Deputy Country Representative, Bangladesh

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. Placing women’s rights at the centre of all its efforts, UN Women leads and coordinates United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. UN Women provides strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

UN Women in Bangladesh supports the government to implement commitments to international normative standards on gender equality and women’s human rights. The UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for 2022-2026 was launched in 2021 and the corresponding UN Women Bangladesh Strategy Note (2022-2026), defining UN Women’s strategic engagement in Bangladesh, has also been finalized. The country strategy focuses on strengthening the national structures and mechanisms for gender mainstreaming in policies, plans and budgets; supporting efforts to prevent and eliminate violence against women; promoting women’s access to decent and safe work; promoting policies and government investment in women’s empowerment and resilience building in the context of climate change, humanitarian crisis as well as other threats to peace and security. UN Women works with a range of stakeholders in Bangladesh including the government, civil society and women’s organisations, youth, UN agencies and donors, to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Reporting to the Country Representative, Bangladesh the Deputy Country Representative is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Country Office (CO). The incumbent is responsible for substantially contributing to the design, implementation, management and oversight of the country programme and to the operations supporting its implementation to ensure effective and efficient delivery of results as planned in UN Women’s Strategic Plan and the CO plans including in Cox’s Bazar.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Manage the programme team

Manage the day-to-day work of the programme team, including finalizing the team’s annual workplan;
Manage the process of programme conceptualization, planning, implementing and monitoring; and the management of material and financial resources including for Cox’s Bazar in close collaboration with the Head of Sub-Office in Cox’s Bazar;
Lead the process of preparing programme implementation progress reports and identifying areas for UN Women Country Representative’s action and/or decision;
Technically support the development of the Office security strategy and plan, as required.

2. Provide advisory and specialized technical support on the strategic direction of the office

Advise and guide the Country Representative on strategic areas;
Provide specialized technical and strategic support in managing all aspects of the programme design and related activities including in Cox’s Bazar and for ensuring compliance and accountability in programme monitoring, reporting and evaluation;
Develop thematic strategies as outlined in the approved Strategic Note 2022 -2026, policy documents, briefs and other strategic papers/materials for use in the development and presentation of innovative and coherent policy and programmatic positions;
Serve as a senior member of the management team.

3. Represent UN Women in UN system coordination, with a focus on programming

As delegated by the UN Women Country Representative, represent UN Women in the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) and/or the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), when required, and in the UNCT Programme Management Team to collaborate with the Resident Coordinator and UN system on interagency coherence, collaboration, cooperation, resource mobilization, advocacy, common services, and operations;
Ensure UN Women’s participation in UN system thematic and other working groups to advance UN Women’s mandate.

4. Provide technical support in creation of strategic partnerships and resource mobilization strategies

Provide substantive research and inputs in the formulation and implementation of the country resource mobilization strategy;
Provide technical oversight to the programme team’s development of proposals and concept notes for development partners.
Establish and maintain relations with government, partners, stakeholders and donors to achieve active collaboration, cooperation and alliances on programme development and implementation and resource mobilization including in Coxs’ Bazar.

5. Represent UN Women and support advocacy strategies

Represent and advocate for UN Women in organizational, regional, global, public information/ relations events and key meetings, as delegated;
Develop and implement advocacy and public communication strategies.

6. Facilitate knowledge management, innovation and capacity building

Manage the process of collecting and sharing lessons learned on gender equality and women’s empowerment to build knowledge and capacity of partners and stakeholders;
Oversee the design and implementation of capacity building training activities to enhance skills and knowledge working closely with the Operations Manager
Oversee implementation of the office knowledge management plan.

7. Manage personnel under supervision

Manage the performance of personnel under supervision; provide managerial direction, guidance and leadership to staff and provide performance feedback and coaching to personnel supervision, ensure performance assessment are implemented on time and ensure personnel are fully aware of UN Women workplace relations policies;
Create an enabling work environment;
Identify learning and development opportunities

Key Performance Indicators

Timely and quality provision of strategic support and advise to the Country Representative
Timely and quality delivery of the programme teams
Regular interaction and establishment of joint activities and programmes with other agencies and partners
Quality of inputs provided in formulation and implementation of the country resource mobilization strategy
Quality and number of knowledge management and advocacy initiatives undertaken
Quality mentoring, training, coaching which affects performance of personnel, inclusive workplace environment
UN Women is seen as a reliable and trustworthy partner, providing substantial inputs to progress UN women’s mandate

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

Functional Competencies

Excellent programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills
Ability to develop detailed operational plans, budgets, and deliver on them
Ability to provide policy advice and support to partners
Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports to inform management and strategic decision-making
Strong leadership skills, ability to create and enabling work environment
Strong analytical skills
Excellent knowledge of Results Based Management
Strong knowledge of the UN system
Strong knowledge of local country context
Strong negotiation skills

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

Master’s degree in international development, public administration, public policy or other relevant social science fields 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 7 years of progressively responsible professional experience that combines strategic and managerial leadership in development programmes with a strong focus in the area of gender equality and women’s empowerment at the international level, preferably in developing countries within the UN system, Agencies, Funds or Programmes;
Field based experience working with multi-cultural teams;
Experience in leading a team.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English is required;
Knowledge of another UN working language will be an asset.