Programme Management Specialist (UN Women)

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.

In Viet Nam, UN Women contributes to the development objectives of Viet Nam’s Socio-Economic Development Plan and the National Strategy for Gender Equality. Its Country Strategy Note for 2022-2026 is aligned to the upcoming UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2022-2026 and is focused on supporting Viet Nam’s fulfilment of Gender Equality commitments under The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the promise of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda to “leave no one behind”. The key priorities of UN Women in the 2022-2026 period are,

By 2026, people in Viet Nam, especially those at risk of being left behind, will benefit from and contribute to safer and cleaner environment resulting from Viet Nam’s effective and gender responsive mitigation and adaptation to climate change, disaster risk reduction and resilience building, promotion of circular economy, the provision of clean and renewable energy, and the sustainable management of natural resources.
By 2026, people in Viet Nam, especially those at risk of being left behind, will contribute to and benefit equitably from more sustainable, inclusive and gender-responsive economic transformation based on innovation, entrepreneurship, enhanced productivity, competitiveness, and decent work.
By 2026, people in Viet Nam, especially those at risk of being left behind, will have benefited from and have contributed to a more just, safe and inclusive society based on improved governance, more responsive institutions, strengthened rule of law and the protection of and respect for human rights, gender equality, and freedom from all forms of violence and discrimination in line with international standards.

Under the supervision of the UN Women Country Representative in Viet Nam, the Programme Management Specialist is responsible for managing the development, implementation, monitoring and reporting of programmes for the Viet Nam Country office (VCO) including providing technical support to the implementation of the VCO programme, managing the monitoring and reporting for the VCO, overseeing and guiding people and budget management for the programme team, building partnerships and providing support in developing resource mobilization strategies, and managing knowledge building efforts.

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.)

Functions:

Manage the programmatic development for the VCO based on its Strategic Note

Provide overall programme advisory support to the Office Management;
Guide the development of the VCO programme, and provide technical support to the design and formulation of programme/ project initiatives;
Review and provide feedback to project/ programme strategies and documents, workplans, case studies and related knowledge products and publications, as needed, and serves as Knowledge Management (KM) Focal Point for VCO;
Provide 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;
Draft policy documents, briefs and other strategic papers/ materials for the use in the development and presentation of policy and programmatic positions.
Serve as Coordination Focal Point for VCO, supporting efforts to strengthen UN System accountability to gender mainstreaming and the UNSDCF implementation, serving as Secretariat for the UN Gender Theme Group, and leading other gender coordination fora with multiple stakeholders.

Provide technical support to the implementation of the VCO programme

Review programme annual work plans to assure compliance with UN Women programme goals and results-based indicators;
Analyze and ensure alignment of project budgets with logical framework matrices and work plans;
Draft reports on activities, outputs and outcomes; and compile information in preparations of country office donor and UN Women reports;
Analyze and ensure alignment of project budgets with logical framework matrices and work plans;
Manage programme quality control and identification of potential challenges;
Align programme activities with operations team in close liaison with Operations Managers;
Build and manage relationships with national partners, as necessary.
Manage her own portfolio of programmes of strategic importance for the office.

Manage the monitoring and reporting for the VCO

Serve as M&E Focal Point for VCO, guiding the programme staff in line with corporate standards.

Recommend and establish programme monitoring standards, criteria, and other indicators for measuring and assessing progress/results;
Manage the monitoring of mutually agreed results frameworks and performance indicators;
Coordinate the process of gathering information and preparing progress reports on programme implementation; prepare technical reports;
Prepare programme team for audits and monitor implementation of audit recommendations;
Provide training on results-based management to office staff, as necessary.

Oversee and guide people and budget management for the programme team

Guide the team, perform staff performance reviews (jointly with the Country Representative), ensure capacity development of staff members by suggesting development opportunities;
Monitor and analyze financial situation on the portfolios and programmes to ensure adherence to delivery rates and utilization of resources to meet agreed upon targets and results;
Ensure effective information flow, communication and coordination across the office, between programmes, projects and operations, and with other UN Women offices and units.

Build partnerships and provide support in developing resource mobilization strategies

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

Manage knowledge building efforts

Manage 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.

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:

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

Recruitment 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 (such as PMP, PRINCE2, or MSP) would be an added advantage.

Experience:

At least 5 years of progressively responsible experience in programme management, including programme design, programme coordination, monitoring and evaluation, donor reporting and capacity building;
Experience in working in a gender related area is an asset;
Experience in setting priorities, budgets, work plans, participating in programme development and programme writing;
Experience in leading teams effectively is an asset