Project Officer

Sri Lankan National Only

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.

Globally, UN Women focuses on six priority areas. These include increasing women’s leadership and participation in political spaces, ending violence against women, enhancing women’s economic empowerment, supporting women's participation in achieving and sustaining peace, making gender equality central to national planning and budgeting and advancing gender in intergovernmental processes.

To ensure that women lead, participate in and benefit equally from governance systems, UN Women’s programmes on leadership and participation are designed to train women leaders to help build their capacities and promote women's leadership at all levels of decision-making. It advocates for legislative, policy, budgetary, and constitutional reforms to end discriminatory laws that prevent women from meaningfully participating in all spheres of life. To ensure that women have income security, decent work and economic autonomy, UN Women promotes women’s ability to secure decent jobs, accumulate assets, and influence institutions and public policies determining growth and development. To ensure that women and girls live a life free from all forms of violence, UN Women focuses on women's economic empowerment, early education, respectful relationships, and working with men and boys, recognizing that prevention is still the most cost-effective, long-term way to stop violence.

Presently, Sri Lanka is facing its largest economic crisis in history, triggering political instability and bringing the country to the brink of a humanitarian emergency. The economic downturn brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened existing precarious economic conditions and pre-existing inequalities, and has led to a reduction in incomes across the country. Recent analysis indicates that 73% of households had seen their incomes decline amidst rising prices and inflation. Rising cost of living, including fuel and food prices, have coincided with massive food and supply shortages, pushing communities into extreme poverty and malnutrition. As the Gender Alert: Sri Lanka Crisis (GiHA, August 2022) reveals, the current socio-economic and political crisis generates significant risks to the safety and wellbeing of women and girls in Sri Lanka.

With the generous support of the Government of Japan, UN Women will respond to the immediate and evolving needs of women and girls, through the provision of short-term aid and income generating resources, while strengthening state infrastructure to support inclusive and gender-responsive life-saving services and livelihoods across the country in 5 targeted districts: Ampara, Colombo, Monaragala, Vavuniya, Mullaitivu. In particular, the project will continue to expand and strengthen the resilience of women’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that have been supported through UN Women’s previous programmes but are at the risk of collapse due to the present crisis. Additionally, it will ensure that shelters and safe houses, where facilities were improved and refurbished, will continue to function rather than face closure due to inadequate government funding and support..

Reporting to the Head of Office, the Project Officer contributes to the effective management of the project by providing substantive inputs to programme design, formulation, implementation and evaluation. He/she will be responsible for coordinating and monitoring the implementation of the project led by UN Women.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Design, coordination and implementation of the project:

Support the various assessments undertaken by the project in its initial stage and coordinate with relevant stakeholders in finalising the project deliverables.
Coordinate timely and effective implementation of the project, including daily management and delivery of project outputs;
Support the continued operation of the safe houses/shelters for women survivors of violence;
Support the development of advanced capacity development programmes for women entrepreneurs, with a focus on adapting to the crisis and ensuring business continuity or diversification;
Liaise with other UN agencies, government counterparts and partners in coordinating and implementing project activities.

2. Technical and financial management, monitoring and reporting:

Coordinate the effective application of results-based management tools, providing guidance to partners on establishment of performance indicators;
Assist the Head of Office / Programme Analyst in the management of budgets, administration and procurement-related matters and functions in accordance with UN/UN Women rules and regulations;
Coordinate the contracting of project services to implementing agencies, ensuring compliance with UN procedures; oversee the release of funds to counterparts, liquidation of funds and other processes
Periodic monitoring meetings with government and non-government partners;
Monitoring, analysis and evaluation of technical and financial reports from partners, including technical and management support;
Assist in analysing quality of project design and implementation, and periodically update the project monitoring framework incorporating reviews, lessons learned, and best practices;
Regular field visits and liaison with the UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific;
Preparation of internal technical reports and briefs including donor reports; documentation of activities, outputs and outcomes on a regular basis.

3. Strategic partnerships, advocacy and knowledge management:

Support the development and strengthening of partnerships with UN agencies, government institutions, and civil society programme/project implementation and other stakeholders;
Analysis and research of information on donors, preparation of substantive briefs on possible areas of cooperation, identification of opportunities for cost-sharing and joint programming.
Identification and synthesis of good practices and lessons learnt linked to the project outcomes, and incorporating these to refine project strategies.
Coordinate development of knowledge management strategies, advocacy products and methodologies on humanitarian response in crisis contexts.
Organise advocacy campaigns with implementing partners.
Any other responsibilities as assigned by the Supervisor

Key Performance Indicators:

Timely and quality inputs to project development
Timely and quality implementation of project activities against set workplans, timelines, and budgets,
Timely and quality technical assistance
Quality and timely inputs to reporting
Strong relations with partners and stakeholders
Enhanced best practices and lessons learned documented and circulated

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 programme management
Knowledge of procurement processes, systems, administrative rules and regulation
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
Ability to perform work of confidential nature and handle a large volume of work
Good IT and web based management skills

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

Master’s degree or equivalent in Social Sciences, Political Science, Development, Public Administration, Gender or related 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:

Minimum 2 years of relevant experience in implementation of projects related to women’s empowerment and/or women, peace and security.
Demonstrable experience in organizing multi-stakeholder initiatives and coordinating with a wide range of stakeholders, including government, civil society and non-governmental organisations, women groups, and local communities.
Experience in preparing background documents, agenda and talking points for such meetings.
Hands on experience in designing, implementing and monitoring development or humanitarian response projects with particular experience in the areas of gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Good knowledge of policies, programmes and instruments to advance gender equality.
Familiarity with civil society organisations and networks in Sri Lanka working to advance gender equality.
Familiarity with the United Nations system and its coordination mechanism would be an advantage.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English and local languages (Sinhala/ Tamil) is required
Excellent verbal and written communications skills, including an ability to prepare succinct analytical documents and briefs in English.
Working knowledge in another official UN language is an asset