Programme Coordinator– Climate Change and Gender

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 for women 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, the UN Women will lead and coordinate United Nations system efforts to ensure that commitments on gender equality and gender mainstreaming translate into action throughout the world. It will provide strong and coherent leadership in support of Member States’ priorities and efforts, building effective partnerships with civil society and other relevant actors.

Based on UN legislative mandates and the UNW Strategic Plan, the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific is tasked with providing strategic programme development, policy / technical advisory services and quality assurance support to Multi Country Offices and Country Offices. It undertakes or coordinates regional research and data analysis; advises on norms, policies and strategies for achieving the internationally and regionally agreed goals related to gender equality and women’s empowerment issues. It acts as a knowledge hub at the regional level, collecting evidence on progress and emerging issues and sharing knowledge on innovative approaches and lessons learned in implementation.

Over the last decade, increasing natural hazards, climate-related emergencies, mounting insecurity and crises in Asia and the Pacific are eroding development gains, posing significant challenges in the transition to low-carbon, resilient societies. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the world was off-track to meet the transformational environmental, social and economic changes required to achieve gender equality, address climate change and realize human rights for all. The pandemic set back sustainable development progress while further increasing inequalities. Women and girls, especially those facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, have faced disproportionate fallout.

Environmental degradation and climate and disaster impacts are unequally felt across the region. For women, people in poverty and other marginalized groups, pre-existing discriminatory social norms and pervasive gender inequalities increase exposure to risks while undercutting the ability to cope and recover from shocks. Women’s livelihoods are often the first to decline due to climate-related hazards and disasters. Further, inequalities in access to resources, finance and technologies leave women with greater challenges in coping and rebuilding after a crisis.

The low-carbon transition and social transformation required to solve the climate crisis pose significant opportunities to redress gender inequalities and promote human rights. By placing women and other marginalized groups at the centre, this transition can advance gender justice and occur more quickly with empowered women and marginalized groups acting as change agents.

The second phase of the EmPower: Women for Climate Resilient Societies Project aims to scale up results and continue to promote gender-responsive and human rights-based climate action by supporting key regional and country stakeholders to achieve a broader impact across the Asia-Pacific region. The project is a joint project implemented with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), with financial support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.

The Programme Coordinator – Gender and Climate Change will work on a regional project with country level implementation in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Viet Nam. The project aims to strengthening capacity of duty bearers to advance gender equality and human rights in delivering climate change goals and targets, supporting women’s leadership at all levels of environment and climate-related decision-making, and strengthening adaptive capacity of women and other marginalized groups through resilient livelihoods using renewable energy.

Reporting to the Regional Advisor – Humanitarian Action and Disaster Risk Reduction, the Programme Coordinator is responsible for coordinating the project “EmPower: Women for Climate Resilient Societies Project,” which includes providing technical support to regional and country teams, strengthening partnerships with regional and national stakeholders, and the monitoring and reporting, and managing the finances and personnel of the portfolio.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Coordinate the EmPower: Women for Climate Resilient Societies Project

Coordinate the overall project workplan development and implementation according to the programme document
Liaise with regional and national counterparts, donors, UN Women and partners to ensure that the project results are achieved and resources are managed
Prepare and present workplans, periodic narrative progress reports and expenditures status reports to the donor and UN Women
Provide guidance to personnel and partners on Results Based Management tools and performance indicators;
Organize Project Steering Committee, project review and/or evaluation meetings, as needed.

2. Provide technical assistance and capacity development to project partners/ stakeholders, including country offices, non-resident agencies, and multi-country offices

Provide technical advice and guidance, including support in the development and implementation of technical tools, and initiatives
Strengthen relationships with regional and national partners to support implementation raise potential problems and provide solutions
Identify capacity building needs of partners and lead the coordination of technical assistance, mentoring, training and capacity development initiatives to partners.

3. Coordinate monitoring and reporting on the project

Facilitate the development and implementation of the joint Monitoring and Evaluation Plan with UNEP
Monitor the implementation of activities and the expenditure of funds by partners; conduct regular monitoring missions remotely or in-person
Prepare annual and quarterly reports; review and coordinate the submission of implementing partner financial and narrative reports
Prepare donor reports
Provide inputs from project activities and results to Regional Office reporting and coordinate with country level staff to do the same

4. Manage financial resources and supervise staff:

Supervise and manage a team of professional and administrative staff, review performance and mentor/coach staff
Coordinate development and preparation of financial resources of the project including budgeting and budget revisions, and expenditure tracking and reporting
Oversee and monitor the allocation and disbursement of funds to participating partners, along with the purchasing processes for goods and/or services
Oversee recruitment processes, as necessary.

5. Build partnerships and support in developing resource mobilization strategies

Provide technical support to the development of partnerships and resource mobilization strategies
Identify potential programmatic areas of cooperation, based on strategic goals of UN Women, country needs and donors’ priorities and develop the relevant partnerships

6. Manage advocacy, knowledge building and communication efforts

Ensure documentation of the programme implementation process and products produced are in accordance with UN Women guidelines
Contribute to the exchange of information and knowledge products internally and externally of the programme
Organize major advocacy campaigns, events, trainings, workshops and knowledge products

7. Contribute to inter-agency coordination on climate change to achieve coherence and alignment of UN Women programmes with other partners in the region and countries

Provide support to the Regional Advisor on Climate Change on inter-agency coordination related activities by attending meetings, events, and participating in groups and committees as needed;
Coordinate with other UN agencies, government departments, donors and NGOs to ensure the projects to be developed are harmonized and aligned with other in-country efforts.

Key Performance Indicators:

Timely and quality implementation of Programme/Portfolio activities against set workplans, timelines and budgets, in line with the Strategic Note
Quality and timely reporting
Strong relations with partners and stakeholders
Regular and timely monitoring of activities
Timely and quality implementation of advocacy events in line with work plan
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

Strong programme formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation skills
Strong budget and finance skills
Strong knowledge of Results Based Management
Ability to synthesize program performance data and produce analytical reports in order to inform management and strategic decision-making
Strong analytical skills
Good knowledge of UN programme management systems

Required Skills and Experience

Education and certification:

Master’s degree in gender studies, human rights, international affairs, disaster risk reduction, climate change, social science, public policy, and/or any relevant field directly related to gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls;
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:

A minimum of five years of relevant work experience in the area of climate change, environment, disaster risk reduction, human rights, gender equality and women's empowerment, preferably at the international level
Experience in coordinating, monitoring and evaluating development programmes and projects
Strong personal commitment to gender equality, human rights, and respect for diversity
Ability to work efficiently and responsively within a multicultural team, while demonstrating strong initiative and high degree of personal motivation needed to carry out tasks independently with sound judgement, good coordination, communication and analytical skills as well as professionalism and maturity
Strong planning and organizing skills with ability to identify priority activities and assignments and to use time efficiently
Ability to take decisions and manage political/cultural sensitivity
Experience working in the UN System, in particular UN Women is an asset;
Working experience in Asia-Pacific is strongly desirable.

Language Requirements:

Fluency in English, with excellent written and verbal communications skills.
Knowledge of online communications platforms an advantage;
Excellent command of written English, knowledge of other languages spoken in the Asia-Pacific region is an asset.