutions, especially the Ministry of Women to implement national development strategies.
* He/she will also work in developing strong partnerships with a wide range of constituencies, including NGOs and the Women's Movement.
In addition to her function as representative of UNIFEM in Nigeria and within the UNCT, the Country Programme Director will also be UNIFEM's representative with ECOWAS and will provide leadership and quality oversight over the efforts to support the strengthening of this institution in developing policies and implementing programmes that are gender responsive.
Donor Relations and Communications:
* He/She will strengthen donors' confidence in UNIFEM in Nigeria and raise resources. The Country Program Director will lead UNIFEM's efforts to ensure ongoing and substantive communication with current and potential donors.
* He/She will be working in close partnership with donor agencies based in Nigeria to ensure synergy or efforts in line with the Paris Declaration Principles and will ensure that high quality reporting for those donors who have contributed to programmes are prepared and disseminated in a timely fashion.
* He/She will identify and build partnership and mobilize resources for programme implementation, including new programme development to respond to the evolving situation and in critical areas of concerns.
Programme Management:
* He/She will provide close guidance and direction to ensure strategic focus, result orientation and effectiveness and efficiency in all aspects of UNIFEM's operations and programs.
* He/She will provide guidance and oversight for the identification of approaches and modalities of UNIFEM programme to achieve development targets.
* Manages the country programme from design to implementation and assessment of programme effectiveness through course correction as necessary.
* He/She will monitor ongoing projects both substantively and financially to ensure efficient and timely delivery of results.
* He/She will work closely with government and national partners to ensure ownership and delivery of programs.
* He/She will manage, coordinate and provide guidance for reporting to ensure efficient implementation and compliance with UNIFEM and donor requirements.
* Develop effective and innovative strategies for resource mobilization, network with other UN agencies, donors and international organizations working in and outside Nigeria.
* He/She will support the documentation of UNIFEM's experience in Nigeria to inform the organization learning challenges.
Financial and Human Resources Management:
* The Country Programme Director will work closely with the National team in the management of the office operations including financial and human resources management as well as organization of logistical support.
* He/she will ensure effective management of programme resources using appropriate financial information system and procedures to track project budgets and expenditures.
* He/She will be responsible for oversights of financial resources management and administrative processes in line with UNDP/UNIFEM rules.
* He/She will provide clear direction and monitor performance of the teams working on UNIFEM initiatives based on specific benchmarks.
* He/She will lead a process of increased team building and internal communication to maximize synergy between programme areas. She/he will also develop short term as well as long term perspectives on staffing issues including succession planning where relevant, increased possibilities of transition to national staffing and staff capacity development.
Competencies
Corporate competencies :
* Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN's values and ethical standards;
* Promotes the vision, mission and strategic goals of UNIFEM;
* Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
* Treat all people fairly without favoritism.
Functional competencies :
* Knowledge management and learning ;
* Promotes knowledge management in UNIFEM and a learning environment in the through leadership and personal example;
* In-depth practical knowledge of inter-disciplinary development issues;
* Actively works towards continuing personal learning and development in one or more Practice areas, acts on learning plan and applies newly acquired skills;
* Seeks and applies knowledge, information and best practices from within and outside of UNIFEM.
Development and Operational Effectiveness :
* Ability to lead strategic planning, change process, results-based management and reporting;
* Ability to lead formulation, oversight of implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects;
* Ability to apply development theory to specific country context to identify creative practical approaches to overcome challenging situations.
Management and Leaderships :
* Builds strong relationships with clients, focuses on impact and result for the client and responds positively to feedback.;
* Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude;
* Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities;
* Ability to lead effectively, mentoring as well as conflict resolution skills;
* Demonstrates strong oral and written communications skills;
* Remains calm, in control and good humored even under pressure;
* Proven networking, team-building, organizational skills.
Required Skills and Experience
Academic background :
* Advanced university degree or equivalent in development studies, comparative politics and/or related fields. Please insert our standard education requirement.
Experience :
* At least ten years work experience in any of the following fields: Human rights, humanitarian issues, rehabilitation, gender and development, economic security, strategic planning with a specific focus on gender, working in countries in post-conflict contexts.
* Strong familiarity with current theories and issues in gender, development studies and human rights is an important prerequisite for the position.
Technical Expertise:
* Substantive understanding of gender particularly in conflict and post conflict situations.
* Team building and leadership.
Skills:
* Demonstrated leadership, negotiation and team building capacity to be able to guide the UN efforts in a highly sensitive and complex environment .
* Managing for results. Experience working with UN joint programming frameworks and result-based management systems is a particular advantage.
* Experience with international organizations, the UN system and women's organization is particularly desirable.
Language :
* Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of French is highly desirable.
Applications should be submitted must attached the UNIFEM Personal History Form (P11) posted at http://www.unifem.org/attachments/about/employment/UNIFEM_personal_history_form_P11.doc
UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.
http://unjobs.org/vacancies/1277972895792
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