National Programme Officer - Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund & Spotlight Initiative

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.

UN Women in Afghanistan is currently focusing on four Programme areas including: Women Peace and Security, Women Economic Empowerment, Ending Violence Against Women (EVAW), and Governance and Women Participation.

About the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF)

Composed of representatives from donors, United Nations entities, and civil society organizations, the WPHF is a global pooled funding mechanism which aims to re-energize action and stimulate a significant increase in financing for women’s participation, leadership, and empowerment in peace and security processes and humanitarian response. The WPHF is a flexible and rapid financing mechanism. It supports quality interventions designed to enhance the capacity of local women to prevent conflict, respond to crises and emergencies, and seize key peacebuilding opportunities. The overall goal of the WPHF’s theory of change is to achieve peaceful and gender equal societies. Achievement of this goal will require that women are empowered to participate in, contribute to, and benefit from conflict prevention, crisis response, peacebuilding, and recovery. Since its launch in 2016, WPHF has been supporting over 140 civil society organizations and is present in 12 countries or group of countries.

In Afghanistan, two Civil Society Organizations have been selected as Implementing Partners for the WPHF COVID-19, for about USD 300,000. UN Women serves as the Management Entity for WPHF selected CSOs in Afghanistan, including contracting and monitoring and evaluation.

2. About the Spotlight Initiative

The Spotlight Initiative is a global partnership between the EU and the United Nations which deploys targeted, large-scale investments in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Pacific and the Caribbean, aimed at eliminating violence against women and girls, which is seen as a major obstacle to the fulfilment of women’s and girls’ human rights and to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Spotlight Initiative intends to bring the issue of ending violence against women and girls at the front and centre of efforts to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

3. WPHF and Spotlight Initiative Partnership

The partnership between the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) and the Spotlight Initiative aims to channel funding to civil society organizations working on eliminating violence against women and girls (EVAWG) in conflict-affected and humanitarian settings. The partnership focuses on Outcome 6 of Spotlight Initiative’s Regional Result Framework (strengthening CSOs and building women’s movements) and on WPHF’s Outcome 5 (Protection of women’s safety and rights), with a total budget of USD 2 million over two years.

WPHF and Spotlight seek to fund qualifying civil-society projects in Afghanistan that are high impact, innovative, and contribute directly to the following objectives:

Influence and advance progress on gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE) and on ending violence against women and girls (EVAWG), including sexual and gender-based violence / harmful practices (SGBV/HP) and domestic violence
Protect women and girls’ safety, security and human rights

This call for proposals makes available financing for local civil society organizations in Afghanistan through two primary funding streams:

Funding stream 1: Institutional funding: from 2,500 USD to 30,000 USD

To provide institutional funding to local civil society organizations working on gender-specific protection issues in peace and security and humanitarian contexts, to ensure they are able to sustain themselves through the COVID-19 crisis

Funding stream 2: Programmatic funding: from 30,000 USD to 200,000 USD

To finance projects that aim specifically to fund programmatic activities aligned with the Spotlight Initiative’s Outcome 6 and WPHF’s Outcome 5 (listed above). Projects can be designed to directly respond to the COVID-19 pandemic as long as they are aligned with the above two Outcomes.

Duties and Responsibilities

Working closely with the EVAW team and the Gender in Humanitarian team, under the supervision of the EVAW Programme Manager, and with the guidance of the Gender in Humanitarian Action Programme Specialist, the National Programme Officer - Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund & Spotlight Initiative will act as main focal point for the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund COVID-19 Programme and the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund & Spotlight Initiative Partnership in Afghanistan. The person will be responsible for supporting implementation, coordination, monitoring, evaluation, reporting and knowledge management of the grants.

The National Programme Officer will perform the following duties:

Act as main focal point and liaise with WPHF and Spotlight Secretariat, selected civil society organisations, resident coordinator office
Coordinate, facilitate and ensure the timely and quality implementation of grants under the Women Peace and Humanitarian Fund COVID-19 window and Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund & Spotlight Initiative Partnership programmes
Ensure quality implementation of the projects through regular calls and support to selected civil society organisations (CSOs), provision of technical support and monitoring and evaluation support to selected CSOs, and through liaising with the WPHF Secretariat for trainings
Ensure quality monitoring, reporting and evaluation of the project through collection, drafting and consolidation of informal updates, annual and quarterly plans, progress reports including project reviews, and project updates to UN Women, WPHF and Spotlight Secretariats.
Be responsible for coordination among stakeholders, partners and support the day to day management and implementation of the WPHF & Spotlight grants.
Support knowledge management amongst selected CSOs, partners, and stakeholders.
Support communications and visibility of the programmes
Ensure linkages and complementarity to the Spotlight programme, coordinating with Spotlight team and Spotlight partners, as well as other EVAW programmes

