Programme Specialist (Deputy Programme Manager) at UNDP

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) helps developing countries attract and use aid effectively. In all our activities, we encourage the protection of human rights, capacity development and the empowerment of women.

We are recruiting to fill the following position:

Job Title: Programme Specialist (Deputy Programme Manager)

Location : Abuja, NIGERIA
Starting Date: (date when the selected candidate is expected to start) 01-Aug-2014
Duration of Initial Contract : 1 Year
Expected Duration of Assignment : 3 Years

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.

More than ten years after the passage of UN Security Council resolution 1325, there is widespread concern that progress made at the normative and policy levels has not been translated into significant improvements in the lives of women and girls in conflict and post-conflict countries. Both the United Nations and the European Union have committed to closing this implementation gap. To address this, UN Women and UNICEF with funding support from the European Union, will partner in a joint programme that pilots a model for EU/UN collaboration on Women, Peace and Security matters in three states of Northern Nigeria.

Under the overall guidance and direction of the supervisor, the programme specialist exercises overall responsibility for planning, implementing, and managing UN Women interventions under his/her portfolio. She/he works in close collaboration with the programme and operations team, UN Women HQ staff, Government officials, multi and bi-lateral donors and civil society ensuring successful UN Women programme implementation under portfolio.

Under the supervision of the International Programme Manager, the Programme Specialist based in Abuja, exercises overall responsibility for planning, implementing, and managing the programme aimed at promoting women’s engagement in Peace and Security in Northern Nigeria. S/he works in close collaboration with the project team in the Abuja and three states of Northern Nigeria, HQs units, and other partners including UN Agencies, Government officials and civil society to successfully deliver services.

Duties and Responsibilities
Functions / Key Results

Summary of Key Functions:

• Provision of top quality advisory and programme development services;
• Management of the Programme aimed at promoting women’s engagement in Peace and Security in Northern Nigeria and supervision of the Programme team;
• Advocacy support and Knowledge building and management;
• Developing partnerships and networks.

Provision of top quality advisory and programme development services

• Thorough analysis and research of the political, social and economic situation in the country related to the thematic/sectoral areas assigned and preparation of substantive inputs to the UN Women country office programme planning in those areas;
• Constant monitoring and analysis of the programme environment, timely readjustment of programme interventions;
• Identification of areas for support and interventions within the thematic/sectoral areas assigned;
• Design and formulation of programme initiatives within the area of responsibility, translating UN Women’s priorities into local interventions;
• Provision of programme advisory support to the Office Management within the thematic area/portfolio assigned.

Management of the Programme aimed at promoting women’s engagement in peace and security in Northern Nigeria and supervision of the Programme team

• Under the guidance and oversight of the supervisor, exercise overall responsibility for planning, implementation, management, and coordination aspects of the programmes/projects under his/her responsibility;
• Ensure effective application of RBM tools and monitoring achievement of results;
• Manage the portfolio of on-going programmes/projects through technical monitoring and administrative and financial supervision ensuring the proper application of a monitoring system to track progress on program results and indicators;
• Lead programmes/projects appraisal and evaluation according to results-based management requirements;
• Coordinate and supervise the activities of programme staff, projects staff, experts and consultants working as part of the technical assistance team;
• Responsible for the timely preparation and quality control of all substantive technical reports, briefs and required documents;
• Ensure timely production and submission of all partial and/or progress reports by all members of the project team, contractors and project partners;
• Conduct field visits to supervise, coordinate and monitor field level activities of portfolio.

Advocacy support and facilitation of knowledge building and management

• Support the establishment of advocacy networks at national level and linkages to international networks related to the sectorial/thematic areas assigned;
• Proactively and substantively support and implement relevant, high-impact advocacy activities and campaigns with key partners;
• Identify and synthesis best practices and lessons learnt directly linked to programme country policy goals in the sectorial/thematic areas assigned. 
• Proactively contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice.

Developing partnerships and networks

• Strengthen and enhance partnership/ co-operation/ consultation/ coordination with , national and local state actors, national and international civil society actors, specially, women’s organisations, bilateral institutions, UN, donors and private foundations for more effective and coordinated WLP programme implementation as appropriate;
• Utilise effectively on-going coordination mechanisms to ensure coherence of the programme with other country-level processes including national development policy-making, UN programming and coordination processes;
• Ensure effective partnership, networking and coordination between other on-going UN Women programmes, projects and activities in the sub-region.

Impact of Results
The post has an impact on the overall effectiveness and success of UN Women interventions and activities in the assigned sectoral/thematic areas, which impact in turn on the overall effectiveness of the UN Women programme in the CO/MCO. By helping ensure effective design, planning, implementation, and M&E of assigned sectoral/thematic areas, and building networks and helping mobilize resources for these areas, the incumbent enhances the organization’s capacity and credibility in implementation of highly effective programmes with strong impact.

Competencies
Core Values / Guiding Principles

Integrity:

• Demonstrate consistency in upholding and promoting the values of UN Women in actions and decisions, in line with the UN Code of Conduct.

Professionalism:

• Demonstrate professional competence and expert knowledge of the pertinent substantive areas of work.

Cultural sensitivity and valuing diversity:

• Demonstrate an appreciation of the multicultural nature of the organization and the diversity of its staff. Demonstrate an international outlook, appreciating difference in values and learning from cultural diversity.

Core competencies

Ethics and Values:

• Demonstrate and safeguard ethics and integrity.

Organizational Awareness:

• Demonstrate corporate knowledge and sound judgment.

Development and Innovation:

• Take charge of self-development and take initiative.

Work in teams:

• Demonstrate ability to work in a multicultural, multi ethnic environment and to maintain effective working relations with people of different national and cultural backgrounds

Communicating and Information Sharing:

• Facilitate and encourage open communication and strive for effective communication.

Self-management and Emotional Intelligence:

• Stay composed and positive even in difficult moments, handle tense situations with diplomacy and tact, and have a consistent behavior towards others.

Conflict Management:

• Surface conflicts and address them proactively acknowledging different feelings and views and directing energy towards a mutually acceptable solution.

Continuous Learning and Knowledge Sharing:

• Encourage learning and sharing of knowledge.

Appropriate and Transparent Decision Making:

• Demonstrate informed and transparent decision making.

Functional competencies

• Ability to lead formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes and projects;
• Ability to lead strategic planning, results-based management and reporting;
• Ability to formulate and manage budgets, manage contributions and investments, manage transactions, conduct financial analysis, reporting and cost-recovery;
• Ability to implement new systems and affect staff behavioral/ attitudinal change;
• 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;
• Ability to advocate and provide policy advice;
• Lead teams effectively and shows conflict resolution skills;
• Demonstrates good oral and written communication skills;
• Focuses on impact and result for the partners and responds positively to feedback.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master's Degree with relevant experience in, International Development, Gender, Human Rights, Applied Anthropology.

Experience:

• Minimum 5 years relevant experience at the national or international level in design, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development projects and establishing inter-relationships among international organization and national governments, preferably in the field of gender and human rights of women;
• Prior experience in the UN System and the Region will be an asset.

Language Requirements:
Fluency in English is required.

Application Closing Date:
30th June 2014

Method of Application
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online