Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Programme Coordinator

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.

Through its programmes and projects, UN Women is providing technical assistance to national partners (governmental and non-governmental) in the implementation of existing international and national commitments to women’s rights and gender equality, it facilitates networking and exchange of good practices and advocates for women’s rights and gender equality in all areas of life. According to its mandate, UN Women works in five thematic areas, such as leadership and participation, women’s economic empowerment, ending violence against women, women peace and security and governance and national planning fully reflect accountability for gender equality commitments.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina UN Women works in three key strategic areas – Women’s Economic Empowerment, Ending Violence against Women and Gender Responsive Governance. In Women’s Economic Empowerment UN Women utilizes a two-pronged approach of influencing the major players and implementing targeted interventions aimed at influencing policies, programmes and funds relevant for women’s economic empowerment. As all fields in which UN Women is engaged with relevant institutions, segment of women’s economic empowerment requires a high level of coordination with all levels of government, across the country. UN Women’s key comparative advantage in this area of work is in the production of knowledge, programming and policy recommendations on key areas of women’s economic empowerment as well as piloting targeted support to policy makers, businesses, and key categories of women that need economic activation.

Over the current strategic period 2021 – 2025, aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), UN Women will work to improve policy framework for job creation, including perspectives of care economy and entrepreneurship, and the implementation of existing policies through policy coherence between programmes for gender equality and promotion of women’s access to decent work. At the institutional level, UN Women aims to achieve effective targeting and inclusion of women (especially those most marginalized) in existing labor market measures and programmes based on the action-oriented research of the existing measures and piloting of the new targeted approaches to women’s economic empowerment. Building on previous investments in support of gender responsive policies and budgets, UN Women will support the development and resilience of women owned business and women entrepreneurs and improve the socio-economic position of rural women and their cooperatives. UN Women will also continue seeking to ensure ICT/STEM education and job opportunities are available and accessible to girls and women, by promoting the network of women in ICT, mentorship programs and using Women’s Empowerment Principles and other tools to improve gender-equality in male-dominated industries.

The UN Women Country Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been supporting relevant stakeholders in the country to advance economic empowerment of women and plans to intensify the efforts in this are in the coming period. For this purpose the Country Office is seeking to recruit Women’s Economic Empowerment Programme Coordinator to lead the expanding portfolio of work in this thematic area.

Under the direct supervision of the Programme Specialist and overall supervision of the UN Women Representative, the WEE Programme Coordinator will be responsible for overall supervision of UN Women Strategic Note impact 1 (Women’s Economic Empowerment) including direct management of selected programme component/s and oversight of remaining programme components.

Duties and Responsibilities

Oversight and management of projects under Women’s Economic Empowerment - BIH Strategic Note Impact Area 1

Coordinate with the partners to design implementation plans, including modalities, timeline and budget contributing to the achievement of target outputs defined in the UN Women Strategic Note;
Provide expert support and oversight of the programme design and implementation, including implementing partners (government and NGOs), consultants and collaborators, and other stakeholders;
Manage the selected project components within the portfolio ensuring timely planning and implementations of project activities;
Undertake regular field trips to support the work of key partners, both institutions and civil society organizations;
Develop and update quarterly work plans and expenditure plans based on the agreed annual work-plan;
Lead preparation and quality assurance of the internal and donor reports;
Ensure proper identification of and follow up to mobilize partnerships and expert resources for programme implementation;
Ensure project documentation/communication is properly done, tracking system is in place for efficient project management;
Prepare deliverables and provide technical support and inputs as needed for the project;
Ensure adherence to the UN Women operating rules and procedures;
Perform appropriate operations in the online corporate management system.

Overall oversight of the Women’s Economic Empowerment Portfolio

Under the guidance and oversight of the Programme Specialist oversee and guide design, implementation, monitoring, coordination and communications of projects within the portfolio;
Provide guidance and oversight to the team to ensure timely and efficient implementation of the activities in accordance with the workplan;
Oversee projects under the portfolio through technical monitoring and administrative supervision ensuring the results-orientation, adherence to the procedures and appropriate monitoring of progress against set objectives and indicators;
Oversee the timely preparation and quality control of all substantive technical reports, briefs and required documents;
Conduct field visits to supervise, coordinate and monitor field level activities of portfolio.

Support to coordination, strategic partnerships, advocacy, communication and resource mobilization

Foster strategic partnerships with key stakeholders in the field of gender equality and gender based violence;
Identify and link to related ongoing activities within other institutions and encourage collaboration and synergies;
Support the development and implementation of partnerships and resources mobilization strategies;
Support the design and coordinate partnerships with the relevant UN Agencies, international organizations, government institutions, donors, private sector, civil society;
Develop analysis and research information on donors, preparation of substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for cost-sharing;
Support the establishment of advocacy networks at national level and linkages to the international networks;
Proactively and substantively support and implement relevant, high-impact advocacy activities and campaigns with key national and international partners
Identify and communicate best practices and lessons learnt directly linked to the programme goals.

Normative leadership on Women’s Economic Empowerment

Contribute to knowledge and information sharing on women’s economic empowerment;
Draft Terms of Reference for national and international consultants, experts/ institutions, and CSOs and supervise and evaluate their performance in delivering required outputs;
Undertake close supervision of the studies, analysis and consultancies that are commissioned by projects and troubleshoot as needed;
Promote and advocate for the programme in the media, in relevant national seminars, meetings of work groups and panels, and project periodic evaluation and review meetings;
Provide substantive guidance to the Women’s Economic Empowerment portfolio and identify entry points and needs for future work in this field;
Proactively contribute to knowledge networks and communities of practice.

The UN Women Country Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been supporting relevant stakeholders in the country to advance economic empowerment of women and plans to intensify the efforts in this are in the coming period. Women’s Economic Empowerment Programme Coordinator will lead the expanding portfolio of work in this thematic area.

WEE Programme Coordinator will be responsible for overall supervision of UN Women Strategic Note impact 1 (Women’s Economic Empowerment) including direct management of selected programme component and oversight of remaining programme components.

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, multiethnic 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 extract, interpret, analyze data and resolve operational problems;
Ability to perform work of confidential nature and handle a large volume of work;
Ability to support a team and team building skills;
Strong IT skills and ability to apply it consistently in work tasks;
Good knowledge of administrative rules and regulations, organizational policies and procedures related to the position and ability to apply it consistently in work tasks;
Focus on results and positive response to feedback;
Attention to detail;
Generates new ideas and proposes new, more effective ways of doing things;
Documents and analyses innovative strategies/best practices/new approaches;
Reports to internal and external partners in a timely and appropriate fashion;
Organizes and prioritizes work schedule to meet partners and donors needs and deadlines;
Establishes, builds and sustains effective relationships within the work unit and with internal and external partners;
Responds to partners needs promptly.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

MA degree in gender, development, public policy, social studies or closely related field. BA degree with additional two years of experience may be accepted in lieu of MA degree.

Experience:

A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience with MA degree or 7 years of relevant professional experience with BA degree. Previous experience working with international organizations as well as gender equality issues is needed;
Professional experience in project development/ management and coordination, as well as in budget preparation;
Experience working with women rights issues is necessary as well as having a good understanding of gender based violence and feminism
Experience with the international standards related to the Project Cycle Management is required and UN experience is considered an asset.

Language Requirements:

Excellent English and B/S/C language skills, both written and oral.