Specific responsibilities

Programme Management and Implementation

Ensure effective and quality implementation and regular monitoring of the programme.
Provide technical and administrative advisory services to selected CSOs on violence against women and girls.
Coordinate and maintain a constructive dialogue among relevant line ministries, UN Agencies and implementing partners ensuring regular updates on projects.
Prepare, review and analyze Annual Work Plans (AWPs), quarterly work plans, Procurement Plans and M&E Plans for the WPHF and WPHF/Spotlight Programmes, in line with UN Women processes and rules.
Periodically consult with and report to the EVAW Programme Manager on progress in implementation, bottlenecks and challenges.
Ensure regular update meetings are held with partners and decisions are followed up.
Prepare, review, and analyze reports of Implementing Partners for submission to donors and UN Women quarterly reports.
Provide knowledge sharing support and document and share experiences and lessons learned on the program and prepare reports, including among selected CSOs.
Support the selection of projects for the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund & Spotlight Initiative Partnership, based on WPHF and Spotlight Secretariat criteria, in coordination with resident coordinator office, national steering committee, UN partners, and other key stakeholders
Support the revision and finalisation of the selected project documents (proposal, result framework and budget)
Support the setup of the projects in Atlas, DAMS, RMS and UN Women annual work plan, liaising with operations team
Support the contracting of selected civil society organisations, in line with UN Women processes and rules
Perform other duties as may be required by the EVAW Programme Manager

Knowledge-Management & Partnership

Systematically document and disseminate with project stakeholders, UN Women, donors and wider community the knowledge generated through the project implementation process, in particular the experience and good practices vis-à-vis enhancement of the safety, security and human rights of women and girls.
Maintain close working relationship with Government of Afghanistan, United Nations and implementing partners and provide them with strategic advice on a regular basis;
Dedicate time for capacity development through coaching, mentoring and formal and on-the job training
Organize, compile, and process documentation and information from donors, and programme team as inputs to various databases and documents.
Support with knowledge and communications products, including press release, regular social media, stories, talking points and other materials
Any other related duties as may be required.

Effective management of programme activities over the period stated;
Effective implementation, monitoring and evaluation of programme with the submission of regular quarterly reports and more substantive annual reports done in the formats required;
Substantive support to programme coordination meetings and participation in organizational exercises.
Provide quarterly and final reports on programme implementation based on impact and results;
Promotion of Knowledge management products and learning environment based on the programme, the partners and results achieved and updated database with information collected from partners.

Competencies

Core Values:

Respect for Diversity
Integrity
Professionalism

Core Competencies:

Awareness and Sensitivity Regarding Gender Issues
Accountability
Creative Problem Solving
Effective Communication
Inclusive Collaboration
Stakeholder Engagement
Leading by Example

Functional Competencies

Knowledge of women’s organizations and governmental agencies working on women’s empowerment and gender equality;
Familiarity with UN Women procedures, particularly regarding project management and more specifically in relation to the development of work plans, budgets, monitoring and reporting plans, purchasing plans and the identification of indicators is an advantage.
Ability to effectively represent the organization in inter-agency programming initiatives related to ending violence against women;
Ability to build strong relationships with, and focuses on results for clients and partners, responds positively to feedback;
Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities.
Ability to work in a global multi-cultural setting respecting gender equality and an ability to contribute to teamwork and provide conceptual leadership.
Ability to work under pressure and meet strict deadlines.
Ability to use critical thinking, conceptualize ideas, and articulate relevant subject matter concisely.
Experience in programme management.
Ability to create, edit and present information in clear and presentable formats.
Ability to manage data, documents, correspondence and reports information and workflow;
Good financial and budgeting skills;

Required Skills and Experience

Education and Certificate:

Master’s degree or equivalent in Political Science, International Development Studies, Gender/Women’s Studies or any other relevant field, with 2 years of experience in EVAW /GBV programming.

Bachelor degree or equivalent in Political Science, International Development Studies, Gender/Women’s Studies or any other relevant field, with 4 years of experience in EVAW/GBV programing may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Experiance:

At least 2 year of progressively responsible experience in implementation of EVAW/GBV programming.
Experience and knowledge in programming on violence against women is required.
Experience in supervising and coordinating the implementation of multiple projects of NGOs/CBOs
Experience coordinating with grantees and/or civil society organisations is an asset.
Desired : Experience working in the UN System and familiarity with UN rules and procedures is an asset, especially if related to social impact/gender equality projects.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English and Dari is required